Norfolk Southern recently placed a multi-year order with Wabtec Corp. for the modernization of 330 locomotives.
This is the third major modernization order since 2015. Once the orders are completed in 2025, Norfolk Southern will have the largest modernized fleet in North America, with more than 950 locomotives.
Wabtec will modernize D9-44CW locomotives that are more than 20 years old, transforming them into AC44C6Ms. This adds another 20 years of incremental life per locomotive.
Modernized locomotives will be more than 40 percent more reliable, as much as 25 percent more fuel efficient, have the ability to haul up to 55 percent more, and will reduce maintenance, repair, and overhaul expenses by 20 percent. They will feature a suite of digital solutions and the FDL Advantage engine upgrade.
Modernization will allow Norfolk Southern to achieve its goal of improving the fuel efficiency of its fleet and reducing carbon emissions by 42 percent by 2034. Each modernized locomotive will reduce emissions by more than 500 tons annually.
In the Americas, Wabtec has delivered more than 1,100 modernized locomotives. Since 2015, these locomotives have reduced carbon emissions by more than 1.4 million tons, equivalent to removing emissions from 340,000 cars.