Thursday, October 08, 1998 (Washington, DC) U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater today announced an agreement between the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Bombardier Transit Corporation to produce a prototype of a non-electric high-speed locomotive for high-speed trains by the year 2000.

"High-speed rail is an important part of President Clinton’s vision for America in the 21st century," said Vice President Al Gore. "This public-private partnership will develop the technology to produce high-speed passenger rail service that will not only reduce congestion, but protect the environment and improve safety."

The agreement calls for development of a 4,000-horsepower locomotive that will permit high-speed passenger service without need for the electric power transmission systems ordinarily required for high-speed rail systems. The prototype will be assembled in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

"We are committed to flexible choices in shaping our transportation system for the 21st century and high speed rail will be critical to improving safety, protecting the environment and reducing congestion for millions of Americans," Secretary Slater said. "This project is a milestone in the movement to develop high-speed rail service for our nation."

Design of the new locomotive integrates a gas turbine to advanced transmission technology to produce a powerful, lightweight propulsion system. It will weigh about 100 tons --half the size of some diesel freight locomotives. Passenger trains powered by the 65-foot-long locomotive will be capable of traveling at 150 mph.

The FRA and Bombardier will share project costs on a 50-50 basis. Costs are expected to reach an estimated $25 million over the next several years. The FRA has awarded $3 million in fiscal 1998 funds, to be matched by Bombardier, for the first phase of the project.

"This agreement is a landmark in our quest to provide excellence in passenger rail service and high-speed rail for Americans," U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Mortimer L. Downey said. "We envision that advances in passenger rail service will be an integral part of America’s transportation system in the 21st century."

The turbine in the prototype locomotive will be a fossil-fueled, 4,000-horsepower AlliedSignal TF-40, which drives a generator that, in turn, powers that locomotive’s traction motors. In subsequent project phases, the prototype locomotive’s performance will be further enhanced with energy from a flywheel storage system also being developed in an FRA-funded project known as the Advanced Locomotive Propulsion System (ALPS) led by the Center for Electromechanics at the University of Texas at Austin.

"Comfortable, reliable, high speed passenger rail service has become an attractive option for travel between major urban centers as highway and airway congestion increases," FRA Administrator Jolene M. Molitoris said.

Currently, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington are investing in upgrades to existing rail corridors in order to provide improved passenger rail service.

Molitoris said that high-speed trains on the Northeast Corridor have demonstrated how train travel can be safe, reliable, economical and comfortable. Trains on the Northeast Corridor already travel at speeds of 125 mph. However, the cost of electrification can be a major deterrent to reaching truly desirable service levels. Until now, the only equipment available has been diesel locomotives adapted from freight service. These locomotives are powerful and can reach 100 mph, but they are heavy and their ability to accelerate decreases rapidly at speeds approaching 100 mph.

The high-speed gas turbine locomotive is a principal element of the FRA’s Next Generation High-Speed Rail Technology Development Program which began in 1995. The aim of the program is to adopt existing technologies to reduce the cost of high-speed rail on existing rail lines. Central to these efforts are partnerships between the FRA, state transportation agencies, Amtrak, and the private sector. The High-Speed Rail Program also promotes the use of advanced technologies through the development and demonstration of advanced computerized train control systems and the elimination of hazards at highway-rail grade crossings.