July 16, 2007

LOS ANGELES/LONG BEACH, CA - By year-end, Pacific Harbor Line’s locomotive fleet will be replaced by 16 remanufactured diesel-electric units that exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s most stringent “Tier 2” standards to reduce air pollutants. This will make PHL “the most environmentally friendly switching railroad in the nation,” said the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach today at commissioning ceremonies celebrating delivery of PHL’s first four locomotives.

Port, state and city officials including the mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach joined with PHL to celebrate the event and congratulate the railroad for transforming its entire locomotive fleet.

MotivePower, Inc., a subsidiary of Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB), is supplying 14 MP20C-3 six-axle and two MP20B-3 four-axle locomotives. All of the units will be equipped with new 2,000-h.p. MTU-Detroit diesel engines, which emit 70 percent less particulate matter and 46 percent less smog-forming nitrogen oxides, while burning 30 percent less fuel.

These are the first units built in the U.S. using MTU-Detroit prime movers. Delivery will be completed by year-end. MotivePower is also equipping the locomotives with state-of-the-art electronic control equipment provided by Q-Tron, another Wabtec subsidiary.

The cost of the $23 million project is being shared by PHL, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. Additional funds are coming from California’s Carl Moyer Program, which is administered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

In remarks presented at the commissioning ceremonies, Peter Gilbertson, CEO of Anacostia & Pacific Company, Inc., said, “We’re happy to join in the ports efforts to make a difference and improve air quality for the entire community.”

Many officials attended the commissioning ceremony. Aside from Mr. Gilbertson, other speakers included:

• Billie Greer from the Office of Governor Schwarzenegger;
• Richard Steinke, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach;
• Tonia Reyes Uranga, Councilwoman, City of Long Beach;
• Bob Foster, Mayor, City of Long Beach;
• Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles;
• Geraldine Knatz, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles;
• Janice Hahn, Councilwoman of the 15th District, Los Angeles;
• S. David Freeman, President, Board of Harbor Commissioners, Port of Los Angeles; and
• Don Hahs, President of the BLET 
  

Pacific Harbor Line began operations in 1988 providing railroad switching services to the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and also dispatching all BNSF Railway and Union Pacific trains within the ports. PHL maintains 60 miles of track owned by the two ports and serves nine on-dock intermodal terminals, plus numerous carload customers.

Since start up, employment on PHL has increased from 34 to approximately 140. The port railroad moves nearly two million containers annually directly from and to the docks, according to Andrew Fox, PHL president.

Railroads move about one-half of the international container freight in the Los Angeles region, Fox noted, yet contribute only six percent of the particulate emissions and are three times more fuel efficient than trucks, thus reducing greenhouse gases.

PHL is the first small railroad to join the EPA's “Smartway” Transport Partnership to promote fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases within the freight industry.

In a further effort to reduce pollution, PHL has been using low-sulfur diesel fuel since 2004.

For more information, see our low emission locomotive brochure [2.5mb pdf], or read about this topic in the Los Angeles Times, or view a short video of this event.