CALGARY, Alberta — CPKC has ordered 65 new EMD SD70ACe-T4 Tier 4 locomotives from Progress Rail and 70 Wabtec Evolution Series ET44AC Tier 4 locomotives as part of the railway’s $800 million, multiyear fleet renewal program.
The SD70ACe-T4s, which will be manufactured at the Progress Rail facility in Muncie, Ind., feature a new energy management system that improves fuel efficiency by 5% to 7% over prior first generation Tier 4 units, while continuing to meet EPA Tier 4 emissions standards without after-treatment.
“We are pleased to make this significant investment in American manufacturing with Progress Rail,” CPKC Chief Operating Officer Mark Redd said. “The purchase of these units continues CPKC’s locomotive renewal program to accommodate future growth, increase fleet reliability, and decrease emissions as we safely and efficiently serve our customers and the North American economy.”
The locomotives will feature Progress Rail’s Talos energy management system, certified by the EPA to deliver a 12.3% efficiency gain, which Progress said is industry-leading benchmark for fuel savings and reduced emissions. Powered by artificial intelligence, Talos optimizes in-train forces and has logged over four million miles without a break-in-two.
“We’re proud to partner with CPKC to introduce our updated Tier 4 platform,” said Progress Rail CEO John Newman. “After years of investment to enhance reliability and fuel efficiency and months of rigorous testing by CPKC in some of North America’s most rugged operating environments, these locomotives are prepared to deliver the performance our Class I railroad customers demand. This milestone reflects our commitment to innovation and delivering real solutions to solve our customer’s toughest challenges.”
With 4,500 brake horsepower and up to 200,000 lbs. of starting tractive effort, the SD70ACe-T4 allows railroads to move longer, heavier trains with fewer locomotives, Progress Rail said.
Thirty of the locomotives will be delivered in the second half of 2026, CPKC said.
The railway also expects to take delivery of 70 Wabtec ET44ACs this year, which will join the 100 Evolution Series locomotives that became part of the CPKC fleet last year. The first two units of this order are expected to be delivered later this month from Wabtec’s assembly plant in Fort Worth, Texas. The Wabtec order was previously disclosed during the railway’s third-quarter earnings call.
— Note: An earlier version of this story, based on a news release from Progress Rail, only mentioned the SD70ACe-T4 portion of CPKC’s locomotive order. Updated at 3:45 p.m. to include Wabtec information included in CPKC news release. To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
CPKC is playing it smart. For the regular stuff and the auto rack trains power of choice is a Wabtech Dash 9 E Series They are fast and they are reliable perfect for pulling a container train over 12 mountain passes or through the Mexican desert. For the heavy stuff which is the coal, the ore trains, the grain, or the soda ash You need something heavier and with a lot more tractive power that is where the EMD SD70 comes in. Those engines are used to get the heavy stuff over the hill. They know what they are doing because they move a lot of heavy stuff.