PITTSBURGH — Wabtec has secured its largest order to date for its FLXdrive battery-electric locomotives, with Australian mining company Rio Tinto ordering four of the units for use in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The locomotives will help Rio Tinto’s effort to reach a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2030.
“Our partnership with Wabtec is an investment in innovation and an acknowledgment of the need to increase the pace of our decarbonization efforts,” Richard Cohen, Rio Tinto Iron Ore managing director of port, rail and core services, said in a press release.
The locomotives, each with a capacity of 7 megawatt-hours, are projected to reduce fuel costs and emissions per train by 10% or more. The units are slated for delivery in 2023 and will be used in yard and mainline service. The company’s mainline operations currently involve three diesels pulling 240 cars and about 28,000 tons of iron ore. The addition of the FLXdrive locomotives will create a hybrid locomotive consist, with Wabtec’s energy-management software determining when to discharge and recharge the batteries for the most fuel-efficient operation of the consist.
“The FLXdrive is ideally suited to support Rio Tinto’s sustainability targets for their Pilbara system,” said Rogerio Mendonca, President of Freight Equipment for Wabtec. “This locomotive provides the tractive effort, fuel savings, and emissions reductions to cost-effectively run rail networks in the mining industry.”
The Pilbara railroad of another mining operation, Roy Hill, became the first customer for the next-generation FLXdrive locomotive when it ordered a locomotive last September [see “Australian mining firm is first buyer …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 13, 2021]. Canadian National became the first North American customer in November [see “CN to purchase Wabtec battery-electric locomotive,” News Wire, Nov. 4, 2021].
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