Rail industry trade groups filed a lawsuit against a California state agency for rules that call for zero-emissions locomotives to replace existing equipment — a technology the industry says isn’t ready.
The rule by the California Air Resources Board would force rail companies to retire more than 25,000 locomotives early, according to the Association of American Railroads and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, the two groups that brought the lawsuit.
Although the railroads are experimenting with locomotives powered by batteries and fuel cells, the technology hasn’t been tested enough and it’s not yet available for purchase, the rail groups said in a statement. Railroads have worked with the agency, known as CARB, on initiatives to reduce emissions, said Ian Jefferies, president of the AAR.
“While the urgency to act is real and unquestionable, CARB uses unreasonable, flawed assumptions to support a rule that will not result in emissions reductions,” Jefferies said in an emailed statement.
Railroads are the workhorse for hauling goods long distance from the West Coast ports to the rest of the US. BNSF Railway Co., a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and Union Pacific Corp. are the two main railroads that serve the West Coast.
