Sierra Northern Railway (SNR) recently acquired the assets of locomotive builder RailPower LLC to advance its sustainable transportation technologies and offer zero-emission rail solutions.
SNR plans to merge its hydrogen technology with RailPower’s platform to build hydrogen locomotives and demonstrate the feasibility of renewable hydrogen as a clean fuel source for rail operations. The current plan includes 260 locomotives used by short-line railroads in California.
SNR already owns the largest RailPower locomotive fleet in the United States.
RailPower has produced approximately 190 locomotives, including 55 GG20B hybrid switchers, 116 RP20BD genset locomotives, and other models such as the GG10B, GK10B, RP14BD, and RP20SD, that are recognized for their fuel efficiency and low emissions. The locomotives serve industrial short-line railroads, port operations, and switching across North America.
SNR has successfully designed and built hydrogen locomotive prototypes. Key partnerships with the California State Transportation Agency and the California Energy Commission made the development of SNR’s first hydrogen locomotives possible by providing funding and support.
Sierra Northern Railway is the freight division of Sierra Railroad Co., the principal owner of Sierra Energy Corp., a developer of waste-to-clean hydrogen technology. SNR operates approximately 75 miles of track in Northern California and 30 miles in Southern California.