Union Pacific Railroad Company has purchased ten more all-electric locomotives from Caterpillar Incorporated’s Progress Rail, marking one of its largest investments in battery-electric technology.

Founded in 1862, Union Pacific Railroad is one of the largest as well as the longest-tenured railroad operator in the entire North America. This freight-hauling railroad currently operates 8,300 locomotives over 32,200 miles of routes in nearly two dozen states of Western US.

Eager to reduce its carbon footprint, the American railroad operator published its first Climate Action Plan in December last year. In the Climate Action Plan, the company outlined its efforts to trim down carbon emissions throughout its operations by switching from conventional locomotives to electric locomotives. As part of its Climate action plan, the railroad aims to reduce carbon footprint by 26 per cent by the end of current decade, and achieve totally zero emissions by 2050.

The purchase of 10 FLXDrive electric locomotives from manufacturer and freight company Wabtec Corporation and another 10 from Progress Rail (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc.) is part of those efforts. Releasing the news of the second purchase of electric locomotives, Union Pacific also outlined its huge investment in battery freight technology to gradually achieve a zero-emissions future.

Once all the ordered electric locomotives are delivered, Union Pacific will likely have the world’s largest carrier-owned, battery-electric locomotive fleet. Lance Fritz, Chairman and CEO of Union Pacific, said the huge investment showed the company’s commitment to reduce its environmental footprint.

Speaking on the topic, Fritz said, “We’re committed to actions that reduce Union Pacific’s environmental footprint as we work toward our ultimate goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. These investments will contribute to further developing this important technology and providing industry-wide benefits.”

Progress Rail’s EMD Joule is a 118.1 ton electric locomotive switcher with an available battery capacity between 1.9-2.4 MWh. It boasts a nominal power of up to 3,000 hp, and a run time of up to 24 hours on a single charge. The Wabtec FLXDrive is quite similar in capacity. Both electric locomotives will be manufactured in the U.S.

Wabtec is expected to start delivering the FLXDrives electric locomotives to Union Pacific in late 2023, while Progress Rail will do the same sometime in 2024. All the twenty electric locomotives will be used in rail yards in California and Nebraska.