Pacific Harbor Line moves toward zero-emission operations with more green locomotives; receives 12th ASLRRA Safety Award 

Anacostia Rail Holdings (ARH) has announced that its Pacific Harbor Line (PHL) has made its most significant step yet toward zero-emission (ZE) operations. The railroad has received partial funding—together with the California Air Resources Board (CARB)—for five ZE locomotives. The funding for the acquisition will be provided through a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Consolidated Rail Infrastructure & Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program grant.

The CRISI grant award follows PHL’s successful first year operations with its zero-exhaust emission EMD^® Joule battery-electric locomotive from Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company.

“We are gratified that PHL was chosen to receive funding as part of the CRISI grant award,” says Otis L. Cliatt II, PHL President. “This crucial support, combined with our investment, will enable us to purchase five zero-emission battery electric locomotives. It is a transformative step that will support our continuing commitment to reducing emissions at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the busiest port complex in the U.S.”

As the provider of neutral transportation, maintenance, and dispatching services to the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles for over a quarter century in the environmentally sensitive Southern California San Pedro Bay complex, PHL has long been a sustainability pioneer. It was the first railroad to upgrade its entire fleet to EPA Tier 3+ locomotives, and it also operates a Tier 4 locomotive in addition to the Joule ZE unit now in service.

PHL is contributing $6.37 million toward the $34.2 million cost to acquire five ZE locomotives and two charging stations that are included in CARB’s application, for a total of eight ZE locomotives. The remaining three units would be used in Sacramento, Imperial, and San Bernardino, California by other operators.

Peter Gilbertson, ARH president, says, “We are grateful for the grant from the Federal Railroad Administration and appreciate the key role of the California Air Resources Board. We also value the assistance of many key stakeholders who helped secure the CRISI grant.” Among the Federal & State leaders and organizations that supported the grant application were:

U.S. Senator Laphonza Butler

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla

U.S. Representative Nanette Barragán

California State Senator Lena Gonzalez

California State Assembly Member Laura Friedman

California State Assembly Member Mike Gipson

Coalition for Clean Air

Trade, Health, and Environment (T.H.E.) Impact Project

T.H.E. members, include:

Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice

Earthjustice

Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma

National Resources Defense Council

Pacific Environment

Sierra Club

This PHL project is expected to reduce NOx emissions by over 17 tons per year (tpy), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by 0.249 tpy, and eliminate 459 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year. The ZE locomotives will be operating inside of neighboring transportation disadvantaged communities to both help California meet its air quality goals and to advance environmental justice and equity by reducing the health impacts on communities already exposed to higher pollution.

The new PHL locomotives will be manufactured in the United States by Progress Rail.

The program is also expected to accelerate adoption of ZE technology in the railroad industry, already the most fuel-efficient way to move freight overland.

Safety Awards

Separately, PHL received the prestigious President’s Award for Safety from the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA)—along with a Jake Safety Award—at its Dallas regional conference held October 28-30, 2024. This is the third year in a row that PHL has earned the President’s Award. In addition, during the past 11 years PHL has also earned eight Jake Awards.

The award was accepted at the event by Cliatt and PHL Director of Operations Rick VanZee.

“I could not be prouder of everyone on the PHL team for their dedication to safe and reliable operations,” Cliatt said. “We have a strong culture of safety for the well-being of all our valued employees, and to assure our customers and community that we can be trusted to deliver the nation’s freight without incident.”

ASLRRA President’s Safety Awards are presented to railroads that post the lowest reportable injury frequency rate per Federal Railroad Administration regulations as measured within industry per-hour categories. PHL had the best rate among Pacific Region railroads with 250,000–500,000 annual hours worked.

“It was an honor to accept this award on behalf of everyone at PHL,” VanZee said. “The fact that we are so often a recipient of the industry’s highest safety awards is a direct result of our basic focus on safety: ‘One move at a time, one shift at a time, one day at a time.’”

Consistently safe operations are critical where PHL operates—in America’s largest container port. PHL switches some 40,000 freight rail cars annually and dispatches more than 30 intermodal trains a day from nine on-dock intermodal terminals.