Two of the four Wabtec FLXdrive battery-electric locomotives ordered for Union Pacific have arrived in Southern California for testing in the greater Los Angeles area. The remaining two are due in October; trials will use the locomotives in yard and local service.
The locomotives are powered by approximately 7,000 battery cells providing 2.7 megawatt-hours of energy storage, and operate with zero tailpipe emissions.
The four-unit test fleet was reduced from an original 20-locomotive order involving Wabtec and Progress Rail. Union Pacific later canceled the Progress Rail order and cut the Wabtec order to four, citing battery procurement difficulties in its 2023 environmental, social and governance report.
