advertisement

---

Kansas City Southern soon will begin testing two Electro-Motive Division (EMD) SD70ACe locomotives during a 60-day pilot.

A division of General Motors Corp., EMD has been testing the 4,300-horsepower, environmentally friendly locomotive — designed to surpass U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-mandated emissions regulations or "Tier 2" requirements — at Association of American Railroads' Transportation Technology Center Inc. in Pueblo, Colo.

KCS plans to use the locomotives in revenue service, or as helper units or distributed power, between Pittsburg, Kan., and DeQueen, Ark., or Shreveport, La.

EMD officials chose the Class I to conduct the pilot because of the line's grade elevation and train-weight challenges, KCS officials said in a prepared statement.

Introduced in June 2003, the SD70ACe features a modified EMD 710 diesel engine, advanced self-diagnostics, predictive health capabilities and an ergonomic cab design. The locomotive can be enhanced with EMD's optional IntelliTrain monitoring system, which is designed to track a locomotive via a Global Positioning System, remotely monitor health and operational status, and diagnose potential repair problems.

EMD plans to begin production deliveries of the locomotive in January 2005, when Tier 2 regulations take effect.