9 July 2009
Canadian Pacific Selects GE Transportation's Trip Optimizer for Significant Locomotive Fuel Savings
Erie Pennsylvania USA -
GE Transportation announced today that it has
been awarded a contract by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited to
equip 200 locomotives with its Trip Optimizer fuel savings product.
Trip Optimizer, a product of Ecomagination(SM), is an advanced energy
management system that optimizes fuel consumption based on a specific train's
makeup and the route being traveled. The system calculates a fuel optimal
speed profile for the trip and then automatically controls the throttle to
maintain that planned speed. Trip Optimizer uses GPS, a digital track database,
and advanced algorithms that automatically learn the train's characteristics
throughout the trip to achieve the fuel savings. The system evaluates train
length, weight, grade, track conditions, weather, and locomotive performance to
calculate the most efficient way of running the train while maintaining smooth
train handling. Operation of Trip Optimizer is similar to autopilot feature in
today's jetliners. Train crews retain responsibility for safe operation of the
train and can engage or disengage the system at any time.
Trip Optimizer was tested on 18 CP-owned GE Evolution® Series
locomotives. The pilot testing was conducted in three subdivisions that have
significantly different geographical characteristics including mountainous
regions in British Columbia, the Saskatchewan prairies, and undulating, winding
track in Northern Ontario. More than 500 train starts and 50,000 revenue miles
were accumulated during the test.
"Results measured by CP on intermodal freight of various train lengths
have shown a fuel savings ranging from 6% to more than 10% depending on
territory," said Pierre Comte, President GE Transportation Intelligent Control
Systems. "After years of research and a considerable investment, we're proud
to work with CP to launch this groundbreaking product. Trip Optimizer is
proving to be the future of fuel conservation and resulting emissions
reductions for railroads around the world."
Trip Optimizer can be deployed fleet wide today on GE Evolution Series
Locomotives as a turnkey system. The product can also be combined with a full
suite of fuel savings products from GE, including LOCOTROL® Distributed
Power, for more savings. Additional versions of Trip Optimizer for use on
other locomotive types will be available beginning in 2010. Currently, other
pilots are being conducted in various global regions including bulk commodity
testing that is showing even greater fuel savings. If every train in North
America used Trip Optimizer it would save approximately 630 million gallons of
fuel per year, the equivalent of eliminating more than one million cars from
the road.
More than 3,200 Evolution locomotives are currently operating in the
United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, Mongolia, Australia, Kazakhstan,
and Egypt, and approximately 17,000 GE locomotives are in use in more than 50
countries around the world.
Ecomagination is a GE-wide initiative to help meet customer demand for
more energy-efficient products while generating profitable growth for the
company.
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