HOTSTART Selected as Partner to Provide Auxiliary Power Units in Northeast Idle Reduction Program

Hotstart was recently selected by the Northeast States for Coordinate Air Use Management (NESCAUM) to provide Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) for 27 of 29 locomotives and 6 railroads that are part of the New England Locomotive Idle Reduction Project. NESCAUM, through a grant provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will use Hotstart’s APU technology to reduce locomotive idling and will help save railroads money and fuel and reduce emissions. NESCAUM matched the $850,000 EPA grant by 23 percent.

Hotstart was the successful bidder, beating out 3 other APU manufacturers across the country. Hotstart stood out from the competition and was selected based on the organization’s quality product design, experience and track record in the industry, customer service and more. This is one of Hotstart’s largest APU projects, but the organization has been involved with these kinds of projects for several years. The NESCAUM project marks the ninth EPA funded locomotive idle reduction project using Hotstart technology.

“Engine idling is costly and harmful to the environment, so we’re very excited to see our APU being integrated into this refit project to reduce the practice,” says Jason Barnes, Senior Market Manager of Hotstart’s railroad division. “APUs can save anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 a year per locomotive in diesel fuel, not to mention reduce air pollution and improve the airshed around communities.”

Cold temperatures force railroads to keep their locomotives constantly idling, resulting in excessive use of fuel and emissions. Engines are often forced to idle for days or weeks at a time. Hotstart’s APU eliminates the need for idling by circulating heated coolant through the engine block, compressor, expansion tank and oil cooler to keep the entire locomotive’s water system warm during shutdowns.

For a similar idling-reduction project in Montana, the National Clean Diesel Campaign analyzed Hotstart’s APUs and found that they reduced the estimated idling time on 34 locomotives by 198,858 hours. This will result in a projected elimination of 122,442 tons of emissions and save 10,657,523 gallons of fuel over the next 11 years.