More funding for improvements at intermodal facility

2011-11-04T01:35:09Z

The City Council approved $400,000 in funding from new sources Tuesday for upgrades to the Sacramento Intermodal Transportation Facility project, including energy-efficient lighting and new power cabinets that will help reduce air emissions at the new facility.

The project is being built at the downtown railyards and is currently in the first phase of development. City officials say Phase 1 should be completed by mid-summer 2012.

The project is planned to accommodate rail freight movement, heavy passenger trains, light rail transit and intercity and local buses, according to a city staff report. It will also provide facilities for bicycle and pedestrian transportation modes and – potentially – streetcars and California’s high-speed rail.

Last year, original bids for the project made it too expensive, so it was scaled down and re-bid this year. Some improvements that were part of the original project plan were set aside when the project was scaled down.

The new project plan reserved the possibility that those improvements could be returned to the plan if funding was found.

New sources of funding – specifically grants provided through Sacramento Municipal Utility District and a California Air Resources Board program – will be used to return some of those set-aside improvements to the intermodal project.

The anticipated additional improvements include new lighting with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or walkways, tunnels and station platforms and four wayside power cabinets.

The LEDs will replace the fluorescent lighting in the original project plan.

“There will be more efficient lighting now,” Hinda Chandler, senior architect with the Sacramento Department of Transportation, said Thursday. “The light levels will be better with the LEDs, and the quality is better and brighter.”

Chandler said it will cost less to run the lights at the facility, and they won’t have to replace them as often as fluorescent lighting.

The lighting was budgeted in the project for $150,000, and city staff determined it was eligible for funding through an existing SMUD grant for lighting improvements.

Chandler said that the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) was awarded funds for the power cabinets through the CARB Carl Moyer Grant Program on Oct. 28.

The original project plan called for eight wayside power cabinets, but when the project was scaled back earlier this year, the number of power cabinets was reduced to four. With new funding, the number of cabinets will once again be eight.

Christine Ragsdale, communications director for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, said the power cabinets work similar to the way shore power is provided to ships at dock.

The ship – or locomotive in this case – essentially plugs into the power outlet (the cabinet) at the station, and, instead of running on diesel fuel, it is powered by cleaner, less-expensive electricity.

The power keeps train systems operable while they are being cleaned and prepared for the next day’s run.

“These are diesel engines that push particulates into the air,” Tim Taylor, division manager at Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, said Thursday.

“Being able to put (the trains) on shore power has an enormous health benefit to the community and a significant benefit in terms of air quality,” Taylor said.

The additional power cabinets cost $400,000, which would be funded 80 percent ($320,000) by the Moyer grant and 20 percent ($80,000) by CCJPA.

Ragsdale said this is the first time Carl Moyer Grant Program funds have been used for this specific purpose anywhere in the state.

“It’s a very creative use for this type of grant,” Ragsdale said. “When it comes to air quality, you get a lot of bang for your buck by getting trains to run cleaner.”

Nearly three tons worth – in the form of annual emission reductions, according Taylor.

“This is a fantastic project that is very good for our air quality,” Taylor said.

Chandler said the new funding is already being used to order the new power cabinets. The LEDs will be installed at a later time when the project gets nearer to completion.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Amtrak locomotive gets an eco-makeover

2009-07-23T07:20:19Z

California's air may start to look a little cleaner, thanks to the California Department of Transportation and its project partners.

Caltrans's revolutionary "green locomotive" debuted Wednesday morning at the Amtrak Sacramento Valley station.

Members of Caltrans and its project partners assembled within the train station at a press release to make statements regarding the new locomotive, considered a major step toward reducing California's carbon footprint.

It is one of the 15 F59PHI model locomotives owned by Caltrans and operated by Amtrak that is now installed with a 710ECO Repower upgrade package. The package is said to consist of the latest microprocessor-controlled locomotive engine technology for lower emissions, increased fuel economy and predictable maintenance costs.

The F59PHI models were initially built by Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. in October 2001 to meet Tier 0 Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards, the minimum EPA requirement for fuel emissions from passenger locomotives.

James Goldstene, executive officer of the California Air Resources Board, explained that in other words, the newly-installed technology in the F59PHI model makes the engine run cooler and uses fuel more efficiently, allowing the locomotive to advance from Tier 0 to Tier 2 EPA emission standards, resulting in a 50 percent reduction of operating emissions.

Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson said that the development is "an illustration of our willingness to work with anyone and everyone to clean up the air for Sacramentans." He added that climate change and global warming is an issue that must be addressed at the local level by communities, and that the newly-introduced technology makes riding the train a "smarter and better" decision than ever before.

Following the statements, the representatives of Caltrans, the EPA and other organizations descended into the tunnel beneath the Sacramento Valley rail tracks, resurfacing to stop and admire the "green locomotive."

The retrofitted model has already begun operating on the intercity passenger rail service Capitol Corridor between Sacramento and the Bay Area as of three weeks ago.

The Capitol Corridor serves the Sierra Foothills in addition to Sacramento and the Bay area, and it is operated by the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority in partnership with Caltrans and Amtrak.

Along with Amtrak California’s Pacific Surfliner and San Joaquin intercity rail line, Capitol Corridor is the third busiest rail line in the nation with a ridership of 1.7 million.

Capitol Corridor alone is responsible for eliminating 559 million miles worth of highway travel, said Eugene Skoropowski, Capitol Corridor managing director.

Caltrans is working to convert the remaining 14 Amtrak-operated locomotives to this upgraded model — which is the cleanest diesel electric passenger locomotive in the country — as quickly as possible, stated Caltrans Division of Rail chief Bill Bronte. So far there is available stimulus funding for seven of the 14, he said.

Money for the project came from the Carl Moyer Program, a partnership between the California Air Resources Board and local air boards in the state that provides grants for projects reducing pollutants from heavy-duty engines. Retrofitting the F59PHI involved both the Sacramento Metropolitan and Bay Area Air Quality Management districts.

Kevin Bahline of EMD said that the company is in the process of launching the eco-friendly technology globally.

See also: Eco train engine unveiled

Photo Credit: Images 1, 2, 4 & 5 by Ed Fogle; images 3 & 6 by Kati Garner.

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More funding for improvements at intermodal facility

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