Companies developing LNG locomotive

MONTREAL: A group of Canadian companies is working to develop a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) engine technology for locomotives.

Gaz Métro Transportation Solutions, Westport Innovations and CN are partnering on the project, which Gaz Métro said is a Canadian first. The venture, which aims to demonstrate the technical, economic and environmental viability of the technology, will receive $2.3-million in funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, an arm’s-length, not-for-profit federal corporation.

The consortium will develop a new LNG system for locomotives, said Gaz Métro Transportation Solutions. The initial stages of the project will involve designing and testing an LNG system for powering a locomotive. Gaz Métro Transportation Solutions will provide its LNG expertise during the tests and will be responsible for the fuel supply logistics.

“This demonstration project is important for developing the natural gas market a cleaner and less expensive fuel,” said the company’s general manager, Jean-Pierre Noël. “We salute the initiative of our partners, which will ultimately lead to locomotives running on LNG.”

The consortium expects an LNG-powered locomotive prototype to be in operation in 2013.