California’s move to ban non-electric trains sparks backlash: “Unworkable”

California’s plan to ban carbon-producing trains from operating in the state beginning in 2035 has come under fire from critics, with a major rail industry body claiming it would be “devastating” to “the critical efficient functioning of the national freight rail network.”

In April 2023, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted an In-Use Locomotive Regulation that would require all trains operating in the state to be zero emission by 2035, while diesel locomotives build more than 23 years ago would be banned starting in 2030, in a bid to combat climate change. In order to take effect, the new rules must also be approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has yet to take place.

The past few years have seen an explosion in the electric vehicle industry as governments and manufacturers across the world attempt to contain the impact of climate change. This has also turned attention to rail transport in the U.S., the vast majority of which is diesel-powered, though an all-electric high-speed railway connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco is under construction.

In its submission to the EPA the CARB claims the proposed Locomotive Regulation would “prevent approximately 3,200 premature deaths, 1,100 hospital admissions and 1,500 emergency room visits in California” if it takes effect. The CARB also claimed there are 21 areas in California that currently fail to meet federal air-quality standards, which it said the new rules would help to address and said this disproportionately impacts citizens who “live in low-income and disadvantaged communities.”

However, a number of rail industry bodies, companies and politicians have submitted evidence to the EPA urging it to reject the CARB’s plan.

The American Association of Railroads, a trade association for the North American freight industry, said: “The railroad industry is invested in reducing emissions from locomotives as quickly as realistically possible, while protecting the critical efficient functioning of the national freight rail network.

“CARB’s In-Use Locomotive regulation…will be devastating to the latter and will in fact set back progress toward the former.”

The Rail Customer Coalition, which represents a range of companies involved in the rail industry, warned the plan would “impose significant financial burdens on railroads” which it said “may be untenable for some short line railways.”

Consequently, the proposal “could create additional supply chain disruptions and negatively impact large segments of the economy, including manufacturers, farmers, and energy producers.”

The CARB’s plan was also condemned in a joint letter from a range of farming groups that operate in the Golden State, including the Agricultural Council of California and the California League of Food Producers.

They said: “As agricultural stakeholders especially reliant on efficient and affordable rail transportation, we believe the regulation is unworkable and will negatively affect our ability to bring vital California goods to market.”

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, one of the largest train manufacturers in the world, noted locomotives usually have a lifespan of at least 30 years, meaning the CARB proposal would force operating companies to retire perfectly serviceable trains.

In an article titled California May Break the Freight-Rail Network, the Bloomberg editorial board was also critical of the plan, noting that “the mandatory new technology doesn’t exist” with no zero emission locomotives currently past “the prototype phase.”

They also said that “even if an operative one appeared tomorrow, getting such trains on the rails would require huge new investment — not least in electrical-distribution infrastructure, across every type of topography — that is largely outside the railroads’ control.”

Newsweek contacted the California Air Resources Board for comment by email on Wednesday outside of normal business hours.