A BNSF first: ECP-equipped coal train in revenue service

摘要

A second Class I is operating coal trains equipped with electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes in revenue service. Last month, BNSF Railway Co.'s first ECP-equipped revenue-service coal train departed the Powder River Basin for Southern Co.'s Birmingham, Ala., power plant. Last year, BNSF and Norfolk Southern Railway received Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) waivers to begin installing and demonstrating ECP brakes, which send out electronic signals to simultaneously apply and release brakes throughout a train. Conventional brake systems apply each car's brakes individually as air pressure moves in a series from car to car.