Siemens Mobility’s Locomotive Success is Good News for Cummins’ QSK95 Engine System and the Environment

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COLUMBUS, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 2018 was a great year for Siemens Mobility’s popular Charger locomotives, which means Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) employees will be keeping busy over the next few years. That’s because the locomotives will continue to use Cummins’ QSK95 Tier 4 engine systems to help deliver clean, efficient power for passenger trains.

As a fitting end to an already strong year of wins for the Charger, Amtrak announced Dec. 21 that it would be purchasing 75 Charger locomotives for delivery starting in 2021. All in all, the value of Siemens Mobility contracts for the year involving the Charger including the Amtrak purchase exceeded $1.5 billion.

The contracts will more than double the number of Charger locomotives in revenue service, and include multi-year parts, service and support agreements in addition to buy options for future purchases. The most recent contract will result in the single largest North American rail engine system purchase with aftermarket agreements in Cummins’ history.

“Cummins is proud to be a part of this tremendous locomotive, which is not just demonstrating every day it can move people dependably and efficiently, but also delivering significant reductions in particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2),” said Regina Barringer, General Manager – Global Rail and Defense at Cummins.

“Siemens Mobility has built a tremendous product that is making a positive impact through all of North America and we’re glad to be part that,” she added.

PARTNERS FROM THE START

The QSK95 is the largest diesel engine Cummins manufactures, built at the company’s engine plant in Seymour, Indiana (U.S.A.). In addition to the rail market, the 16-cylinder engine, rated at between 4,000 and 4,400-horsepower, is operating in the marine and power generation markets and is available for other industrial applications.

The engine system has played a key role in the Charger’s success from the beginning, when Siemens first received a round of orders in 2014 for 81 locomotives by passenger rail systems in Washington, California, Oregon, Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana and Maryland. Currently, there are 70 of the locomotives in revenue operation. As of Jan. 8, they had traveled more than 5 million service miles.

The QSK95 engine system is a high-speed diesel engine using the latest in clean diesel technology. The engine will provide a huge environmental improvement over the medium-speed diesel engines it will be replacing – some dating back to the 1990s.

The Charger was the first high-speed passenger locomotive to enter service meeting the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 4 emission standards in North America. It is expected to achieve an approximate 10 percent improvement in CO2, a nearly 90 percent improvement in NOx and a more than 95 percent improvement in PM compared to the locomotives it is replacing. Carbon dioxide is a key contributor to greenhouse gases (GHGs) while NOx and PM contribute to smog.

Advocates hope expanding train travel in North America will convince people to leave their cars at home more frequently, further reducing the GHGs that contribute to climate change while improving the environment.

POWERING ICONIC ROUTES

“These new locomotives will offer increased reliability, more hauling power, improved safety features and lower emissions,” said Amtrak President and CEO Richard Anderson in a joint news release with Siemens announcing the Amtrak purchase.

“Siemens Mobility is honored and grateful to Amtrak for this opportunity to assist Amtrak in their mission to provide safe, world-class, environmentally conscious technology for their long-distance services,” added Michael Cahill, President of Siemens Mobility’s North America rolling stock business, in the joint release.

For Amtrak’s most recent order, the Charger will be powering trains crisscrossing the United States on some of Amtrak’s most iconic routes including the Auto Train, California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Coast Starlight, Crescent, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle. The locomotive is expected to begin passenger service in the fall of 2021.

About Cummins Inc.

Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business segments that design, manufacture, distribute and service a broad portfolio of power solutions. The company’s products range from diesel and natural gas engines to hybrid and electric platforms, as well as related technologies, including battery systems, fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana (U.S.A.), since its founding in 1919, Cummins currently employs approximately 58,600 people committed to powering a more prosperous world. Cummins serves customers in about 190 countries and territories through a network of some 500 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 7,500 dealer locations. Cummins earned $1 billion on sales of $20.4 billion in 2017. Press releases can be found on the Web at www.cummins.com. Follow Cummins on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cummins and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/cumminsinc.

Jon Mills
Director – External Communications
(317) 658-4540
jon.mills@cummins.com

Source: Cummins Inc.

Released January 25, 2019