You’ve probably never given it much thought, but just exactly how do railroads keep safety equipment like crossing signals and gates operating during sustained power outages—such as those triggered by hurricanes or tornadoes?
The Union Pacific (UP), one of the nation’s largest rail carriers, recently shed some light on the matter, explaining that it keeps backup power generators at hand for deployment at a moment’s notice. Historically, these generators have been gasoline-powered, but that’s starting to change. Union Pacific says that last year, it began testing units powered by hydrogen-powered fuel cells as an alternative.
The switch to hydrogen fuel cells could go a long way toward reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad said. The gasoline-powered generators typically used by UP release approximately 325 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) every 24 hours, but hydrogen fuel-cell generators release only water vapor, emitting no CO2 at all.
Another benefit is that hydrogen fuel cells increase the generators’ potential run time between fueling events by 12 days—a 2,400% increase over gasoline models. That’s particularly important when power is knocked out for prolonged periods.
UP installed its first seven hydrogen fuel-cell generators in February 2023 and has since installed 60 more on routes where hurricanes are common. The move will potentially remove up to 150,000 pounds of CO2 emissions from the company’s network each year, UP says, helping the rail reach its goal of reducing GHG emissions 26% by 2030.
