Electrifying times at Norfolk Southern

Even though better use of regenerative braking energy offers the potential to cut fuel costs and reduce diesel emissions, the limitations of onboard energy storage is direction the attention of Norfolk Southern to innovations such as discontinuous electrification. Their latest locomotive is powered solely by batteries, with a view to energy saving - energy capture and resuse. They are looking to replace the lead-acid batteries with a more efficient design. The ultimate goal is recovering braking energy from high-power conventional diesel locomotives. The use of ultracapacitators are also being examined as an alternative, as well as diesel hybrid locomotives.