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Technical

Highlights

 Printed on Recycled Paper

United States

Environmental Protection

Agency

Air and Radiation EPA420-F-99-037

September 1999

Office of Mobile Sources

Applicability of Locomotive

Emission Standards

In 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated

final emission standards for oxides of nitrogen (NOx), hydrocarbons

(HC), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM) and smoke for

newly manufactured and remanufactured locomotives and locomotive

engines. The requirements for compliance with these emission

standards are described in 40 CFR Part 92. This fact sheet provides an

overview of the applicability of these regulations. You should consult the

regulations contained in 40 CFR Part 92 for a complete description of

the applicability.

General Applicability

In general, the provisions of 40 CFR Part 92 apply to manufacturers,

remanufacturers, owners and operators of:

• Locomotives and locomotive engines manufactured on or after

January 1, 2000; and

• Locomotives and locomotive engines manufactured on or after

January 1, 1973 and remanufactured on or after January 1, 2000.

However, locomotives that were originally manufactured between January 1, 1973, and December 31, 1989, do not need to be brought into

compliance until they are remanufactured on or after January 1, 2002.
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Also, locomotives that were originally manufactured between January 1,

1990, and December 31, 1999, may not need to be brought into compliance when remanufactured before January 1, 2002, depending upon the

availability of a certified remanufacturing system. The phase-in of these

requirements is shown in more detail in the table below. Owners may

also opt to have their older (i.e., pre-1973) locomotives covered by these

regulations by upgrading them into a certified configuration. Such

locomotives would then be subject to these regulations for the remainder

of their service lives, and thus, would be subject to these emission

standards at each subsequent remanufacture.

There are three sets (or tiers) of emission standards. The Tier 0 standards

apply only to locomotives originally manufactured before 2002. The Tier

1 standards apply to locomotives manufactured in 2002-2004, and the

Tier 2 standards apply to locomotives manufactured in 2005 and later.

The applicability of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 standards is based on the date

of manufacture of the locomotive, rather than the engine. Thus, a newly

manufactured engine in 2005 that is used to repower a 1990 model year

locomotive would be subject to the Tier 0 emission standards, which are

also applicable to all other 1990 model year locomotives.

Phase-in of Compliance Requirements

By Locomotive Type and Year of Manufacture

* Availability criteria not applicable to this category.

** See §92.12(a)(3) for details about a one-year exemption that is available for new

models originally manufactured in 2001. This exemption requires that existing models

comply with the Tier 0 standards in 2000.

Calendar Years Locomotive

Type

Year of Original

Manufacture

Certified System

Available?

Compliance

Required?

2000

F 9 reight 1 * 973-198 N o A N

F 9 reight 1 s 990-199 Y s e Ye

F 9 reight 1 o 990-199 N o N

F 0 reight 2 * 00 N * A No*

P 0 assenger 1 * 973-200 N o A N

2001

F 9 reight 1 * 973-198 N o A N

F 3 reight 1 s 990-199 Y s e Ye

F 3 reight 1 o 990-199 N o N

F 1 reight 1 * 994-200 N * A Yes*

P 1 assenger 1 * 973-200 N o A N

2002-2006

F 6 reight 1 * 973-200 N s A Ye

P 1 assenger 1 * 973-200 N o A N

P 6 assenger 2 * 002-200 N s A Ye

2007

F 7 reight 1 * 973-200 N s A Ye

P 7 assenger 1 * 973-200 N s A Ye
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Exclusions and Exemptions

There are certain types of locomotives that are excluded from these

regulations. First, all locomotives powered solely by an external source

of electricity, and all historic steam-powered locomotives are excluded

from these regulations. These locomotives are also not currently regulated elsewhere by EPA. The regulations do not apply to existing locomotives owned by railroads that are classified as small businesses, as

defined below, because these locomotives are not considered to be new

locomotives when remanufactured.

EPA is also excluding from these requirements some smaller engines

that are more typically used in other nonroad equipment. Engines used

in locomotive-type vehicles that are powered by less than 750 kilowatts

(kW) (1006 horsepower) total power and engines that are used in selfpropelled railcars are excluded from these regulations. Such vehicles are

not considered to be locomotives under the definitions of 40 CFR Part

92. For example, a locomotive-type vehicle propelled by a single 700

kW engine (or two 350 kW engines) would not be subject to these

regulations, while a locomotive-type vehicle propelled by a single 800

kW engine (or two 400 kW engines) would be subject to these regulations. Similarly, engines used in self-propelled passenger railcars are

excluded from these regulations. Such railcars are distinguished from

locomotives by the fact that they are designed specifically to carry

passengers in the propulsion vehicle. Locomotive engines which provide

only hotel (or head-end) power are also excluded from these regulations.

Diesel engines used in excluded locomotive-type vehicles, used in

railcars, or which provide only hotel power are subject to the requirements of 40 CFR Part 89.

EPA has created special provisions for regulating passenger locomotives,

primarily because of the low production volumes. Newly manufactured

passenger locomotives will not be required to comply with the emission

standards until January 1, 2002. Remanufactured passenger locomotives

(other than those originally manufactured on or after January 1, 2002)

will not be required to comply with the emission standards until

remanufactured on or after January 1, 2007.

Subparts I and J of 40 CFR Part 92 provide for other temporary and

permanent exemptions from these regulations.
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Definition of Small Railroads

Line-haul railroads with fewer than 1500 employees and switch railroads

with fewer than 500 employees are classified as small railroads. For

railroads owned by parent companies, the number of employees used to

determine small business status is the combined number of employees of

the railroad and any parent companies.

For More Information

Additional documents on locomotive exhaust emission standards are

available electronically from the EPA Internet server at:

http://www.epa.gov/oms/locomotv.htm

For further information on compliance with these regulations, please

contact the locomotive certification contact at:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Mobile Sources (6403J)

401 M Street SW

Washington, DC 20460