RAILWAY AGE, MAY 2026 ISSUE: BE and H2 locomotive developments remain experimental. With the current White House Administration prioritizing traditional energy sources such as coal and crude oil, hybrid technologies and locomotives powered by alternative power sources may not be in the limelight in the U.S. right now. Rather, the U.S. rail industry appears for now to be taking a wait-and-see approach to a more widespread adoption of battery-electric (BE) and hydrogen-powered locomotives, industry sources told Railway Age.
“The past year or so has seen a strong interest shift away from ‘carbon reduction’ and ‘carbon-free’ technology interest and discussion. The change in the recent past is the collapse of discussion and interest by all the other potential users of over-the-road locomotives,” David Scott, President and CEO of HGmotive, told Railway Age. “It appears the whole market is taking a wait-and-see approach to the need/use of zero-carbon solutions, of which hydrogen is by far the most advanced.”
Indeed, companies must still press on to develop this technology to prepare for the day when widespread deployment appears promising.
“Diesel is expected to remain a primary energy source for the North American rail industry for many years, with alternative energy solutions adopted gradually as they mature,” said Wabtec spokesman Tim Bader. “Emerging technologies, such as battery-electric locomotives and hydrogen-powered locomotives, are still largely in their early stages of development and are being evaluated through pilot and trial applications across railroad operations. Several critical elements must align before large-scale adoption of alternative energy solutions can occur, including technological maturity, supporting infrastructure, and an enabling regulatory environment. Progress across these areas must advance in parallel to support successful market deployment in the future.”
The Non-Diesel Market
Companies that specialize in building locomotives are still moving forward with initiatives to produce an alternatively powered freight locomotive with enough power to haul large trains over long distances.
“Wabtec continues to advance alternative energy solutions for the rail industry, with research and development programs,” Bader said. “As the company delivered its first FLXdrive battery-electric locomotives this year, as well as hybrid battery-diesel work locomotives, Wabtec’s engineering team is also evaluating alternative fuel use in the company’s internal combustion engine platforms.”
While the ability to operate in long-distance hauls may be an ultimate goal for battery-electric and hydrogen powered locomotives, an intermediate market for these kinds of locomotives may be rail yards and shorter hauls. “Activity in the yard and local market continues to be where the tech challenge and non-attainment challenges are in better alignment. This is a future segment for tenders,” Scott said.
Scott described local non-attainment zones as those that favor low- or zero-carbon emissions. “The North American market for hydrogen/battery freight locomotives does exist where the regulation environment favors some payback,” he said. Concentrating efforts to integrate these kinds of locomotives into local non-attainment zones is “a very fruitful application because there are many non-attainment zones across Class I, II and III North American railroads.” In contrast to the local market, “there is virtually zero external demand now for over-the-road and low/zero-carbon locomotives. There is no cohesive push in the regulative environment to provide impetus from that angle toward hydrogen.”
However, beyond the U.S., there might be interest in these kinds of locomotives. Great Britain and some former Soviet Union states like Kazakhstan are two areas where Scott sees interest in over-the-road hydrogen locomotives. Scott’s company develops locomotive tenders that support hydrogen locomotives.
Wabtec sees potential markets in Australia, North America and South America, Bader said.
CPKC is also already a “strong leader” in the two phases of hydrogen and battery locomotives: yard/local use and over-the-road use, according to Scott. “Their program is the leader by leaps and bounds.”
“Over time, customer adoption will be shaped by factors such as fleet composition, operating profiles, route characteristics and energy requirements,” Bader said. “As customer needs continue to vary, Wabtec is leveraging a flexible portfolio of innovative solutions to support both its extensive installed base and new assets enabling railroads to achieve their operational, sustainability, and performance goals.”
What’s more, just because the market willpower isn’t there in the U.S. to hasten the deployment of alternative-powered locomotives doesn’t mean that developments in that space aren’t happening. In addition to what’s happening at HGmotive and Wabtec, other companies recently announced their developments in the space:
- French company Alstom recently announced that it acquired Cummins’ hydrogen fuel cell activities dedicated to rail, including the engineering, product and support capabilities used in the company’s hydrogen train fleets.
- In November 2025, Houston, Tex.-based HyOrc Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cincinnati, Ohio-based Zeltech (Zero-Emission Locomotive Technologies LLC) to jointly develop alternative fuel-powered locomotives for freight rail use in the U.S.
- Progress Rail delivered two battery-electric locomotives in November 2025 to Australian mining company Fortescue.
- In September 2025, Class II Sierra Northern Railway put into service the first of four HFC (hydrogen fuel cell)-powered, ZE (zero-emission) four-axle switcher locomotives.
- In June 2025, CN said nearly 10% of its 2024 locomotive fleet used renewable fuels. In May 2025, the railway announced that its first medium-horsepower hybrid locomotive entered service. Built by KLW (Knoxville Locomotive Works), Q19-2.4GH No. 7100 first operated in Western Canada in March 2025.
- In May 2025, Railway Age reported that CSX transitioned more diesel-electric locomotives to hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) power at its Huntington Locomotive Shop in West Virginia, while Union Pacific and locomotive control systems supplier ZTR would conduct yard tests with their first jointly built hybrid battery-electric locomotive, following proof-of concept work at the railroad’s Jenks Locomotive Shop in North Little Rock, Ark.
As the industry waits for the opportunity for alternative-powered locomotives to gain more traction, there is a separate but concurrent trend to incorporate the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. If and how these tools are integrated into the development of battery-electric and hydrogen-powered locomotives remains to be seen.
“AI is another emerging technology with the potential to transform railroad operations in the future by enabling automation, optimizing energy management, and improving operational efficiency and services,” Bader said.
Scott, meanwhile, does not see AI as being significant in the build or operation of tenders. “I have seen a little and would expect more addition of AI into the structural and software design functions as provided by the design system houses,” Scott said. Human safety “is at stake in structural design as well as operating systems, so the first step is or will be in optimization at the design phase,” while humans will make the final decision, he said. “This will affect the time required to do redesign and modifications, as operational experience reveals the need for correction.”
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