SoCal short-haul rail line completes fleet modernization

SoCal short-haul rail line completes fleet modernization Pacific Harbor Line Inc., a short-haul and switching rail line operating within the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, announced Thursday the completion of a fleet modernization program making it the nation's first all low-emission railroad.
PHL, an affiliate of Anacostia & Pacific Co. Inc., said it has upgraded all 22 of its locomotives to meet or exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 'Tier 2' standards to reduce air pollutants.
   According to PHL President Andrew Fox, the low-emission engines consume less fuel and produce 70 percent less diesel particulate matter and 46 percent less oxides of nitrogen. The rail line stopped operating its last non-Tier 2 locomotives in May.
   The $30 million modernization project, which began in May 2007, was funded by PHL, the neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the state's Carl Moyer Program, which is administered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. ' Keith Higginbotham