Railroad industry sues California over zero-emissions rule for locomotives

“While the urgency to act is real and unquestionable, CARB uses unreasonable, flawed assumptions to support a rule that will not result in emissions reductions,” says the Association of American Railroads.

By Thomas Black | Bloomberg

Rail industry trade groups filed a lawsuit against a California state agency for rules that call for zero-emissions locomotives to replace existing equipment — a technology the industry says isn’t ready.

The rule by the California Air Resources Board would force rail companies to retire more than 25,000 locomotives early, according to the Association of American Railroads and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, the two groups that brought the lawsuit.

Although the railroads are experimenting with locomotives powered by batteries and fuel cells, the technology hasn’t been tested enough and it’s not yet available for purchase, the rail groups said in a statement. Railroads have worked with the agency, known as CARB, on initiatives to reduce emissions, said Ian Jefferies, president of the AAR.

“While the urgency to act is real and unquestionable, CARB uses unreasonable, flawed assumptions to support a rule that will not result in emissions reductions,” Jefferies said in an emailed statement.

California’s strategy to fight climate change by weaning the state off fossil fuels has produced some of the world’s strictest environmental rules in recent years. Since 2020, the state has approved regulations that would ban the sale of new gas-powered cars, lawn equipment and trucks by the middle of the next decade.

Those rules are designed to slowly phase out gas- and diesel-powered products by banning the sale of most new combustible engines. Due to the crucial role California ports hold and the way railroads pass off trains to each other, the state’s mandate would have huge effects nationwide.

The lawsuit asks a judge to declare the California Air Resources Board does not have the authority to issue these rules. The trade groups say that only the federal government can regulate railroads because it is an interconnected industry that crosses state lines. They note that more than 500 companies all share the 180,000 miles of track across 49 states, Canada and Mexico.

CARB spokesperson Lys Mendez said Friday the board had not yet seen the lawsuit and would not comment on it.

Another argument from opponents of the California rule is that transporting goods through railways contributes fewer planet-warming emissions than if those goods were trucked. The transportation sector contributed the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, but rail only made up 2% of those emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Adrian Martinez, a lawyer with environmental nonprofit Earthjustice, called the fate of the California rule “a matter of life and death.”

“There’s generally been a reckless disregard from the rail industry for saving lives from air pollution, and this is just another feather in their cap in their pursuit of continuing to burn really dirty diesel fuel,” Martinez said of the lawsuit.

BNSF Railway Co., a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and Union Pacific Corp. are the two main railroads that serve the West Coast.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.