The city of Topeka helped the train industry take a step toward the future Monday. A partnership between the U.S. Department of Defense and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway helped create the world's first hydrogen fuel cell switch locomotive.
The locomotive was unveiled Monday morning at BNSF. It is powered by hydrogen which reduces harmful emissions and could help ease our nation's dependency on foreign oil. It can also be used like a portable generator and supply a large amount of power to disaster areas. All of these features help to stay ahead of the curve.
"If we don't start on these projects now we won't be ready for the surprises that might happen and so this is about preparation to be able to use other fuels in the future," said BNSF's Mark Stehly.
The locomotive is now heading to Pueblo, Colorado for six months and then to California for various types of testing. Currently these fuel cells aren't developed enough to provide as much power as a diesel locomotive, but the hope is after more development that will be a possibility.
