Environmental Solutions

Environmentally Focused Technology

For more than 30 years, ZTR has led the industry in environmental impact reductions with its Automatic Engine Shutdown/Start-up (AESS) system, SmartStart®. While SmartStart IIe has been a significant part of our environmental commitment to reduce locomotive idling, we offer a wide range of other products and initiatives to lower emissions and save fuel worldwide.

Our SmartStart IIe system delivers consistent fuel management and remote reporting of fuel and emissions reductions. The system also offers documented reduction verification through its Emissions Report. In addition, the compact design of SmartStart makes it easy to install on almost any locomotive, regardless of manufacturer, model, age, or usage. Extra features like the Extended Fuel Saver option pay for themselves in the additional fuel savings they offer. The Battery Saver option also reduces the excessive drain on the locomotive batteries when shut down and unattended for long periods.

ZTR’s focus on reducing fuel usage, increasing locomotive availability, implementing enhanced remote monitoring, and cutting emissions and waste extend beyond our SmartStart Locomotive AESS. ZTR has a long legacy of developing solutions that extend the life of aging locomotives up to 20 years or more, evident by expert engineering and software development that results in minimal customer investment but significant ROI.

That means our products and services can save you money and prepare your fleets for the future. Our approach includes flexible options for future upgrades, including remote monitoring and connectivity, tractive effort analysis studies, expert consulting and engineering, and fuel usage studies.

Maximizing the environmental benefits of existing technology.

The ZTR KickStart product is a game-changer for the rail industry's commitment to reducing environmental impact. As fuel prices rise, increased fuel consumption is a significant challenge. Reducing operating expenses is crucial for staying competitive. Legislative requirements and shareholder expectations demand lower emissions. KickStart is designed to meet these needs by reducing fuel usage and minimizing idle time. By maximizing the effectiveness of an AESS, including battery systems and manual shutdown policies, KickStart can save up to 5000-8000 gallons of fuel and reduce emissions by nine tonnes of CO2e per locomotive, depending on usage.

KickStart addresses the central issue of Dead-Won’t Starts, improving locomotive availability and minimizing disruptions and penalties for missed delivery targets. It also reduces the risk of accidents and eliminates field trips while reducing exposure to high-amp current. In addition, KickStart uses supercapacitor technology, providing several advantages over traditional batteries, including high power density, long lifespan, and fast charging and discharging. Overall, KickStart is an innovative solution that meaningfully improves the rail industry's environmental impact while addressing critical operational challenges.

Sustainability through Control Systems

Our BOA and NEXSYS products profoundly contribute to environmental remediation by improving the performance, reliability, and availability of existing locomotive fleets at a fraction of the cost of buying new locomotives. These solutions are designed to reduce emissions, increase traction, enhance performance, and extend fleet life for 15-20 years, resulting in fewer locomotives being decommissioned and fewer resources being used to produce new locomotives. What’s more, our products have onboard diagnostic displays with health information and GPS location tracking, advanced diagnostics, reporting, and remote communication. This allows for efficient performance management and troubleshooting, reducing maintenance needs and minimizing environmental impact. Using BOA and NEXSYS products helps promote sustainability and responsible resource management within the railway industry.

Looking to the Future

Renewing a fleet of locomotives with our products and services can significantly improve efficiency and reliability, locomotive tractive effort, information management, fuel conservation, starting reliability, and locomotive control systems. It’s important to ZTR to keep innovating and developing solutions that supplement our legacy environmental products so we can continue to offer ways to reduce emissions, save fuel, and extend the life of aging locomotives.

Our environmental commitment is clearly evident in our products and initiatives. We offer customers flexible options for future upgrades that can prepare their fleets for the future while reducing the environmental impact of locomotive idling. We are working on today's problems with tomorrow's technology, ensuring a brighter, more environmentally friendly future for everyone.