How Smarter Cranking Saves More Than Just Starts
Locomotive maintenance is one of the most resource-intensive aspects of rail operations, costing operators both time and money. But what if a single technology could not only improve engine starting reliability, especially in harsh winter conditions, but also reduce wear on batteries, lower emergency maintenance calls, and extend the life of critical starting components?
That’s exactly what KickStart, ZTR’s proven supercapacitor-based starting assist solutions, deliver.
In this blog, we explore how KickStart helps railroads cut down on maintenance costs while improving reliability across their fleets.
The Problem: Engine Cranking Stress and Battery Burnout
- Deep voltage drops during cranking damage batteries and increase the chance of failed starts.
- Repeated failed starts lead to unscheduled service calls, downtime, and added labor.
- Batteries wear faster under these high-load conditions, resulting in frequent and costly replacements.
- Inadequate battery charging – most locomotives offer generic battery charging, not tailored to the specific charging profile needs of differing battery types
- Battery drain – manual engine shutdown but the battery is not disconnected and continues to drain to levels that permanently damage the batteries and lead to failed engine starts
- Maintenance teams are left reacting instead of preventing, driving up costs and reducing operational efficiency.
Cold weather, aging equipment, and frequent engine starts create a perfect outbreak for battery-related maintenance headaches:
The KickStart Advantage: Reducing the Burden on Your Batteries
KickStart works by delivering a high-energy release to the starting system during cranking, supplementing the battery load with instant power from onboard supercapacitors. Here’s how that leads to lower maintenance costs:
1. Extended Battery Life
Batteries no longer shoulder the full burden of starting, particularly in extreme cold, are properly charged and reduce excessive drain. This all translates into:
- Longer intervals between replacements
- Better voltage stability (what do we mean by this?)
- Fewer battery-related service calls
2. Fewer Dead-Won’t-Start (DWS) Incidents
KickStart’s supercapacitors provide the necessary peak current (torque) required to get the engine turning, and reduces voltage drop during cranking, a critical improvement in preventing DWS events. That means:
- More reliable cold engine starts
- Less reliance on jumper carts or battery swaps
- Lower reactive maintenance burden
- Increase in locomotive service time and availability (less shop service time)
Winter Readiness = Cost Savings
Winter is when locomotives suffer the most. KickStart helps:
- Reduce cold-weather failures
- Minimize engine idle time, especially when paired with an AESS like SmartStart. Since the batteries are less taxed during the engine start sequence, they recharge faster which means the AESS doesn’t have to wait as long for the batteries to start. This means it can shutdown the engine sooner, and also reduce the restarts required for the batteries.
- Maintain performance even when batteries are partially depleted
With improved cold-start reliability, locomotives can be shut down more confidently between runs, saving fuel and reducing the mechanical impact of unnecessary idling.
The Maintenance ROI
Maintenance savings with KickStart can be felt in multiple areas:
| Area | Maintenance Impact |
| Battery Systems | Fewer replacements and jump starts |
| Emergency Calls | Reduced unscheduled service |
| Idle Management | Reduced engine hours = less fuel consumption and emissions |
| Seasonal Spikes | Improved winter uptime lowers seasonal maintenance overload |
Real-World Results
ZTR customers across North America have reported:
- The voltage drop during engine cranking deceased by over 10 V in cranking voltage observed with KickStart BSM, ensuring consistent starts and protecting onboard electronics.
- Elimination of cold-weather no-start incidents (with KickStart BSM)
- Simplified retrofit across diverse locomotive types
- Fuel savings when combined with an AESS
Combined, these improvements translate into tangible reductions in service labor, parts costs, and equipment downtime.
Maintenance: From Reactive to Predictive
As ZTR continues to evolve KickStart through the KickStart Starting Assist (SA) and KickStart Battery & Starting Manager (BSM), railroads can expect:
- Remote monitoring
- Health diagnostics
- Start failure prevention alerts
- Savings tracking and operational recommendations
All available through the ZTR Vision platform, allowing you to manage maintenance proactively, not reactively.
KickStart is more than a cold-weather crutch. It’s a strategic tool for reducing maintenance costs, extending the life of batteries and starter systems, saving fuel, and keeping your locomotives ready when it matters most.
Whether you’re operating through harsh winters or just looking to cut costs and improve uptime, KickStart pays for itself in every start.
