Amtrak is conducting the first test of a biodiesel train that runs on beef byproducts.
The daily Heartland Flyer, traveling between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas, will use B20 biodiesel fuel. According to Amtrak, the fuel, which mixes 80 percent diesel with 20 percent biofuel, cuts both hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions by 10 percent, and reduces particulates by 15 percent and sulphates by 20 percent compared with standard diesel fuels.
The biodiesel, which was refined from beef byproducts, will run as a 12-month experiment, during which Amtrak will collect data on emissions and on the impact of the fuel on mechanical parts.
Amtrak is conducting this experiment on a $274,000 grant from the Federal Railroad Administration.
