Project Information

Bid Title

Battery Electric Locomotives Amendment 1

Issuing Agency

South Coast Air Quality Management District

Location

California

Published Date

Sep 18, 2025

Closing Date

Dec 16, 2025

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Ref. #

P2025-15

Original Source

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Project Description

Bid Number	Title	Bidder's Conference	Closing Date	Contact Person	Document
P2025-15	Battery Electric Locomotives South Coast AQMD Staff Members: investclean-locomotive@aqmd.gov DUE DATE EXTENDED TO DECEMBER 16, 2025, AT 12:00 PM	None	12/16/2025 12:00 PM	TAO TAO (909) 396-2000	P2025-15 P2025-15 Amendment 1

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Request for Proposals #2025-15

Battery Electric Locomotives

Open: June 6, 2025

Submission Deadline: September 30, 2025, at 12 PM PST

Section 1 – Introduction

The Inflation Reduction Act (Public Law 117-169) created the U.S. EPA Climate Pollution Reduction

Grant (CPRG) program which provides $4.6 billion in grants. Note, the availability of CPRG Funding is

contingent upon the timely receipt of funds from the U.S. EPA.

In July 2024, U.S. EPA awarded CPRG funds to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South

Coast AQMD) to implement the Infrastructure, Vehicles, and Equipment Strategy for Climate, Equity,

Air Quality, and National Competitiveness (INVEST CLEAN) in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). The two MSAs include the

following four counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino. INVEST CLEAN targets

the limiting factors and challenges to the electrification transformation of the Southern California

goods movement corridor.

Under this Request for Proposals (RFP), the South Coast AQMD is soliciting proposals for Measure 4

of the INVEST CLEAN initiative, the Battery Electric (BE) Locomotive Program. This measure focuses

on deploying battery electric switcher locomotives to modernize freight rail operations in the two

MSAs mentioned above, which serve as the West Coast gateway to international commerce. Measure

4 provides funding for the development and operation of battery electric switcher locomotives, as

well as the installation of chargers and supporting infrastructure as needed to operate battery electric

locomotives.

South Coast AQMD places a high level of emphasis on deploying BE switcher locomotives that:

• Provide real, measurable, and verifiable emission reductions.

• Present a business case for the new BE switchers with a supporting infrastructure plan,

including a continuation plan that thoroughly explains how the BE switcher locomotive will

continue to operate.

• Operate in areas adjacent to or near residential areas, schools, public facilities, high-density

urban or suburban communities.

The following sections describe the eligibility requirements to participate in the INVEST CLEAN

program and guidelines for proposal preparation under this RFP.

Section 2 – RFP Overview & Eligibility Requirements

Measure 4 of the INVEST CLEAN program provides funding for the deployment of BE switcher

locomotives and the supporting infrastructure in the two MSA geographic areas. This measure

encourages the domestic production of locomotives and charging infrastructure.

2.1 Available Funding

The total incentive amount of CPRG Funding allocated for Measure 4 is $190.8 million. Should South

Coast AQMD receive proposals with total requests less than the amount allocated, or if proposals are

deemed non-meritorious, South Coast AQMD reserves the right to reduce the total funding available

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and reallocate funds to other INVEST CLEAN Measures and/or reopen another BE switcher locomotive

solicitation. South Coast AQMD also reserves the right not to fund any of the proposals received,

irrespective of the merits of the proposals submitted.

2.2 Geographical Funding Minimum

South Coast AQMD has not established a Geographical Funding Minimum for each county within the

two MSAs, but the funding intent is to allocate projects throughout the two MSAs, if feasible, following

the completion of proposal evaluation, scoring, and ranking.

2.3 Eligibility Requirements

For this RFP, the following eligibility requirements apply:

• Eligible Applicant:

o Locomotive manufacturers who are partnering with a rail operator to develop and

deploy switcher locomotives, and/or

o Owners and/or operators of switcher locomotives who are directly responsible for

the operation, maintenance, or procurement of such equipment

Partnerships between locomotive manufacturers and operators are required to ensure both

technical feasibility and operational practicality of proposed projects.

• Location:

o The project must be domiciled within the two MSA regions shown in the dotted areas

on the map on the following page in Figure 1, which include the following four

counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino.

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Figure 1: Area inside dotted line represents the two MSA qualified territories.

• Deployment of New BE switcher locomotives:

o The new equipment should be operated within the two MSAs. At a minimum, 425

MWh per year of usage for each BE locomotive will be required to ensure emission

reduction benefits are achieved, but if unforeseen circumstances prevent the

operators from meeting this requirement, documentation must be provided.

o To ensure a smooth operational transition, applicants should obtain training in best

operating practices and safety from the manufacturer before accepting the delivery

of the BE switcher locomotives.

o Applicants are encouraged to secure at least one dedicated expert approved by the

OEM to provide ground support to ensure safe and efficient operation of the BE

locomotives, charging, service, and routine maintenance.

• Displacement Options of Old Locomotive:

The old locomotive may be scrapped or displaced using the following two options. The

applicant must choose an option at the time of RFP submission. Each option has its

implications for project scoring and reporting requirements.

o Scrap the Old/Baseline Locomotive at the Time of BE Switcher Locomotive Delivery

(Preferred):

o Proposals that propose this approach could score higher, as it ensures

emission reductions (ER) and eliminates the need to track the old locomotive.

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The operator may scrap only the locomotive engine(s), but the chassis should

only be repowered to Tier 4 or cleaner.

o Delayed Scrapping and Parking the Old/Baseline Locomotive:

The applicant may request that the replaced locomotive be parked at the time of

delivery and scrapped after a successful preliminary deployment period ends (see

definition below). Applicants who choose this option must:

o Provide verification that the old locomotive will only be returned to service

when the BE switcher locomotive is non-operational and undergoing repair

that exceeds 15 business days.

o Track parked old/baseline locomotives and monitor their usage.

o Provide tracking data to the South Coast AQMD semi-annually.

o Agree with the project period extension if the preliminary deployment period

needs to be extended.

o Destruction of old locomotives must meet the requirements listed in Section

2.3 under Emission Reductions.

• Preliminary Deployment Period and Determination of a Successful Preliminary Deployment

Period:

o The Preliminary Deployment Period is when the old/baseline locomotive is parked

while the new BE switcher locomotive is operated within the two MSAs. The rail

operator will scrap the parked locomotive at the end of a successful preliminary

deployment period. At a minimum, 425 MWh per year of average usage over the 5-

year period for each BE locomotive will be required to ensure emission reduction

benefits are achieved. If unforeseen circumstances prevent the operators from

meeting this requirement, documentation must be provided.

o At the end of the preliminary deployment period, the operator will continue

operating the BE switcher locomotives if successful until the end of their useful life.

The successful preliminary deployment includes the BE unit’s ability to provide rail

operators with the day-to-day operational needs of the replaced equipment, with

supporting infrastructure sufficient to charge the equipment. The service or

maintenance of the BE equipment can be scheduled without extended periods of

downtime, and operators are fully trained to operate and charge the BE equipment

safely. However, if the applicant and the OEMs determine that the preliminary

deployment period is unsuccessful, a report detailing the deficiencies,

communication with the OEMs, and efforts to correct the issues must be provided.

EPA and South Coast AQMD will determine the actions to take.

• Emission Reductions:

o Emission reductions should be local, real, measurable, and verifiable.

o The baseline locomotive that will be removed from operation must be diesel-fueled.

Locomotives with high annual fuel usage provide the most carbon emission

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Commodity Codes

• NAICS 335911Storage Battery Manufacturing

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