Zero-Emissions Raiyard System
Besides port-related container railyards, other railyards used for staging trains that move various goods (bulk, breakbulk and domestic intermodal containers) emit tons of DPM per year into the air. According to the California Air Resource Board (CARB), in 2005 California railyards emitted, collectively, over 160 tons of diesel particulate matter (DPM).
Because inland railyards emit as much or in some cases more pollution than on-dock railyards, and since many are located much closer to residential communities, it is just as important for railyard operators and railroads to consider using MagRail as a zero emissions railyard system when staging their trains or risk being sued by community environmental groups, such as what happened in the fall of 2011 when the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) sued BNSF and UP railroads on behalf of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (members in East Los Angeles and West Long Beach) and the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (San Bernardino/Mira Loma).
NRDC is also investigating other railyards across the U.S. and will be filing similar lawsuits if those railyards do not find ways to mitigate their air emissions pollution.