FRA's Office of Safety is assisting the City of Chicago (Chicago), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, Wisconsin Souther Railroad, and the Belt Railway of Chicago in evaluating the benefits of installing locomotive idling reduction technologies on yard locomotives. EPA, Chicago, and the railroads are cooperating in the installation of a stand-alone, diesel driven heating system onboard seven locomotives which will reduce idling of the main locomotive engine. The installations are expected to reduction air pollution and noise emissions and result in energy savings. FRA's role is to measure the reduction noise emitted by the equipped locomotives.

The EPA recently announced a financial assistance program for nonprofit organizations involved in transportation air quality issues. This program seeks proposals that advance the use of idle reduction technologies for railroad locomotives and trucks. Additional information may be obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency's website.

The Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative, administered by the EPA, provides assistance and incentives to States, local communities, and the private sector for the assessment, clean-up, and economic reuse of these sites. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or underused commercial, industrial, and institutional properties where redevelopment and reuse are complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. Across the nation, individual railroads own significant tracts of property in cities, towns and rural areas which in recent years have become surplus to the needs of the rail transportation industry and are available for redevelopment and reuse. Information about EPA's initiative may be found at http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf .