1. Home
  2. Stay informed
  3. News

NWSA approves funding to accommodate six electric yard trucks

August 5, 2021

The managing members of the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) have approved $560,000 towards the infrastructure for cleaner running electric yard trucks in the Tacoma Harbor.

Rail Management Services (RMS), the company specializing in intermodal rail yard operations, will purchase the six trucks and charging stations. NWSA will install the electrical infrastructure for recharging the new cargo handling equipment.

By using these zero-emission terminal tractors to move containers to and from stacks and rail cars, RMS will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 260 tons (almost 236 tonnes) annually. The electric yard trucks also cost less to operate than traditional diesel trucks and require less maintenance with their fewer moving parts.

The electric tractors will be the first of their kind in the NWSA gateway at the Port of Tacoma and build on the more ambitious Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy adopted by the NWSA along with the ports of Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, earlier this year.

In 2020, NWSA was awarded a $780,000 DERA grant and accepted $130,000 in Tacoma Power’s Cargo/Material Handler Equipment incentive funding to integrate six electric terminal tractors in Tacoma’s South Intermodal Yard.