Wabtec FLXDrive electric locomotives are approaching an extensive practical test in the mining sector after operating for nearly a year on a dedicated line at BHP’s Jimblebar iron ore mine in Australia. Each locomotive has an output of 4,400 horsepower and relies entirely on an electric battery instead of a diesel engine typically used to generate the power required by traction motors.
The two locomotives, Australia’s first two new electric locomotives designed specifically for this purpose, arrived in Port Hedland last November. Since then, they have entered testing on BHP tracks connecting its iron ore mines in Jimblebar with the company’s facilities in the Pilbara, a region known for harsh operating conditions and a high volume of ore haulage operations.
7-megawatt-hour battery
Each FLXDrive locomotive contains a 7-megawatt-hour battery pack that supplies power directly to high-torque electric motors. This design differs from conventional locomotives used to transport up to 35,000 tonnes of iron ore, as those locomotives generally rely on diesel engines that operate as electric generators for the traction motors.
The new locomotives use a regenerative braking system that recovers part of the energy during descents and then stores it in the battery. According to the description provided in the article, a loaded ore train can, on some downhill sections, generate enough energy to help propel the empty train uphill on its return to the loading point. However, the source does not provide independent figures for energy consumption or the fuel and emissions reductions resulting from actual operation.
A comparison trial between suppliers
The next step is not limited to adding Wabtec locomotives. During fiscal year 2026, BHP began operating two additional Wabtec FLXDrive locomotives in Port Hedland as part of a pilot program. Two locomotives from Progress Rail were also delivered to Perth during the same fiscal year, with plans to transfer them to Port Hedland for operation and testing in fiscal year 2027.
BHP expects supplier participation to enable heavy electric locomotive technologies to be tested side by side in the same operating environment. This comparison could help the company assess differences between the products and accelerate learning before making decisions related to large-scale railway applications in mining.
What changes in practice?
The importance of the trial lies not in launching a new product as such, but in testing whether batteries and regenerative braking can serve heavy mining trains operating on long and demanding routes. The model’s success depends on the nature of the terrain, loading and return cycles, the availability of the infrastructure required for charging, and the actual performance of the batteries during repeated operation.
Wabtec says the locomotives were designed to operate in the Pilbara environment and that combining batteries with regenerative braking is intended to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. However, the results published so far, as presented by the source, do not include detailed measurements that would make it possible to assess the amount of savings or how broadly the trial could be applied to other mining lines.