Kansas City-based Orange EV has announced that Rail Management Services (RMS) has placed a follow-up order for nine additional T-Series electric terminal trucks. RMS, an intermodal lift-on/lift-off contractor with a hostling fleet of over 700 trucks, purchased its first Orange electric truck in July 2016 for use at a railyard in Chicago.

“We put the Orange EV truck in Chicago at one of our toughest ramps,” said RMS VP Ed Morgenthaler. “It’s one of the larger facilities in the country and has been active for decades, making the terrain harsh on hostlers. The Chicago winters also play an important role in it being a difficult location. Frankly, I was surprised. I didn’t expect the truck to be as reliable as it is.”

The new RMS order is for nine Extended Duty (160 kWh) trucks, in three different configurations: new, on-road (DOT compliant), with standard onboard charging; re-manufactured (aka re-powered), off-road, with offboard fast charging; and re-manufactured, off-road, with standard onboard charging. Five of the trucks will be deployed at the same Chicago railyard, and four will be used at rail sites in New York.

“Although we had hiccups at first, the Orange EV guys got right on it and quickly rectified the situation,” Morgenthaler continued. “The New York sites are also difficult environments with lots of snow, ice, and rough ramps but after the Chicago pilot, I feel confident that the trucks will be very reliable.”

“RMS has done an incredibly thorough job of evaluating and understanding our technology – why and how to use it – while making us better in the process” said Mike Saxton, Orange EV Chief Commercial Officer. “Our goal with RMS and all customers is to ensure that Orange EV trucks deliver the promised value in a complete electric truck solution that does the job while making economic sense. It’s gratifying that 75% of our fleets have re-ordered within six months of receiving their first Orange EV truck.”

Source: Orange EV