The U.S. Department of Energy recently completed a 1,600-mile round-trip journey from Colorado to Idaho to wrap up final testing on the Atlas railcar.
The new specialized railcar will be used to safely and securely transport the nation’s commercial spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
Atlas could be cleared for operational use before the end of the 2023.
Atlas is a 12-axle railcar designed specifically to transport large containers of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste and meets the highest safety standards set by the Association of American Railroads.
The final test simulated a full-scale shipment of spent nuclear fuel, carrying steel test weights instead of radioactive cargo.
The railcar was loaded to its maximum weight with a 480,000-pound test load designed to simulate the heaviest transport container certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The train departed from Pueblo, Colorado, on September 5 and completed a successful four-day round-trip journey to Scoville, Idaho, collecting valuable data along the way. Atlas was accompanied by a rail escort vehicle, two buffer railcars, and two Union Pacific Railroad locomotives. The entire trip logged more than 1,680 total miles.
The Office of Nuclear Energy works to advance nuclear energy science and technology to meet U.S. energy, environmental, and economic needs.
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