Here Comes the Infinity Train – CleanTechnica

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After 3 years of anticipation, the long-awaited Gravity (or Infinity) locomotive has arrived in the Pilbara in Western Australia to be put to work transporting iron ore to the coast for shipment to China. This is part of Dr Andrew Forrest’s aim of achieving real zero across all the operations of his mining empire. 

Who is Twiggy Forrest? As one of our readers explained: “He is a mining magnate Zillionaire who is now a born-again Renewable Energy advocate. He first aimed for green hydrogen, but now realises that H2 is not the holy grail of RE. Meanwhile he is pushing on with other RE projects too.” And another backed him up: “And he’s the real deal. Tells it like it is. Fossil Fuels are dangerous and have to go … Western Australia has amazing solar resources and being 3 times the size of Texas with 1/9th the population, less NIMBY issues. It also has more kangaroos and very few of them wear MAGA hats.”

The Facebook Pilbara Railways group is circulating photos of Fortescue’s Zero Battery Electric Locomotive (BEL) being delivered in Western Australia. This is Fortescue Zero locomotive 001 at the Roy Hill overpass, June 14, 2025. They tell me that the BEL locomotive is a collaboration between Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and Downer Group.

The gravity locomotive was “converted from the GE built 9-44CW unit from August 1998 with serial number #50708, and was BNSF 4854, GECX 4854, sold to Fortescue Metals Group and should have been numbered 022, sent to Gemco Perth, November 2022. Delivered to FMG Thomas Yard June 2025. This is the first battery locomotive to arrive in the Pilbara.” It is being transported on a Mammoet modular trailer with 144 wheels.

The theory is that the loaded BEL will generate enough electricity traveling downhill from the mine to the port to enable it to return empty. Regen on steroids! Free power, reduced diesel dependence. You can watch the video from Downer here:

Downer tells us that they are aiming for the world’s most energy efficient BEL, “delivering an innovative zero emissions solution for heavy haul rail, marking an important step forward to the commercialisation of zero emissions power system technologies in heavy industry applications.” Fortescue and Downer are demonstrating Australia’s commitment and capability to contribute to decarbonisation in the heavy transport area globally. This reduces the number of hard-to-decarbonise industry sectors and further reduces the applications for green hydrogen. Downer has 150 years of rolling stock and locomotive construction experience. It is excited about taking a role in a zero-emissions future.

One of the steps towards the birth of the Infinity Train was the purchase of Williams Advanced Engineering — back in 2022. The plan was to create a locomotive that produced as much electricity as it used: “The regenerating battery electric iron ore train project will use gravitational energy to fully recharge its battery electric systems without any additional charging requirements for the return trip to reload.”

“The Infinity Train will not only accelerate Fortescue’s race to reach net zero emissions by 2030, but also lower our operating costs, create maintenance efficiencies and productivity opportunities,” Fortescue Founder and Chairman Dr Andrew Forrest AO said.

“The Infinity Train will join Fortescue’s green fleet under development and will contribute to Fortescue becoming a major player in the growing global market for green industrial transport equipment, providing great value for our shareholders.

“The commercial opportunities are obvious for FFI as it pioneers this technology, captures its value and distributes it globally. Less obvious, is that we have an opportunity to not only lower our operating costs, eliminate the cost of diesel from our company but of course eliminate our rail system carbon emissions.

“The Infinity Train continues FFI’s inexorable march to change the world’s attitude to energy generation. To move business leaders and politicians globally to the realisation that fossil fuel is just one source of energy and there are others now, like gravitational energy, rapidly emerging, which are more efficient, lower cost and green. The world must, and clearly can, move on from its highly polluting, deadly if not stopped epoch of fossil fuel,” Forrest said.

The company adds: “Fortescue’s current rail operations include 54 operating locomotives that haul 16 train sets, together with other on-track mobile equipment. Each train set is about 2.8 kilometres in length and has the capacity to haul 34,404 tonnes of iron ore in 244 ore cars. Fortescue’s rail operations consumed 82 million litres of diesel in financial year 2021 accounting for 11 per cent of Fortescue’s Scope 1 emissions. This diesel consumption and associated emissions will be eliminated once the Infinity Train is fully implemented across Fortescue’s operations, significantly contributing to Fortescue’s target to be diesel free by 2030.” 

CleanTechnica reported on the announcement of the Infinity Train back in 2022. It sounded fantastical back then, not so much now. Andrew Forrest has the money, the know-how, the commitment, and the ideals to make these things happen. CleanTechnica’s Tina Casey got some interesting comments: “The Fortescue infinity train sounds workable, but getting big enough batteries sounds crazy. I’d swap loco every hour – charge – discharge – charge again. But it’s only a single-track rail line. Someone can flesh out the elevation difference — it wouldn’t be great.”

I am sure the engineers at FFI have worked out the issues with elevation. And now Williams is providing the battery technology. The trials will show what works, and problems can then be ironed out.

Apparently, the idea has been around for some time. One reader cited the Milwaukee Railroad experiment circa 1900 … “when the brakes were applied or the train travelled down a slope, the engine actually returned electricity to the grid. Regenerative braking and similar power returns helped the engines pay for themselves. In some mountain ranges, if timed correctly, a heavy downhill train could actually regenerate enough electricity to the grid to power another train passing it uphill. Thus, both trains would travel in a minuet of seemingly energy-free motion.”

For FFI and Australia, the future looks electric, clean, and profitable. I am sure the kangaroos will appreciate the cleaner air!