C.R. England Inc., a heavy-duty carrier based in Salt Lake City that specializes in moving temperature-controlled loads, has signed a multi-year agreement with Shell for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the company's growing complement of natural gas vehicles.
C.R. England is in the midst of replacing many of its diesel-powered tractors with natural gas units. Zach England, chief operating officer of C. R. England, tells NGT News that the company first rolled out LNG-powered trucks – five tractors that incorporated Westport's 15-liter natural gas engine – in 2011. These trucks are still in operation today. C.R. England also has a pair of Freightliner M2s that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), which the company use locally in and around Salt Lake City.
C.R. England will be taking delivery of a new round of Mack trucks in the next month. All of them feature the new 11.9-liter ISX12 G natural gas engine from Cummins Westport, in the 400 hp configuration. These units will operate mainly in Southern California and access fuel via LNG infrastructure that Shell is soon debuting at a TravelCenters of America (TA) location in Ontario, Calif.
England says he and his group are ‘very optimistic’ about this new fleet of 12-liter trucks. He notes that if these NGVs perform well, C.R. England could deploy up to 50 such trucks ‘in the forseeable future.’ The company plans on assessing the further rollout of CNG and/or LNG vehicles based largely on trucks' specific applications and routes.
C.R. England offers truckload hauling nationally and into Mexico, in addition to dedicated and intermodal services.
