As a result of more stringent emissions requirements that came into effect on January of that year, GE no longer offers the AC4400CW, replacing it with the ES44AC.

The AC4400CW was the first GE locomotive to offer an optional self-steering truck design, intended to increase adhesion and reduce wear on the railhead.

[citation needed] The other railroads still used the hi-ad truck design CSX ordered many of its AC4400CW locomotives with 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) extra weight to increase tractive effort.

[citation needed] The following year Canadian Pacific Kansas City asked GE to similarly rebuild several more batches for a total of 110 locomotives.

[3] The Union Pacific Railroad (UP) ordered many of their AC4400CWs with Controlled Tractive Effort software, giving them the designation of C44ACCTE.

CTE limits tractive effort to mimic TE level of Dash series locomotives.

[citation needed] In 2018, UP placed a small order for 20 rebuilds from GE of their AC4460CW fleet and later announced that they would be upgrading 1,000 of their AC4460CWs and AC44s into the new C44ACM class over the next 15 years.

The plot of the movie Unstoppable required Denzel Washington and Chris Pine to climb aboard the lead locomotive of a runaway freight train.