A Metro-North fleet of 33 new and eco-friendly train cars are set to be added in the new year, the MTA announced Friday.
The new 4,200-horsepower locomotives will be added to trains servicing the Hudson and Harlem lines, which are expected to travel farther with electric power than the existing diesel-operated cars.
The fleet of Metro-North cars servicing Rye on the main New Haven line, however, will remain unchanged. Trains that serve Rye are already self-propelled electric cars that were first introduced in 2011, MTA Deputy Communications Director Aaron Donovan said. Rye is in electric territory – which means it’s powered by overhead electric wire.
The MTA unveiled the first two locomotives on Nov. 1 at a press conference in Croton-on-Hudson, where officials emphasized the need for greener transit.
“Taking public transportation is one of the best ways to address climate change, and I look forward to the environmental benefits that will result when these locomotives go into service early next year,” said Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi.
The current cars to be replaced on the Hudson and Harlem lines are only electric-powered in the four miles of tunnel in and out of Grand Central Terminal, according to the MTA. The new locomotives will run the entire 102-mile stretch of Metro-North’s third-rail territory on electric power – hopefully cutting airborne pollutants by more than 85% while they are operating in diesel mode.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a Democrat, said during the train car unveiling that the county is “thrilled” to start slowly integrating the new fleet.
“These two locomotives are the first step towards replacing a fleet of older locomotives with a more environmentally-friendly option, resulting in a significant reduction of airborne emissions and pollutants,” Latimer said. “Today is an exciting day, and we know this change will provide cleaner, more reliable transportation to our commuters and visitors for years to come.”
The new fleet coincides with the MTA’s proposed 2025-2029 Capital Plan, which outlines the need for new and improved transit infrastructure across all the counties the MTA services.
Photo courtesy MTA
According to the agency, cars last about 40 years before reaching the end of their “useful” life. After that, the locomotives start breaking down, which causes significant delays for commuters. And it’s not just an issue on the Metro-North lines in Westchester – the MTA is also proposing replacing cars, as part of its Rolling Stock Program, in the New York City subway and on the Long Island Rail Road.
“These are the first of many new locomotives that will further improve Metro-North’s service and reliability,” said Tim Mulligan, chief of the Rolling Stock Program. “Replacing our rolling stock is a major priority of the 2025–2029 Capital Plan, and we’re using innovative methods in a competitive market to purchase 2,000 new cars across the MTA.”
Of the total 33 new locomotives that will be rolled out, 27 of them are funded by the MTA and six are funded by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. They are all set to undergo testing, and the first two are scheduled to be in service by early 2025, the MTA said.