MTA Unveils New Modern Metro-North Locomotives

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), this past Friday, unveiled new state-of-the-art 4,200-horsepower locomotives that will upgrade and replace Metro-North Railroad’s existing fleet of locomotives used for trains serving Poughkeepsie, Southeast, Danbury and Waterbury. Known by the model number SC42-DM, the new locomotives will provide customers with more reliable service and will be friendlier to the environment.

The new locomotives will travel much farther under electric power that the current fleet of locomotives they will replace, the P32s. Those operate under electric power only in the four miles in the tunnel in and out of Grand Central Terminal, but the new locomotives are expected to operate in electric mode the entire 102 miles of Metro-North’s third rail territory, which extends to Croton-Harmon, Southeast and Pelham. The new locomotives are rated Tier IV compliant, slashing airborne pollutants by more than 85% while they are operating in diesel mode.

Enhanced reliability is made possible by new state-of-the-art monitoring and diagnostic systems that allow crews to spot any possible problems quickly.

The first two locomotives unveiled are part of an eventual fleet of 33. Commensurate with levels of service in the diesel segments of the railroad, 27 of the locomotives are funded by the MTA and six are funded by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. All will undergo testing and the first two are expected to be placed into passenger service in early 2025.

The locomotives are being built by Siemens Mobility, Inc., in Sacramento, California, under a $414 million contract awarded by Metro-North in March 2021. The procurement of the locomotives, design reviews, test coverage and vehicle inspection services were supported by STV.

The arrival of these first two locomotives, Nos. 301 and 302, is a significant milestone in the new locomotives program, marking the second phase of the locomotive qualification testing. Phase 1 takes place in Pueblo, Colorado, where the overall dynamic performance of the locomotive is validated. In Phase 2, the locomotives’ performances will be tested in the Metro-North operating environment.

The first Metro-North Siemens Charger dual mode locomotives are unveiled at the Harmon shops.

-via Press Release

First of Three Arches for Portal North Bridge Delivered by Barge

Following a 30-hour journey down the Hudson River, the first of three massive arches to support the new Portal North Bridge arrived at the construction site, bringing the project a giant leap closer to completion. The new bridge will replace the current 114-year-old swing bridge, which opens for maritime traffic and often has mechanical issues, resulting in service delays. The new bridge is a fixed span that eliminates the need to open and close, improving the experiences of thousands of daily commuters along the busiest stretch of passenger rail in the country.