LIRR would get 44 new diesel and electric 'dual mode' trains under $788M contract

The MTA is expected on Wednesday to approve a $788 million deal to replace its aging fleet of diesel locomotives relied upon by thousands of Long Island commuters, particularly in Suffolk, officials said.

At the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s final railroad committee meeting of 2024 on Monday, LIRR officials unveiled the plan to pay Siemens Mobility Inc. to design and manufacture 44 "dual mode" locomotives, which will be able to operate on both diesel and electric power.

The new engines, which the LIRR expects to begin arriving in 2027, aim to replace diesel passenger locomotives that were mostly bought in the mid-to-late 1990s and are "beyond their service life," according to MTA documents.

"These locomotives will provide improved, reliable passenger service to the Long Island Rail Road’s diesel branch customers," Maura Kelly, the LIRR’s director of rolling stock procurements, told MTA Board members.

The LIRR relies on diesel locomotives to operate on the portions of its service territory that are not electrified, including east of Ronkonkoma on its Main Line, east of Babylon on its Montauk line and east of Huntington on its Port Jefferson line. A portion of the LIRR’s Oyster Bay branch also operates on diesel power.

The railroad’s 21 fully-diesel and 24 diesel/electric locomotives — which are supplemented by 134 "double decker" coach cars — are far less reliable than the LIRR’s fleet of about 1,100 electric cars. In 2023, the diesels, on average, traveled about 15,000 miles between breakdowns. The railroad’s electric fleet, in comparison, traveled about 255,000 miles between failures.

In addition to being more reliable, Kelly said the new locomotives will also be more environmentally friendly, reducing carbon emissions by 85% compared with the old locomotives.

LIRR officials said there will be other improvements, including an intercom system that will allow locomotive engineers to more easily communicate with other train crew members.

LIRR Commuter Council Chairman Gerard Bringmann — a nonvoting MTA Board member — applauded the decision to go with "dual-mode" locomotives, which can operate on both electrified and non-electrified tracks, allowing diesel territory commuters a one-seat ride to and from New York City.

"That gives us a lot more flexibility, and it will be a lot better for the rider experience," Bringmann said.

The first five locomotives will be funded through the MTA's 2020-2024 capital program, which will get a boost from next month's implementation of congestion pricing. The revenue generated from the plan to toll vehicles driving below $60th Street is expected to generate $15 billion for the $55 billion spending plan.

The purchase of the remaining 39 engines will be contingent on the state's approval of the MTA's $69 billion 2025-2029 capital program. Gov. Kathy Hochul has expressed support for the plan, but has not put forth a plan to pay for it.

The procurement, which must be approved by the full MTA Board on Wednesday, is an extension of a $335 million contract awarded to Siemens in December 2020 for 27 locomotives to be used on Metro-North. The MTA purchased another six locomotives from Siemens last year for about $79 million.

MTA Board Member Daniel Gardonick noted that the price difference from about $13 million per locomotive in June 2023 to about $18 million per locomotive in the newest contract extension appears to be "a very big increase in cost over a short period of time."

Kelly said the new deal includes "projected escalation" in costs through when the final cars are expected to be delivered to the LIRR in 2031.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.