NJ TRANSIT TO PURCHASE EIGHT ADDITIONAL DUAL-POWERED LOCOMOTIVES
Environmentally-Friendly Locomotives Will Help Improve Rail On-Time Performance and Provide Flexibility
July 15, 2020
NEWARK, NJ – The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors today approved the purchase of eight additional ALP-45A dual-powered locomotives manufactured by Bombardier Transit Corporation for a cost of approximately $70.5 million. The new locomotives will allow NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations to retire some locomotives in the fleet to increase mechanical reliability, improve on-time performance, provide operational flexibility and promote a more sustainable planet for the future.
This new order for eight ALP-45A locomotives is in addition to the 17 approved at the December 2017 Board of Directors meeting, bringing the total number of new ALP-45A dual-powered locomotives approved in recent years to 25.
“This important purchase aligns squarely with our recently released 10-Year Strategic Plan and 5-Year Capital Plan. Improving service reliability and the customer experience are among the chief goals in both plans,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “These new locomotives are far more environmentally-friendly and will provide additional flexibility to operate on both electrified and non-electrified tracks. Additionally, these locomotives will reduce the average age of our fleet, which ultimately results in improved reliability and on-time performance, and reduces service interruptions for customers.”
These new dual-powered locomotives join hundreds of new rail cars and buses the agency has ordered since 2018 to modernize the fleet and replace older equipment, including the purchase of 17 additional dual-powered locomotives, 113 new multilevel rail cars, and, joining our fleet this year, 119 new cruiser buses and 110 new articulated buses.
The ALP-45A locomotives will replace some of the older PL-42AC series diesel locomotives in NJ TRANSIT’s fleet. The locomotives also feature upgraded diesel engines and an after-treatment system to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tier IV emissions requirements, further reducing the locomotive’s emissions when operating in diesel mode. By contrast, even if overhauled, the PL-42’s EMD 710 diesel engine cannot be upgraded to Tier IV.
Additionally, the ALP-45A’s can take advantage of operating in electric mode whenever overhead catenary is available, which is more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly than diesel operation.
Replacing a Tier I locomotive with a Tier IV locomotive can result in an estimated emissions reduction of 52.0 NOx tons annually which supports NJ TRANSIT’s goal of a reduced carbon footprint.
Other benefits of the ALP-45As are self-rescue capability by changing power modes, redundancy by having two engines instead of one, improved diagnostic capabilities and an upgraded pneumatic system. The ALP-45A locomotives are designed to operate push-pull passenger train service on both electrified and non-electrified lines at speeds of up to 125 mph in electric mode and up to 100 mph in diesel mode. The locomotives will meet the current EPA Tier IV requirements, reducing emissions compared to the locomotives to be replaced when operating in diesel mode, and producing no emissions when operating in electric mode. The ALP45As offer an increase in horsepower, acceleration and available head-end power over the locomotives they will be replacing.
In 2008, the Board of Directors approved a contract with Bombardier Transit Corporation for the purchase of 26 ALP-45 dual-powered locomotives, with an option to purchase up to 63 additional locomotives in the future. In July 2009, NJ TRANSIT purchased nine additional locomotives, increasing the total number of ALP45s at that time to 35. The first locomotive was delivered in December 2011. The introduction of the dual-powered ALP-45s in 2011 marked a first for this technology in the United States.
NJ TRANSIT expects delivery of the first ALP-45A locomotive from today’s order to be in the first quarter of 2022.
About NJ TRANSIT
NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 925,000 weekday trips on 253 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines and through Access Link paratransit service. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 166 rail stations, 62 light rail stations and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.