NEW York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has exercised the option in a contract with Wabtec for 45 R255 battery-diesel locomotives to haul infrastructure maintenance trains. The deal is worth $US 386m and deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2027.
MTA awarded Wabtec the original $US 233m contract for 25 R255s in July 2020. They will be deployed on New York City Transit (NYCT) metro work trains, replacing a fleet of diesel locomotives built in the 1960s and 1970s.
The option for 45 additional units is included in the authority’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan, in which MTA noted that approximately 44% of the NYCT work train fleet “is beyond its useful life and is due for replacement.”
The R255s are equipped with Cummins QSX15 Tier 4 Final diesel engines and Wabtec-developed battery packs. Production will take place at the Wabtec plant in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The R255 has an output of 500kWh when operating in battery mode and is designed to operate emission-free within confined work zones for up to 8 hours, hauling maintenance trains when the third-rail power supply is de-energised.
Wabtec delivered the initial R255s in May and June 2024 and MTA certified the locomotives for use in early 2025.
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