MTA unveils first of Metro-North's new locomotives

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) on Nov. 1 unveiled new 4,200-horsepower locomotives that will upgrade and replace Metro-North Railroad’s existing fleet of locomotives used for trains serving certain communities in New York and Connecticut.

Known by the model number SC42-DM, the new locomotives will provide customers with more reliable service and will be friendlier to the environment, MTA and Metro-North officials said in a press release.

The first two locomotives unveiled last week 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.

Siemens Mobility Inc. is building the locomotives at its plant in Sacramento, California, under a $414 million contract awarded by Metro-North in March 2021.

The new locomotive will travel farther under electric power than the current fleet they will replace, the P32s. Those operate under electric power only in the 4 miles in the tunnel in and out of Grand Central Terminal in New York City, but the new locomotives are expected to operate in electric mode the entire 102 miles of Metro-North’s third rail territory, MTA officials said.

The new vehicles are rated Tier 4 compliant, reducing airborne pollutants by more than 85% while they are operating in diesel mode, they added.