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1/7/2025
Wabtec Corp.'s R255 hybrid battery-diesel work locomotives for maintenance operations have been approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for use across the New York City Transit (NYCT) subway network, the company announced today.
The new additions to the maintenance fleet will reduce diesel emissions by using battery power while conducting work in the tunnels, Wabtec officials said in a press release. In 2020, MTA placed an order with Wabtec for the hybrid locomotives to replace a fleet of diesel-only locomotives built in the 1960s and 1970s.
Wabtec built the locomotives at its design and development center in Erie, Pennsylvania. The company delivered the initial hybrids in May and June 2024, which then underwent a series of tests on NYCT’s subway. The tests focused on safety, performance, interoperability and reliability including a capstone performance test of two hybrid locomotives operating with a full train load of maintenance cars over the Manhattan Bridge.
The R255 hybrid locomotive can reduce — and under some circumstances eliminate — fuel emissions during subway construction, maintenance and repairs, especially during extended periods at a work site. The 500-kwh locomotives can work in battery-only mode within confined work zones for up to eight hours.
The batteries also can move work trains that must operate at job sites where third rail power is removed for safety. The locomotive is equipped with external and internal cameras, as well as a digital video recorder to capture images of the track, lineside assets, and signaling equipment across the network. It also features onboard monitoring and diagnostics systems to support preventative and condition-based maintenance of the fleet.
“These hybrid work locomotives will enable the MTA to realize its ambitious capital plan to improve subway operations by replacing an aging fleet and improving reliability,” said Alan Hamilton, Wabtec's vice president of engineering. “It also supports a cleaner subway system for their commuters and employees, as well as a reduction in fuel consumption.”