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The Virginia Railway Express board recently exercised an option to purchase nine additional locomotives from MotivePower Inc. for $33.1 million.

The action came after three of the commuter railroad's locomotives failed last week, stranding trains for hours.

Scheduled to be delivered in October 2010, the locomotives will be funded in part by $9.8 million in stimulus funds, as well as a $5 million appropriation earmarked for locomotives by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and VRE formula funds.