Community Corner

NJ Transit Unveils Dual-Powered Locomotive

Agency plans to roll-out 26 of the energy-efficient trains on the Morris/Essex Line by 2012. One-seat ride to NY still a long way off for Cranford customers.

Arguing that it will reduce fuel costs and carbon emissions, New Jersey Transit officials unveiled the first dual-powered locomotive in North America during a ceremony at Newark Penn Station Wednesday morning.

At least 26 of the locomotives, which can switch from diesel fuel to electricity, will be added to the commuter agency’s fleet by the end of 2012. The first will be added to the Morris and Essex Line, before moving to other non-electric train lines across the state, including the Raritan Valley Line, which serves Fanwood. Train lines in Monmouth and Ocean Counties are likely to receive top consideration for the new locomotives.

“We want to get the most bang for our buck,” Kevin O’Connor, head of NJ Transit’s rail operations, said regarding the deployment schedule.

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The $310 million project will use Bombardier locomotives that can use overheard electric lines, according to NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel. The locomotives, which cost $8.5 million each, are the first of their kind to be used in North America; training for engineers and mechanics will be done at the transit agency’s mechanical complex in Kearny. Stessel added that NJ Transit’s board is planning to exercise an option that will add another nine locomotives to the order.

Trains on the Morris and Essex Line west of Dover are most likely to first receive the dual-powered locomotives, O’Connor said. Lines to the west, including Hackettstown and Mount Olive, are predominantly powered by diesel trains; the dual-powered locomotive will allow trains to switch to electric once they reach the electrified track in Dover. The North Jersey Coast Line west of Long Branch will also be considered for the first rounds of deployment for the non-electrified track near Bay Head.

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Eastbound trains from Morris County and Warren and Sussex counties on the Montclair-Boonton Line will switch from diesel to electric at the Montclair State University stop, , O’Connor said. The new locomotive will allow passengers from the northwestern part of the state to reach Hoboken without changing trains.

The Raritan Valley Line, which serves Union and Somerset counties, likely will not see the dual-powered locomotives in the first round, since the current diesel trains can continue through to Newark Penn Station, where passengers switch trains to complete their commute into New York City, Stessel said. The dual-powered locomotives would theoretically allow trains to seamlessly transfer to electric tracks —a challenge that has derailed the Raritan Valley Line from being a one-seat ride to Manhattan. But he added that the congested Hudson River tunnels can't handle more traffic, so Raritan Valley Line riders will still have to make the change in Newark.

When the dual-powered locomotive was first selected in 2008, Stessel said, it was scheduled to be part of the proposed ARC – or Access to the Region's Core –Tunnel Project that would have eased tunnel congestion by adding a third train tunnel under the Hudson River. Last year, Governor Chris Christie canceled the ARC project, citing cost overrun concerns and what he said was a lack of federal investment in the project, along with concerns over the project having trains leave commuters in a new station below the Post Office, a block away from New York Penn Station.

After Christie's decision, NJ Transit executive director James Weinstein decided to proceed with the program because of its earth-friendly and cost-effective potential, Stessel said. With Amtrak considering the so-called "Gateway Project," a modified version of the ARC Project that would revive plans for a third tunnel under the Hudson River,the new locomotives could be used for trips into Manhattan if that project were completed.

“If there is a new tunnel built under the Hudson River, these can be used to bring one-seat service,” Stessel stated.

Training will take place in two-day sessions for engineers, with the first day spent in the classroom and the second test-driving the new locomotive, said Jimmy Gee, head locomotive engineer for NJ Transit. The locomotive is controlled by a touch-screen panel and hand controls, including hand brakes and accelerators. Gee said the switch from the diesel to electric takes between 90 seconds and two minutes and will not be felt by passengers. He said lights will not go off during the power switch, which is initiated by an electric panel.

Unlike NJ Transit's new locomotive, other dual-powered locomotives in North America do not use the overhead lines, Stessel said. NJ Transit's model is more common with European transit agencies, he continued, adding that the Agence Metropoliaine de Transport, the commuter transit agency for the Montreal region of Quebec, has also placed an order for this locomotive.

The new locomotive contains only one overhead connection to wires instead of the two found on the current electric locomotive. Gee said this is due to the diesel equipment inside the locomotive, which includes two diesel engines. In addition, the locomotive does not contain the traditional “dead man’s switch” inside the cabin, but instead has other equipment in place to provide automatic breaking if an engineer is deemed to be unresponsive. He said this includes automatic alarms that go off if there is no action by the engineer. If the engineer does not respond to the alarms, the brakes are automatically triggered.

The new trains will result in less downtime when there are problems with electric wires on electrified tracks, O'Connor said – the trains can simply switch to diesel. That said, the train would still be stuck if a downed wire was blocking its path, or if other electric-only trains were stopped ahead.


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