The MTA’s vote on Wednesday to buy experimental battery locomotives for Penn Station Access [2] (PSA) is fiscally irresponsible, and threatens to hamstring our regional rail network’s ability to deliver frequent, fast, and reliable service for decades into the future. The MTA has inexplicably chosen to acquire battery-electric Siemens Charger locomotives, locomotives that cost an astounding $23.45 million each [3]. That would make these locomotives not only the first passenger battery locomotive in the world, but also the most expensive as far as we are aware—costing even more than an entire 8-car Metro-North M8 train [4]. And the reason for this expense? So they can run these locomotives in battery mode on tracks that are already electrified in and around Penn Station.
This is baffling and illogical. There are multiple superior, proven train options that can handle the different types of electrification on PSA. Improving connectivity between Midtown West, the Bronx, and Southwestern Connecticut is only possible with the right trains, but battery locomotives will condemn new Bronx riders to slow, unsatisfactory service, and worsen existing service on the New Haven Line. Furthermore, the rationale for acquiring new trains is inscrutable, given that the MTA already purchased M8s for PSA [5].