NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will purchase 316 new electric multiple-unit railcars for use on the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad after the MTA’s Finance Committee approved the purchase today.
The new M9-A cars will be built by Alstom Transportation. Pilot cars in the order are slated to be delivered in 2029, with the first cars entering service on the LIRR in 2030. All cars are scheduled for delivery by 2032. The cars will replace Metro-North M-3 cars that are beyond their service life and will replace LIRR M-3 cars that have had their service life extended to support the additional operations that began with the opening of Grand Central Madison.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the purchase, saying, “The commuter rails are a lifeline for riders in one of the world’s largest and busiest transit systems — this is how we continue to achieve record on-time performance.”
The $2.3 billion order will include 160 cars for the LIRR and 156 for Metro-North. A Finance Committee document indicates the contract also includes an option for up to 242 additional cars. Alstom was selected over China’s CRRC, the only other qualified builder to submit an initial proposal in 2020. The proposal selected was originally presented by Bombardier, which was acquired by Alstom in January 2021.
“We’re looking to buy almost 2,000 rail cars as part of the new Capital Plan — $10.9 billion worth — and this 300+ order gets us off to a strong start,” MTA CEO Janno Lieber said in a press release. “ I want to thank Governor Hochul for her work to secure the funding that made it possible.”
The cars will feature glass windows, USB charging ports, and accessibility features including automatic doors on restrooms. Renderings show that the cars will have three-and-two seating.
“The MTA is the biggest railcar purchaser in North America, and we are using innovative methods to bring down costs and delivery time,” said Tim Mulligan, MTA chief of rolling stock program. “By building on the reliable design of previous cars, we were able to work with the contractor to get things done better, faster, and cheaper.”
Didn’t Metro-North nix the 3/2 seating on their last order due to it being hated by the public?
FWIW interesting that the Chinese manufacturers seem to have run their course.
More manufacturing work in New York state for the competent Alstom…
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Note that these railcars will operate in LIRR electric territories and on the Metro-North Hudson and Harlem lines.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
This will be interesting to watch progress. Alstom just finished their new fab shop in Hornell. Their dance card was already full with orders from Metra and ConnDOT. But this negotiation started with Bomber. Will the shells be fab’d in Canada? Will the assembly be done in Plattsburgh or Hornell? Retired passenger railroaders want to know.