Friday, June 20, 2025
MTA inventing new ways to fail with battery locomotives
For reasons apparent to no one the MTA, instead of either investing in electrification or using standard EMU technology, is paying Siemens to invent a battery powered locomotive. Truly bizarre.
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.
