A NEW LOOK FOR NEW LOCOMOTIVES

As the manufacturing and production of twenty new locomotives gets underway, the MBTA is asking the public to help choose a design scheme that reflects a new era in the delivery of Commuter Rail service. Beginning tomorrow, visitors to www.mbta.com will be presented with three options from which to choose. The on-line preference poll will be available for two weeks. The design options will also be on display at North and South Stations.

“The design for these locomotives represents a new day at the MBTA as we continue to make state transportation more customer-centric. It is also a reminder of the major transportation investments being made by the Patrick/Murray Administration and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in our future,” said MassDOT Secretary and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Mullan.

“This is an exciting time for Commuter Rail, and we’d like to make our customers a part of it,” said MBTA General Manager Richard Davey. “It’s important that customers know that we are making good on our promises of procuring the equipment necessary to deliver safe and reliable service for years to come.”

The MBTA is purchasing a new fleet of twenty diesel-electric passenger locomotives from Motive-Power Incorporated of Boise, Idaho. The $114 million investment represents the MBTA’s first major locomotive procurement in more than twenty years. Employing the industry’s newest technological advances, the locomotives are being designed and built to operate more efficiently, reducing fuel use and emissions while significantly improving performance and reliability. In less than two years, these new locomotives will be pulling MBTA Commuter Rail trains.