(The following appeared at Northjersey.com on May 11, 2011.)
BERGEN, N.J. — NJ Transit today plans to unveil its first locomotive powered by an engine that can operate on both diesel and electric lines.
The dual-mode locomotive NJ Transit will unveil today is just one of 26 the agency ordered in 2008 from Canadian-based Bombardier Transit Corp. The total project cost is $310 million.
Because the engines can operate on both diesel and electrical lines, commuters would have been able to take a dual-mode locomotive directly from the Pascack Valley Line in Bergen County — where trains run on diesel only — loop around in Secaucus and go through a new Hudson River tunnel and directly into New York Penn Station, without having to switch to an electric-powered train as they do now.
Stessel said 60 percent of the transit agency’s lines are not electrified and 40 percent are electrified.
Full story: www.northjersey.com