Train deal in works between Utah, Boston agencies: UTA may lease or sell extra FrontRunner South locomotives.
PrintJun. 8--The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority has announced plans to purchase or lease up to nine new locomotives from the Utah Transit Authority.
UTA has a surplus of the state-of-the-art engines sitting idle at the agency's Warm Springs Service Center, awaiting the opening of FrontRunner South commuter service in late 2013 or early 2014.
But no deal has been inked with MBTA yet, UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter said Monday.
According to the Boston-based transit agency, the acquisition would "mark the first time in 17 years that new locomotives will pull MBTA commuter rail trains."
The MassDOT board of directors approved the action on Wednesday -- giving the green light to purchase the 3,600-horsepower machines at $3.5 million apiece.
"This is a great opportunity for us to get some quick help for our aging fleet of locomotives," MBTA General Manager Richard Davey said in news release. "As soon as these new locomotives arrive in the fall, we can put them into service immediately."
While Boston may need the boost, UTA has not yet decided how much of its "surplus" to share, the publicly funded agency says.
Since November, UTA has leased one of the 10 engines to Minneapolis-St. Paul for its Northstar commuter-rail system -- at a charge of $300 per day. UTA's agreement with Metro Transit includes a provision for purchase, Carpenter said.
A May 27 letter from UTA General Manager Mike Allegra to Davey indicates
Utah's willingness to sell two of its diesel-electric engines to MBTA. However, Allegra said that leasing the remaining seven needs additional study.
According to Carpenter, UTA purchased 21 engines from Boise-based MotivePower for $2.8 million each, and 11 are currently in use for FrontRunner North, the commuter-rail line serving cities from Salt Lake City to Ogden.
Since last summer, UTA's second batch of 10 engines trickled in from Idaho one at a time, with the final locomotive getting delivered in January, Carpenter said.
The recession forced UTA to revise its operational plans for FrontRunner South, he added, and the agency believes it can get by with three fewer locomotives -- if Metro Transit purchases one and MBTA buys two.
"We have not discussed a final purchase price with Boston," Carpenter said.
Whether UTA will temporarily lease the remaining seven remains in question as the agency analyzes how much wear and tear the engines would experience before their return to Utah and how it would affect their service life and the agency's long-range plans.
"We want to make sure we do our due diligence before leasing the vehicles out," Carpenter said. "We have to plan for the future."
cmckitrick@sltrib.com
Train technology
Compared to MBTA's current fleet of locomotives, UTA's new engines burn less fuel and emit lower levels of nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons.
MBTA estimates a savings of about $78,000 annually per locomotive because the new engines burn 36,500 fewer gallons of fuel each year.
The new engines also employ new technology that make them more fuel efficient and prevent unnecessary idling -- reducing nitrogen oxide levels by 38.5 tons per engine annually.
Source: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
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