NJ TRANSIT’s Board of Directors has approved the purchase of 36 additional Multilevel III rail cars from Alstom.
These new rail cars will offer increased seating capacity, mechanical reliability and improved customer amenities. They will also increase the maximum speed of the NJ TRANSIT trains to 110 miles per hour.
This purchase aligns with NJ TRANSIT’s mission to phase out the oldest single-level rail cars in its fleet.
“This significant investment brings the total of new multilevel rail cars we’ve purchased since 2018 to 174. These new cars will substantially reduce the overall age of the rail fleet, improving reliability, capacity and customer comfort.”
The Multilevel III Power Cars will comply with the latest federal regulations, including those relating to Positive Train Control.
Meanwhile, they will offer customer amenities such as USB charging ports and new, onboard information displays.
The Electric Multiple Units (EMU) will be self-propelled with electric motors incorporated within one or several cars. The trains therefore won’t require a separate locomotive.
This contract uses options on NJ TRANSIT’s existing agreement with Alstom Transportation. The purchase is valued at 170 million USD.
NJ TRANSIT has previously placed orders for 138 new Multilevel III vehicles, which are currently in production. The first of these vehicles is scheduled to arrive in New Jersey for testing later this year.
Specifically, in December 2018, NJ TRANSIT ordered 113 Multilevel III rail vehicles from Bombardier Transit Corporation (now Alstom) to replace the single-level, self-propelled Arrow III rail vehicles which are more than 40 years old.
In February 2022, the NJ TRANSIT Board also approved the purchase of an additional 25 Multilevel III vehicles.
