LIRR’s Oyster Bay Battery-Operated Rail Car Test Will Be Analyzed

OYSTER BAY, NY — The Long Island Rail Road has plans to run a retro-fitted train with a battery along the Oyster Bay line in a test run to determine if an electric train can eliminate diesel service and establish single-seat rides for commuters, possibly having wide-spread ramifications for New York rail branches with diesel service.

The concept has been previously used in Europe and Asia, but it appears to be the first test by a North American rail road, according to LIRR officials. The Oyster Bay Branch was chosen as the test site due to its short trip, which is only 13 miles, but “other non-electrified branches would be tested in the future, as well as the feasibility of the battery technology and the ability to retrofit existing trains,” LIRR officials said. The work is expected to start this month.

Diesel train service stations that could be affected by the study’s findings include lines like Mineola to Oyster Bay, Huntington to Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma to Greenport, and Babylon to Montauk. LIRR officials also plan to share the test information with Metro-North’s Railroad Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The LIRR has an agreement with Alstom Americas to test batteries that could enable electric rail cars to travel on the railroad’s diesel branches, and after an eight-month “initial analysis,” technicians will retrofit a two-car electric train to operate on battery power without passengers on the Oyster Bay Branch, LIRR President Phillip Eng at a press conference on Monday.

The train, while on electric portions of the route, would run on third-rail power and charge the batteries, then switch to battery power for the un-electrified segment between East Williston and Oyster Bay, Eng said. If the test succeeds, the LIRR would ultimately be able to carry passengers directly between Oyster Bay and the railroad’s terminals in New York City without the need for a transfer, and that technology could expand to the rest of the railroad’s diesel branches, according to Eng.

Eng, who noted there has been talk about extending electrification to various segments of the railroad for generations, said “embracing new technology might allow us to essentially electrify the entire railroad without the need for billions of dollars in massive capital investments.”

“The MTA is already transforming the LIRR through East Side Access and Main Line Third Track; this is potentially a no less profound transformation for the rest of the railroad,” he added.

There are plans to investigate whether and where recharging stations might need to be built along the route and along other branches in the initial assessment, according to Eng. The recharging would take place in yards where there are out-of-service trains, and, if necessary while in-service, during existing station stops that would not be delayed by recharging, Eng said.

“Part of the analysis will tell us if we need additional charging stations for longer distances, how fast can a battery recharge in a 60-second station stop and if we decide to go further, how many charging stations would be required,” Eng said. “If we have the ability to improve service on Oyster Bay, that improves service on Port Jefferson, Montauk and Ronkonkoma, respectively. Everybody benefits.”

The battery-electric cars that the railroad could entirely replace the noisy, carbon-emitting diesel fleet with quiet, reliable, zero-emission electric cars offering seamless transfer-free travel across the railroad, LIRR officials said.

The LIRR has seen such a surge in seasonal demand for diesel service in recent years that it has had to lease additional cars from Maryland’s MARC train system, Eng said.

Conversion of a fraction of the railroad’s electric fleet to battery power on just one of the railroad’s unelectrified branches would allow the LIRR to consolidate its diesel fleet on remaining unelectrified branches, enhancing the frequency of diesel service there and lengthening trains in the near future, according to Eng.

Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi called the battery-operated trains “an exciting technology with implications for Metro-North.”

“We will be working with the LIRR as this technology test advances,” he said.

Alstom Americas president Jérôme Wallut said the company is proud to be partnering with the LIRR.

“Alstom’s battery technology and range of green-traction solutions are helping railroads around the world meet their environmental commitments while delivering sustainable mobility solutions for generations to come,” he said.

LIRR Commuters Council Chairman Gerry Bringmann called the new endeavor “another example of the LIRR embracing modern technology to benefit our commuters.”

“This is a potential game-changer for our riders in diesel territory, giving them more opportunities for a one seat ride into NYC,” he said. “It is also particularly fitting to announce this study and the clean air benefits it can bring during Earth Week. It will be good for riders and for the planet."

Mitchell Pally, chair of the Long Island Chapter of the League of Conservation Voters and former Suffolk County representative to the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said one of the most important issues facing the Long Island Rail Road and our citizens is the ability to move from diesel to electric propulsion, which provides both environmental and transportation benefits.”

“We need to determine whether there are new options on how to accomplish this goal and this new analysis will hopefully provide a blueprint on how to make it happen in a very efficient and productive timetable. In this manner we can reduce our diesel emissions as well as provide a much better coordinated electric system across the region,” he said.