MPXpress locomotives

[OwlCaboose2853]

Wabtec Unit Signs $12.7 Million Contract to Build Locomotives for Albuquerque Commuter Rail Service

http://www.wabtec.com/upload/PressRelea ... ntract.pdf

Wednesday January 5, 10:53 am ET


WILMERDING, Pa., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB - News) today announced that its MotivePower subsidiary has signed a $12.7 million contract to build commuter locomotives for the Mid-Region Council of Governments in Albuquerque, N.M., which is planning to initiate commuter rail service in the region.


The contract includes five MPXpress® locomotives, spare parts and training to be delivered in 2005. The locomotives, to be manufactured in MotivePower's Boise, Idaho facility, will be similar to those built for San Francisco's Caltrain commuter line in 2003.

"We're proud to be part of the new commuter rail service in Albuquerque and confident our MPXpress locomotives will live up to the performance standards they've set in San Francisco," said Mark S. Warner, MotivePower's vice president and general manager.

Compared to earlier-model commuter locomotives, the MPXpress units feature higher-horsepower engines to increase acceleration, greater fuel efficiency, reduced emissions, microprocessor controls and compliance with the latest crashworthiness standards. The units include a significant number of components produced by other Wabtec subsidiaries.

Lawrence Rael, executive director for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, which is working on behalf of the New Mexico Department of Transportation to implement the project, said: "We were impressed with the performance and environmental characteristics of MotivePower's MPXpress locomotives and look forward to putting them into service. We have a very ambitious schedule for the implementation of service, and we were amazed that we could purchase such high-quality locomotives and still meet our timeline."

Wabtec Corporation ( http://www.wabtec.com ) is one of North America's largest providers of value-added, technology-based products and services for the rail industry.