The MTA signed off on a $386 million hybrid locomotive order by tacking it onto an existing deal, continuing a pattern of ballooning contract modifications on the taxpayers’ dime that dodge public bidding.
The expanded agreement announced Wednesday will have vendor Wabtec build 45 additional R255 locomotives, which are vehicles that can haul strings of cars and other equipment for subway system maintenance work.
The units, built in Erie, Pennsylvania, are scheduled for delivery beginning in 2027.
The base contract, approved in 2020 between the MTA and MotivePower, a Wabtec subsidiary, was for $233 million to purchase 25 diesel‑battery hybrid locomotives plus equipment and training.
But the deal also included an option for the MTA to add up to 45 additional diesel‑battery hybrid locomotives and related equipment, allowing the agency to hike the agreement by $153 million without soliciting other vendors to secure a better deal or possibly new technology.
Competitive bidding is the default statutory requirement for most large purchase and public work contracts in New York state, according to the New York Public Authorities Law. But a combination of state‑law exceptions and board‑adopted guidelines give the MTA significant discretion to expand or modify deals without going back out to bid.
The MTA often structures contracts so that a base award can quietly morph into a much larger deal through pre‑baked options the agency can trigger down the road without reopening bidding.
The MTA Board, for example, can declare bidding “impractical or inappropriate” and use alternatives like non‑competitive modifications and options.
The MTA pushed an original $132 million deal with bus manufacturer Nova to over $497 million in December by exercising options on a preexisting contract, wiping out competition from other manufacturers.
And just a month before that deal, the MTA Board modified an existing contract with New Flyer of America, tacking onto it the purchase of 219 40‑foot buses for about $257 million — pushing the agreement to roughly triple the original base amount.
AN MTA spokesperson said contract modification, without a new round of public bidding, was necessary to “fill an immediate operating need.”
