US Army fields new diesel-electric switcher locomotives to shrink its ageing rail fleet
Why it matters: more than a third of the Army's active rail fleet is past its 65-year design life, and these low-emission diesel-electric switchers are the replacement plan in action.
The US Army's TACOM command says it has fielded two new locomotives and a track-maintenance machine at three depots since October last year, part of a push to get the ageing rail fleet below 20 per cent "over-life" units. A 120-ton locomotive built by Knoxville Locomotive Works went into service at Crane Army Ammunition Activity in Indiana for US$2.9 million. An 80-ton switcher from SpecSys, matching the footprint of the old GE 80-ton design, went into Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky for US$2.1 million. TACOM's Bryan VanGheluwe says Army Rail underpins deployment and power projection for the whole force.
Source: Defence Blog, 9 October 2026, citing US Department of Transportation/TACOM figures.