The subway system’s fleet of work-train locomotives is in a sorry state, the Daily News has learned, with nearly two-thirds of the system’s 115 locomotives out of service as of Monday. The engines, which pull cranes, flatbeds, de-icers and other work cars, are vital to the maintenance of the sub way system. But multiple sources confirmed that the locomotives are suffering from a maintenance backlog, with one source telling The News that, of those 115 engines, only 41 were able to go into service on Monday — 36% of the work-locomotive fleet. New York City Transit’s work train fleet is made up of a mix of locomotives. Hardest hit are the all-diesel-powered R156 trains, which are a “basket case,” one source said. Of the 28 owned by NYCT, only four are currently working. The newer hybrid diesel-and-battery-powered R255 trains, which are still rolling off the assembly line, are working best, with 15 of NYCT’s 17 R255 locomotives in working order on Monday. Both classes of locomotives were purchased to replace a swath of older diesels — the prototypical yellow-and-black, often rusty locomotives manufactured from the 1960s until the 1980s. Of the 46 older diesels fielded by NYCT, as of the start of this week only 18 were functional. Of an additional 14 older locomotives that were previously upgraded with modern power plants, only four were in usable condition Monday. An additional 10 locomotives — R77E motors, initially designed to pull power from the third rail — are currently in Quebec undergoing an overhaul to convert them into diesel-powered trains. The low-pitched thrum of a diesel work train echoing off the walls of a station often tells a waiting straphanger they’re about to be late — the slow-moving rolling stock serving as a harbinger of problems or of track work on their route. But the diesels are a vital part of keeping up subway service, with the vast majority of work trains reliant on the loud and smoky fleet. The flatbed cars that carry long sections of steel replacement rails are pulled by diesel work trains, as are the crane cars that help position the rails. Pump trains that clear flooded tracks are pushed by diesel locomotives, as are the de-icer cars that kept service running through the two most recent snowstorms. Vacuum-cars that suck up debris from the roadbed are also pushed by diesel locomotives. MTA spokesman Michael Cortez told The News Monday that the locomotive repair backlog was not affecting maintenance work in the subway system, and NYCT had sufficient locomotives to keep up with the needs of work crews. Cortez added that NYCT will be working to overhaul “up to 27 legacy locomotives,” in addition to the R77Es, which are expected to return to New York City by the first quarter of 2027. Additionally, eight more new R255 work locomotives are due to the MTA before the end of this year, with more coming in 2027. ...read more read less