WILMERDING, Pa., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wabtec Corporation (NYSE:WAB) said its MotivePower subsidiary has received an order for 12 MPXpress commuter locomotives for about $44 million from Virginia Railway Express (VRE), a commuter railroad that serves the suburban communities of Northern and Central Virginia. Delivery will begin in the summer of 2010. The locomotives will be manufactured in Boise, Idaho and are fully compliant with Buy America regulations. VRE has an option to acquire an additional eight locomotives, which would bring the total value of the order to more than $73 million. VRE used resources from two federal earmarks from U.S. Sen. James Webb, federal formula funds and a recent award of stimulus money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to increase its initial order from five locomotives to the current 12. "With our MPXpress locomotives serving commuters throughout North America, we are pleased to be the proven industry standard with a safe, environmentally friendly and highly reliable product that provides economic value to our customers," said Albert J. Neupaver, Wabtec's president and chief executive officer. Since introducing the first MPXpress model in 2003, MotivePower has continued to improve upon its industry-standard-setting technology and design. The MPXpress includes the latest technology advancements and meets the latest crashworthiness and safety standards recommended by the American Public Transportation Association. In addition, the locomotive's higher horsepower engines can move more passengers within the same schedule with improved fuel efficiency and emissions that are more than 60% cleaner than the locomotives they replace. The units also contain a number of components produced by other Wabtec subsidiaries. Dale Zehner, VRE's chief executive officer, said: "The acquisition of these state-of-the-art MotivePower MP-36 locomotives is the lynch pin in VRE taking that next step in modernizing our fleet while expanding the potential opportunities for service expansion. Once these units are in service, VRE will be poised to make our operation even more reliable. I am confident that these MotivePower locomotives (with their higher horsepower and increased Head End Power capacity) will be paramount in providing improved commuter rail service to the people of Virginia in the coming years." Wabtec Corporation (http://www.wabtec.com/) is a global provider of value-added, technology-based products and services for the rail and transit industry. Through its subsidiaries, the company manufactures a range of products for locomotives, freight cars and passenger transit vehicles. The company also builds new switcher and commuter locomotives, and provides aftermarket services. The company has facilities located throughout the world. MotivePower (http://www.motivepower-wabtec.com/) is an industry leader in the design, manufacture and re-manufacture of diesel-electric locomotives. DATASOURCE: Wabtec Corporation CONTACT: Tim Wesley of Wabtec Corporation, +1-412-825-1543, Web Site: http://www.wabtec.com/

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