MTA Appoints Lazarus To Lead $12B Rolling Stock Procurement Unit

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York has appointed Jessie Lazarus, its Deputy Chief of Commercial Ventures, to direct a $12 billion rail and bus fleet replacement initiative. The funding is allocated within the MTA 2025-2029 capital program. Lazarus will establish and lead a new team, the Rolling Stock Program, to manage the acquisition and lifetime costs of all new vehicles for MTA New York City Transit (NYCT), Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and Metro-North Railroad.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber confirmed the appointment, stating, “With billions of dollars set aside for new subway cars, commuter trains and buses in the new capital plan, we need strong leadership driving the decision-making.” Lieber cited Lazarus’s experience with large-scale projects and complex commercial negotiations as primary qualifications for the role. The new unit, which will include approximately 10 staff members, is tasked with modernizing the transit system’s aging fleet.

A key strategic shift in procurement will be the program’s focus on performance-based specifications for manufacturers. This approach moves away from overly prescriptive design requirements, instead defining the operational outcomes and standards the new vehicles must meet. The objective is to grant manufacturers greater flexibility in their engineering and design solutions. This strategy is intended to increase supplier competition and potentially accelerate the adoption of existing vehicle platforms.

The program’s mandate includes several strategic goals. Lazarus will work directly with the presidents of the operating agencies and the MTA’s chief financial officer. This collaboration is designed to ensure that new rolling stock fleets meet all required specifications for each unique operating environment. Additional objectives specified by the MTA include encouraging domestic manufacturing in its supply chain and optimizing total lifetime costs for the new assets, moving beyond initial acquisition price as the sole metric.

Lazarus previously directed the MTA’s system-wide transition from the MetroCard to the OMNY tap-and-go fare payment system. That multi-year project involved complex technological integration and extensive commercial negotiations with vendors, providing a direct precedent for the management of the new rolling stock initiative.

The $12 billion fleet program is a component of a much larger capital investment push by the agency. In 2025, the MTA committed a record $15.8 billion to capital projects, marking the largest single-year investment in transit infrastructure in its history. This figure surpasses the previous record of $11.4 billion set in 2022. The 2025-2029 Capital Plan also includes major funding for other projects, such as $2.75 billion for the Interborough Express.

Lazarus’s team will now begin the process of structuring the program’s initial procurements. The first actions will involve defining the performance specifications for upcoming orders of subway cars, commuter rail trains, and buses, and establishing the commercial frameworks for engaging with manufacturers. The program’s execution will be a critical factor in the MTA’s broader state-of-good-repair efforts over the next five years.