M8 Metro-North New Haven Line Railcar Tour - StationStops.co

[SchindlerHaughton]

I really don't think the M2s are that bad. Metro North has always kept them up pretty well, and the seats are better than the LIRR M7s if you ask me (never been on a Metro North M7, to be fair).

[Badchoicesmade]

Sitting next the Lav on the old cars is still not to be desired.

The only thing I'll miss about the M2,4,6 trains are the memories.

[fvk32771]

I rode on the old cars. They are not missed. We had the same cars since Nelson Rockefeller (NY) and Meskill (CT) Administrations. The old cars were nasty, Reflective of the age we live in, the uncertainty surrounding the bar car is telling. The bar car is a needed sideshow for commuters. I hope that these trains, though serve the public as well as the old Bombardier models.

[LIRR175]

Late 2009? Ha!

I rode the M2's on a roundtrip GCT-NHV a few months ago: Very, very rough, and I certainly would not want to ride it every day. Bathrooms weren't that bad, though.

[SchindlerHaughton]

@LIRR175: They only started rolling them out in early-mid 2011.

[wiedep]

M8's, port-o-san's on wheels.

uncomfortable, noisy and smelly...

[nicky2175]

I like it

[Neville6000]

At least you guys get a low-floor ELECTRIC train; we in Toronto, Ontario who take the GO train get a big polluting POS train, which people want gone.

[BrickBuilder15]

It's march 2010 and i don't think I've seen these cars out yet. Whats the deal

[alexsuchapimp]

@BrickBuilder15 they still don't have them!

[romino707]

What I do not understand is why whoever was responsible for manufacturing and producing the older New Haven Line railcars thought it would be ok to not think about passengers in mind. Why, for that that long a commute, wouldn't anyone think to put headrests on the seats, keep the bathrooms sanitary, and take measures to prevent overcrowding? Also, when the Hudson and Harlem lines were getting new and updated cars, why was no thought given to the New Haven Line? It just doesn't make sense..

[ENTERTAINMENT35]

@romino707 yea it doenst really make sense to me either.. i mean the older M1 and M3 trains dont have the headrests etc as the new trains do but they could easily put a good handful of new trains on the New Haven Line on a daily bases along with some old trains like the LIRR does during weekdays.

[LoSamZayin]

This is the fugliest railcar I have ever seen. That, and even with all the new bells and whistles, it seems like a step backward from the M1-6 class cars of forty years ago.

[indylaw06]

I'll agree that it's not the most attractive interior design I've seen, but if the seats are more comfortable, there's more leg room, and it doesn't smell like a sewage treatment facility, this train is going to be a huge step up from the M2s.

I do hope that they have some sort of bar car like the New Haven line has currently.

[maychen]

Why no wi-fi? Here in Seattle we have free wi-fi and you have many more people so it seems unfair. It also seems wrong in today's world not to have internet access while people are on their way to/from their jobs.

[stationstops]

I'm actually for focusing on cell service improvement rather than WiFi. There are lots of dead spots (most notably, Grand Central Tunnels) for cellphone usage, and most NYC commuters live by their 3G smartphone, not laptop.

Any Wifi solution would likely be a 3G bridge anyway - not an exciting investment in 2009.

[Wehategod]

The M8's will be delayed for another year woohoo

[jetsdad100]

i'd think that Amtrak's Adirondack is better than these "fabulous" m8 cars

[stationstops]

Well, of course - Amtrack is not a commuter train and costs a hell of a lot more.

If you wanted to spend $2200 a month commuting between New Haven and New York on a cushy Amtrack train, there's nothing stopping you.

Otherwise, you can take Metro-North for $386.

[R424576]

I like the M-8. Those M-8 look good. In the future were going to have M-9 for the LIRR.

[ENTERTAINMENT35]

@R424576 yeah what a shame. i dont see why the LIRR cant leave a few M1 and M3 trains in service instead of getting rid of all of them! they should have kept like 3 M1 trains and when we get the M9 they should keep 5 M3 trains in service. those M1 and M3 are classic

[milky27oreo]

the red color scheme kinda is a bit ugly, but it will be an improvement.. i think it would be a bit crowded on a full train though

[TEMPLE7D]

i heard lirr aint getting jack mnrr comes first

[PrimaryConsult]

Eh,

Then what do you call the thousands of M-7s and C-3s running all over there? Except for about 13 trains of M-3s, no passenger equipment on the LIRR is more than 12 years old. Conversely, no electric equipment on the New Haven line is younger than 20 years old. Metro North's Hudson and Harlem line still has ~10 trains of M-1s for the rush hour, the LIRR got rid of all of theirs.

[MNRRConductor2006]

"Conversely, no electric equipment on the New Haven line is younger than 20 years old"

Not true, the 48 M-6 cars built by Morrison-Knudsen were built in 1993 and placed in service between 1994 and 1995, age = 15 - 16 years old

[MNRRConductor2006]

"Metro North's Hudson and Harlem line still has ~10 trains of M-1s for the rush hour"

Not possible to have 10 trains of M-1As!! There are only 30 M-1A cars (15 pairs) remaining on MNR property, and they are run in 3 10-car trains, 1 on the Hudson, the last 2 on the Harlem. The only way there could be 10 M-1A trainsets running is if they could run in 3-car sets, which is not possible.

[s2v8377]

You're wrong!!! Metro-North runs two 8 car M1 consists per day. One set per rush hour on the Hudson and Harlem. Sometimes these day they just run one 12 car M1 on an M3 cycle. I hate when people make a big deal about the M1A thing, M1 is close enough. FYI less than 30 are still operating even if 30 are on Metro-North's property. In my experience most people mistake the M3's for M1's.

[jewboy1576]

HOW its so ugly on the outside the inside is nice they should make it look like the m-7 at least

[jewboy1576]

im sry but the m8 is FUCKIN UGLY no offense but dam derail that please

[Biglele208]

Shut up I like it

[Biglele208]

Wassaic Harlem line commuters and Hudson Line Poughkeepsie commuters still have to suffer the bad conditions since there is no electric service

[Biglele208]

Well are they gonna do it for Hudson and Harlem?

[milky27oreo]

hudsom and harlem still has nice metro norths

[Biglele208]

yeah, but bumpy. I still like em though

[MNRRConductor2006]

The bumpiness has nothing to do with the trains, the problem is the deteriorating concrete ties, mainly on the Harlem stretch between CP 106 (Melrose) and CP 112 (Woodlawn), and the roughest is Track 4, southbound local track.

[MNRRConductor2006]

Also, the bumpiness every now and then results from failed or defective air bags in the suspension system. The vast majority of the time the ride is quite smooth, and the other primary cause for the bumps are in the Bronx along the Harlem Line between Melrose (CP 106) and Woodlawn (CP 112), and it is mainly on Track 4 southbound, although there are a few bad tie sections on Tracks 2 and 1, the express tracks.

[Biglele208]

did i say bumpy? I meant swaying

[Biglele208]

They could have used M7's on the New haven line

[trainriders1031]

They can't because it's on the NEC and the NEC doesn't have third rail.

[Biglele208]

nEC?

[trainriders1031]

North East Corridor.

[dragonpullman]

I hope and pray that the M8 will be a reliable form of transportation for New Haven Line riders, because MARC needs more electric service on the Penn Line and needs it bad. Since MARC's 4 AEM7s are being overhauled at Delaware, they only have 6 HHP8s providing service to customers, meanwhile trains on the Camden and Brunswick Lines are too short (mean of 3 cars), and since some of the HHP8's are probably in for repairs each day, MARC must run some of their diesels on the Penn Line...

[dragonpullman]

...in order to substitute for the HHP8s in for repairs. MARC's management should watch this video and put M8s into consideration, because the Penn Line is the busiest of the MARC lines and trains on the Camden and Brunswick lines simply aren't long enough. By purchasing some EMUs, MARC can move more diesels and coaches onto the Camden and Brunswick lines where they are needed.

[bigken6005]

We haven't considered any kind of EMUs for the Penn Line as the capacity is overwhelming for them. We are getting new diesels over the next 3 years and are getting some of VRE's Kawasakis. We might be due in for another order of bi-levels in the near future. The reason why MARC runs diesels on the Penn Line is to save on electricity costs from Amtrak and some of the trains are used on other lines.

[nhlives]

the "mock-up" was strikingly realistic - a boring steel box which since they are choosing to go ahead with "single panel doors" will trap perilous commuters

[murjax]

Are you saying it's going to be another failure like the M7s?

[nhlives]

maybe not quite as bad as the M-7A's - but yes not much better. My biggest opinion is that they LOOK much better - they are not just plain ugly - but from a commuter standpoint they aren't going to be too much better than the M-7As. All I have to say is thank god Jodi Rell told the MTA ABSOLOUTELY NOT to using the M-7A carbody design - thereby allowing these cars to be regular width - not narrower like the M-7's.

[JamaicaQnzFreak]

It looks wonderful.....I can't wait to see in service next year...my camera will be ready to make videos and taking pics of the new train!

[BXV2009]

Totally agreed, Curtis! I'll be ready to catch some as well!