editor’s note: The New Haven Independent reported this story first and in it serves up the breaking news about Metro-North’s & C-DOT’s configuration for bike parking on the M-8 cars that is absent in the Danbury News-Times and Connecticut Rail Commuter Council-generated Darien Patch story.

New Haven Independent

BY PAUL BASS | DECEMBER 24, 2009 12:55 PM

You can’t ride the new train until mid-2010 at the earliest. Gov. M. Jodi Rell showed up on the platform, transit aide James P. Redeker in tow, to hop aboard for a first look at the car — and at the new age of commuter rail between New Haven and New York.

The train was the first of two to arrive in town — and the first of 350 modern trains the state is bringing here to replace old cars over the next five years. The state’s buying the M8 rail cars from Kawaski Rail. It has to test each car for months before putting them on the tracks for good.

“What better present could we ask for for Christmas?” Rell declared as she viewed the ergonomic seats with added legroom and headroom, the plus-size bathroom (as big as a “Manhattan apartment,” quipped one observer), the overhead light-display panel to announce station stops, the alcoves designed for two bicycle hooks (to be placed in every other car).

What struck Rell most of all was the cleanliness — and that new-car smell.

“It is beautiful. It smells nice and fresh and new too,” Rell declared. “I hope that smell lingers for a little while when we actually get them tested and get them on the tracks.

“It’s like getting a new bicycle, getting a new car. You’ve had one for a long time. It’s still to get that new one out there.”

Rell spoke of the importance of modern, more user-friendly cars in promoting mass transit. “Our commuters have suffered a long, long time waiting for the new cars to come in. They’ve been riding … 30 year old cars for some time now. They’ve been very patient.”

“This is a happy day for commuters,” agreed Jim Cameron (pictured behind Rell), chairman of the CT Rail Commuter Council. “We have waited a long time.”

As he and the governor sat for a photo-op chat, Cameron pointed to the outlets that will be next to every seat, ready for cellphones or computers to plug into. You don’t find the outlets on current Metro-North trains.

Departing the train, on the way back to her fossil fuel-burning car ride out of New Haven, Rell stopped to press the flesh. She received a warm greeting from a 3 1/2-year-old constituent who’ll help her prevent damage to the new trains: Mullen, a purebred German Shepherd who sniffs out explosives for the transit cops.

New railcars finally on track

By Rob Varnon, STAFF WRITER

Published: 07:01 p.m., Thursday, December 24, 2009

At long last, Connecticut got trains for Christmas.

On Thursday, Gov. M. Jodi Rell unveiled the first two M-8 railcars for the New Haven Line at Union Station in New Haven to a gaggle of reporters, railroad workers and Kawasaki Rail Car executives.

"Kawasaki, I have nothing but praise for them," Rell said while seated in the front of the first pair of railcars, fielding questions from reporters. She said the firm has been very good with communicating the progress of the cars. The new cars have a more box-like design than the older cars that rolled in and out of Union Station during the conference.

The governor appeared to enjoy the new cars and said that they represent the fruition of one of her earliest proposals as governor.

In 2005, when Rell introduced her first budget as governor, she challenged the state "to confront, once and for all, our transportation problem." She backed a plan to replace the 342-car fleet as part of a $1 billion transportation initiative.

Kawasaki Rail Car, of Japan, originally won a contract in 2006 to build 210 railcars for $522 million with an option to build another 132 additional cars with a price tag of about $2.5 million a car. But efficiencies in the process and a reduction in commodity costs, helped lower the per-car price to about $2 million, so the state is taking 300 cars for almost $700 million.

Fare hikes to help cover the cost of the new cars are scheduled for the next seven years, with the first one of 1.25 percent occurring next year in the summer followed by 1 percent hikes during the following six years each January.

James Cameron, chairman of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council, said this was an important day for commuters, but also for Rell.

"I wanted to say thank you to the governor," Cameron said, while standing on Platform 8, where the new railcars were open for viewing.

DOT and Metro-North will begin testing the new cars next week, so they will not be available for public viewing.

Cameron and the rail commuter council pressed for years to improve the train service on the New Haven Line. While the trains generally come in on time, the conditions on them had been deteriorating as the railcars aged. The majority of the fleet entered service in the 1970s and only a handful of railcars were added in later decades. The situation came to a head in the winter of 2004 when bitterly cold wind and snow fouled the mechanics and electronics of the older trains, putting more than 100 out of commission in a single week. That forced shortened trains and schedule changes.

Metro-North mechanics worked around the clock in below-zero conditions in the New Haven Rail Yard to get the trains back in service, repairing 49 trains in one weekend.

The state is also expanding the rail yard at a cost of more than $700 million, to accommodate the fleet of new trains. Connecticut will not immediately retire the older models, but instead intends to use them to expand service on its Shore Line East Railroad and branch lines.

Cameron credited Rell with the political courage to move the issue forward. "This is her swan song," he said, as Rell walked the platform talking to police and reporters about the new trains. Rell declared she would not seek another term during the next election cycle, which begins in 2010. Her term ends in 2011.

The new trains are expected to begin entering full service in the fall of 2010, meaning Connecticut will have the most advanced fleet of railcars in North America at a time when the nation's economy is expected to start rising out of the recession.

"Having the newest trains in North America says a lot about the state's transportation," Cameron said, who added it's a far cry from where Connecticut has been. He said there have been reports of companies who crossed Connecticut off the map of potential locations for offices simply because of its clogged freeways and overcrowded railcars.

While there was excitement about the new railcars, they will not go into service until the fall of 2010, according to Eugene Colonese, a state Department of Transportation rail administrator.

Colonese said the trains must go through testing and they can only be run with other M-8 cars because of the electronics are more advanced on the new cars.

Colonese is a veteran railroad worker who served as a Metro-North conductor before taking the job at the DOT.

"They're great," he said of the new cars. "All the other cars are based on a 1960 design," he said. "This is such an improvement."

Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. President Akira Hattori agreed with Cameron and Colonese that these were among the most advanced cars in North America and probably the world.

Hattori said the M-8s are complicated cars and require a complex electrical system because the cars run on both overhead alternating current and third-rail direct current systems.

The New Haven Line is the only railroad in the world that operates on this system.

Besides being the latest design, Hattori noted these trains will be faster and will be capable of hitting 100 miles per hour.

The first 38 cars are being made in Japan and then the remaining 262 cars will be manufactured in Kawasaki's Lincoln, Neb., factory, he said.

"It's the best design," he said.

NEWS

New M8 Cars Debut

A press release from the CT Commuter Rail Council

December 24, 2009

Rail commuters in Connecticut received an early Christmas gift as the first two M8 rail cars manufactured in Japan by Kawasaki arrived at the New Haven rail yard.

Inspecting the new cars, Governor Rell acknowledged the work of the CT Rail Commuter Council in helping bring the new cars to the state. 

"Commuters have been very patient," she said.  "But the wait is over".

Connecticut's current fleet of 343 M2, M4 and M6 cars has some which date back to 1976.

The first pilot M8 cars must undergo four to six months of testing before any of the 300 cars in the M8 order will go into passenger service.  Additional new cars will start arriving this winter at a rate of ten per month as the pilot car testing is underway. The first M8s are being manufactured in Kobe Japan but the bulk of the order will be built in Lincoln Nebraska.

"This is a wonderful Christmas present," said Commuter Council Chairman Jim Cameron (of Darien) as he toured the cars with the Governor, CDOT, Metro-North and Kawasaki officials.  "It has certainly been worth the wait."

Extensive input from commuters was sought in the design of the cars which incorporate new amenities such a power-plugs at each row of seats, LED displays and automated PA announcements for each station stop as well as PA speakers on the outside of cars to alert boarders of the train's destination.

Each train is also equipped with GPS equipment, redundant HVAC systems and ADA accessible bathrooms.  The cars are also "Wi-Fi ready" for when an internet access technology is finally chosen.

"I actually found the seats more comfortable than I'd thought (from the designs)," commented Council member Bob Jelley (of Guilford). 

Each seat is also equipped with its own headrest. Seating is two seats on one side and three on the other.

If testing progresses as hoped, the first new M8 cars will be in passenger service late fall or early winter of 2010.

Created by the Connecticut legislator as watchdogs for the interests of rail commuters on Metro-North and Shore Line East, the CT Rail Commuter Council has thirteen members appointed by lawmakers.  All are commuters who serve without compensation. The Council meets monthly at various stations served by the railroad in Connecticut.

 

For Immediate Release                                                                       Contact Info Below

 

 

CT RAIL COMMUTER COUNCIL HAILS ARRIVAL

 

OF FIRST NEW M8 RAIL CARS

 

(Darien CT – December 24,2009):   Rail commuters in Connecticut received an early Christmas gift as the first two M8 rail cars manufactured in Japan by Kawasaki arrived at the New Haven rail yard.

 

Inspecting the new cars, Governor Rell acknowledged the work of the CT Rail Commuter Council in helping bring the new cars to the state.  “Commuters have been very patient,” she said.  “But the wait is over”.

 

Connecticut’s current fleet of 343 M2, M4 and M6 cars has some which date back to 1976.

 

The first ‘pilot’ M8 cars must undergo four to six months of testing before any of the 300 cars in the M8 order will go into passenger service.  Additional new cars will start arriving this winter at a rate of ten per month as the pilot car testing is underway. The first M8s are being manufactured in Kobe Japan but the bulk of the order will be built in Lincoln Nebraska .

 

“This is a wonderful Christmas present,” said Commuter Council Chairman Jim Cameron (of Darien ) as he toured the cars with the Governor, CDOT, Metro-North and Kawasaki officials..  “It has certainly been worth the wait”.

 

Extensive input from commuters was sought in the design of the cars which incorporate new amenities such a power-plugs at each row of seats, LED displays and automated PA announcements for each station stop as well as PA speakers on the outside of cars to alert boarders of the train’s destination.

 

Each train is also equipped with GPS equipment, redundant HVAC systems and ADA accessible bathrooms.  The cars are also “Wi-Fi ready” for when an internet access technology is finally chosen.

 

“I actually found the seats more comfortable than I’d thought (from the designs),” commented Council member Bob Jelley (of Guilford ).  Each seat is also equipped with its own headrest.  Seating is two seats on one side and three on the other.

 

If testing progresses as hoped, the first new M8 cars will be in passenger service late fall or early winter of 2010.

 

Created by the Connecticut legislator as watchdogs for the interests of rail commuters on Metro-North and Shore Line East, the CT Rail Commuter Council has thirteen members appointed by lawmakers.  All are commuters who serve without compensation.  The Council meets monthly at various stations served by the railroad in Connecticut . 

 

For more information or to reach the Council with comments or complaints, visit www.trainweb.org/ct

 

Media Contact:    JIM CAMERON / Chairman   

    CT Rail Commuter Council

                             Cameron06820@gmail.com