New Haven Independent

Rell Hops A New Choo-Choo

by Paul Bass | December 24, 2009 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

(Updated) A long-awaited shiny new $2 million, 105-seat Metro-North train pulled up to the Track 8 platform at New Haven’s Union Station at 10:30 Thursday morning.

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 300 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 Kawasaki 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), and the overhead light-display panel to announce station stops. Wheelchair-accessible alcoves have also been designed for two bicycle hooks to be placed in every other car, according to DOT Rail Administrator Gene Colonese.

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 fun 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.

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Comments

Posted by: cndr73 | December 24, 2009 6:15 PM

i also hope the gov finds funding to keep up with the maintainence on these trains.no sense in having something pretty if you can't keep them clean and safe.

Posted by: Richard Stowe | December 24, 2009 9:44 PM

It would be great if the New Haven Independent assigned a reporter to do an in depth investigation on "the alcoves designed for two bicycle hooks (to be placed in every other car)" that reveals which manufacturer has been chosen to build the bicycle hooks and where & when those hooks will be delivered. Highlighting the bicycle hook procurement would be of interest to the public. It is of note that the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council fails to mention bicycle hooks in its (http://darien.patch.com/articles/new-m8-cars-debut#c) press release.

Posted by: Rigel | December 25, 2009 10:41 AM

"Departing the train, on the way back to her fossil fuel-burning car ride out of New Haven..."

Haha, nice Paul! Lucky you got to catch this, by the time we were at Union Station two-three hours later, the cars had disappeared to the new acceptance facility.

Posted by: anon | December 25, 2009 3:33 PM

Do these cars have free wifi?

Posted by: robn | December 26, 2009 10:22 AM

Its cool that they added a little dash of Herbert Matters's Orange-Black-White color scheme to the trains. Classy and Timeless.

Posted by: The Count | December 26, 2009 11:39 AM

Uh, wasn't DOT Commissioner Joseph Marie invited? Maybe he doesn't know where New Haven is. As for Jim Cameron, he's quite the authority on trains...usually on what the state is doing wrong.

Posted by: Jason S. | December 27, 2009 10:12 PM

Paul, could I inquire as to who said that the alcoves were explicitly designed to accommodate bike hooks in every other car? No other dispatch on Thursday's M-8 unveiling has mentioned bike hooks, and I know that my personal correspondence with ConnDOT representatives has brought mixed signals as to whether or not they would be installed.

My understanding is that the alcoves, like the bathrooms, were designed chiefly as ADA-compliant spaces. Although Metro North was reluctant to give a dedicated space to bicycles, the ADA alcoves were supposed to double as bicycle storage areas in every other railcar, to be ceded to a disabled rider upon request.

Metro North demoed bike hook prototypes in an M-7 railcar in January, 2009:

http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/01/07/metro-north-makes-its-m-7-train-cars-more-bike-friendly/

The hooks made efficient use of space, but lacked a mechanism for restraining bikes in the lateral direction. They also required cyclists to bring their own bungee cables (a rather gratuitous imposition if you ask me). The last I heard from ConnDOT representatives, alternative bike hook designs were being investigated ("Request for Information" had been issued to hook vendors) but the actual procurement process had not yet begun.

Rell Hops A New Choo-Choo

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