New Haven Independent

posted by: cndr73 on December 24, 2009  7:15pm

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 on December 24, 2009  10:44pm

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 on December 25, 2009  11:41am

“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 on December 25, 2009  4:33pm

Do these cars have free wifi?

posted by: robn on December 26, 2009  11:22am

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 on December 26, 2009  12:39pm

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. on December 27, 2009  11:12pm

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.

[Note: That was DOT staffer Gene Colonese.]