Shore Line East Goes Electric

Out with diesel, in with electric.

A host of state and regional transportation officials made that promise as they announced that, starting on Tuesday, all trains servicing the Shore Line East rail system will be M8 electric cars — the same kind that have been running on the Metro-North’s New Haven Line for the past decade.

Gov. Ned Lamont, state Department of Transportation Commissioner Joseph Giulietti, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Mayor Justin Elicker and others celebrated the long-delayed arrival of those new electric trains during a Monday afternoon press conference at Union Station.

They said that all trains that travel on the state-owned Shore Line East commuter rail network from New Haven’s Union Station to New London will now be all-electric M8 cars, also known as M8 Electric Multiple Units (EMU).

After the presser, the officials also boarded one of those new M8 Shore Line East train cars for an inaugural trip. (Click here and here for the new Shore Line East train schedule.)

Giullieti acknowledged that state officials have been talking about bringing these all-electric train cars to the Shore Line East ​“for a long time.” 

By state DOT spokesperson Josh Morgan’s estimate, the original order for these all-electric cars to come to the Shore Line East dates back over a decade. ​“Lots of moving parts and different organizations at the table cause delays,” Morgan told the Independent after the press conference. ​“Amtrak owns the tracks, DOT owns the trains, and the FRA needs to approve any change.”

“It takes an awful lot to get the right things done,” Giullieti said during Monday’s presser. He praised the partnership among the state DOT, Amtrak, and Metro-North for making sure these all-electric cars finally arrived on the Shore Line East route.

“These M8s accelerate out of the station quicker,” he said. They have ​“higher top speeds.” They’re ​“quieter inside and out.” And they put out no carbon emissions.

“They perform well, are super reliable,” added Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi. 

She said that these M8s have been used on the Metro-North’s New Haven line for a decade, and have operated well so far.

Blumenthal agreed. ​“The Shoreline has been annoyed, even angry for some time by the failure to meet its need,” he said. ​“They deserve this service, and they’re going to get it.” 

He said the new all-electric rail cars ​“will make Connecticut the cleanest, safest, quickest and most comfortable” place to ride the train in America.

“These cars are the future of clean transport in our country,” he said.

An email press release sent out by the governor’s office on Monday afternoon stated that these M8 trains ​“have long been awaited by Shore Line East customers and represent a substantial improvement over the older diesel-powered train sets. Electric trains emit no carbon emissions and include additional amenities for riders, such as electrical outlets at each seat, brighter interior spaces, updated restrooms, higher back seats, and improved luggage racks.” 

That press released added that these M8 trains have been in service on the Metro-North’s New Haven Line ​“for more than ten years and have performed very well. Using electric trains on both the New Haven Line and SLE also holds the promise of future service improvements.”