CTRailfan wrote:NH2060 wrote:khansingh wrote:What about a power car that could also draw from catenary?
Ain't gonna happen any time soon. The power cars in question would be kept strictly to the Hudson and Harlem lines making the use of a pantograph unnecessary. Plus the New Haven Line is getting new cars as it is. That being said I can definitely see the New Haven Line seeing trains of power cars and coaches instead of MUs for the GCT-New Haven expresses (and perhaps GCT-New London through trains should they ever materialize).
That doesn't make much sense, as they still have to run on third rail down to GCT. Also, the traffic levels don't support running an 8-10 car set out to NLC. SLE needs electric gear bad, but they don't need 8-10 car trains anytime soon.
The non-Amtrak SLE platforms are only 3 cars long. They can't even open all doors on a 4-car M8 consist. The new Westbrook station can handle 4, so that's probably what most others will eventually get upgraded to.
Lower population density east of New Haven means lower cap on the walk-up crowds for
any given train. Where SLE differs from small branches like Danbury is that its ridership market can draw a more consistently good crowd at more time slots...just not necessarily much
more crowds at any particular time slot. So its growth potential tracks with more frequent service, not higher-capacity trains. Different dynamics than the NHL et al where they've got to find ways to cram more bodies onto a more or less saturated schedule.
SLE's never going to be a car-hungry service. Even if extended permanently to New London with escalating service levels. Even if extended to Mystic and Westerly. Neither will Danbury put much dent in the M8 supply if the electrification proponents win out. The only thing that's going to force any supplemental order of pantograph-equipped MU's are NHL-Penn service of substantial density and NHL ridership overflow putting the new MLV + power car concept on the front-burner.
