by Jeff Smith
From the MNRR page (to reiterate what's been posted):
http://mta.info/mnr/html/newM8.html
http://mta.info/mnr/html/newM8.html
Delivered to New Haven Yard Under Inspection and Testing by Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc. Conditionally Accepted by Metro-North Railroad Information Provided
34 (total) 4 30 8/1/11
34 (total) 8 26 6/14/11
32 (total) 12 20 6/6/11
28 (total) 8 20 5/16/11
State of Connecticut & MTA/Metro-North Railroad Approve Purchase of 25 M-8 Single Rail Cars
Twenty-five new single M-8 rail cars will be added to the 380 M-8 rail cars already on order from Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. for use on the New Haven Line. Adding the 25 cars to the original order will ensure the best possible price. The new cars will be "singles," as opposed to the "married pairs" now being delivered. This will provide the additional advantage of being able to add one car instead of two, a very efficient way to add capacity on trains to meet ridership growth.
The 25 single cars will cost about $3.325 million each for a total of about $93 million; Connecticut's share will be $60.5 million and New York's will be $32.6 million. Governor Malloy received approval from the State Bond Commission on July 29, 2011 for the Connecticut share. The MTA Board approved the New York portion of the purchase on July 27, 2011.
The roll out of the new M-8s on the New Haven Line (NHL) continues. Of the 380 original order, the first 38 have been built in Kobe, Japan, and the remaining 342 are being built at Kawasaki's plant in Lincoln, Nebraska.
More M-8's In Service
A total of 30 new M-8 rail cars are in revenue service as of August 1, 2011 -- three 8-car train sets, which includes 212 more seats available for customers, with 6 spare cars for routine maintenance. Customers have 130 weekly trains in service with the new three M8 train sets (approximately 95 weekday and 36 on weekends). These trains operate during peak and off-peak service between New Haven to Grand Central Terminal
The new cars have received overwhelmingly positive customer feedback. Click here to see customer reaction: http://www.youtube.com/mtainfo#p/u/4/XC7TDH95gIg
M-8 Bike Rack Prototype
The Connecticut Department of Transportation and MTA Metro-North Railroad (MNR) will test bicycle hooks for use on the M-8 rail fleet later this year. The final two designs have been selected and will be fabricated by SportsWork, Inc. for installation and testing later this summer. The testing will include static tests in New York and Connecticut, as well as in-service testing on off-peak trains. More information will be available in the coming months.
Production Progress
The Lincoln plant was shut down for the month of April due to a production error with welds on brackets holding components to the underside of the cars. The brackets are made by several manufacturers near the Kawasaki plant in Kobe, Japan. The bracket problem is unrelated to the earthquake and will have no adverse impact on the Lincoln production line.
The bracket welds are not a safety concern, but could be a durability issue and therefore they will be replaced with uniform size and strength brackets that conform to design specifications
Production is underway at the Lincoln plant and the first cars are shipping from there in early August 2011.
The expectation is that there will be approximately 60 M-8 cars in service by the end of 2011.
Next stop, Willoughby
~el Jefe :: RAILROAD.NET Site Administrator/Co-Owner; Carman at Naugatuck Railroad
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~el Jefe :: RAILROAD.NET Site Administrator/Co-Owner; Carman at Naugatuck Railroad
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