Minimum and Maximum Train Lengths

What are the shortest and longest trains that can be run on Metro North?

single engine and cab car or a 12 car EMU in regular service,.

Shortest EMU train and longest diesel train?

longest in service diesel train is 8 cars one gennie, minimum inservice EMU allowable is 4 cars

No more 2 car New Canaan EMU train?

Nope. I don't think the Stamford-New Canaan shuttles have had a train shorter than 4-5 cars in about 10 years or so. From what I understand its because having the extra 2-car pair in the train allows the train to continue to either endpoint without calling for a rescue engine should one pair of cars fail.

It's also because a lot of the sets used on the Dink now cycle through as regular main line trains. Others on here can point to exactly which shuttles turn into which other runs. It's a time- & labor-saving measure: no need to add or remove cars at Stamford.

Thus we get Jimbo's complaints about closed cars when he doesn't realize that not all cars are required for a particular train/turn/run and that all trains are not staffed for all cars in the set.

NH2060 wrote:Nope. I don't think the Stamford-New Canaan shuttles have had a train shorter than 4-5 cars in about 10 years or so.

In October 2009 I rode a Stamford-New Canaan shuttle that was comprised of a single M6 triplet (9016-9067-9017).

ST214 wrote:No more 2 car New Canaan EMU train?

The New Canaan shuttle hasnt run with 2 car sets (at least regularly) in AT LEAST 15 years, going back to when Stamford's configuration was rebuilt. I am amazed that this belief still continues to be posted on here!

Not a minimum axles requirement for the signal system? (cough MBTA cough)

no the new canaan line had restriction to two car minimum for signal system, rest of mn 4 cars (MU) is minimum

DutchRailnut wrote:no the new canaan line had restriction to two car minimum for signal system, rest of mn 4 cars (MU) is minimum

Makes sense since MU territory rarely falls below that demand threshold and the ops practice of always having 2 MU's so one can push if the other craps out makes deuces moot in practical application.

Do they have any such minimum standards in signaled diesel shuttle territory like Upper Harlem and Danbury. That's where BandA's reference to the MBTA's minimums induces an inefficiency that limits trimming ops costs with short sets off-peak on lighter-use lines. The T has a systemwide 4-car minimum, with a couple lines having line-specific 5-car minimums because of known track circuit shunting limitations. It's a big problem on their Fairmount Line--which they want to run DMU married triplets on--because that's the primary one with the 5-car restriction and it defeats all cost efficiency of running future DMU's if the only allowable way to operate at track speed is with piggish two-DMU lash-ups at all hours.

And does anybody know if the Springfield Line's new signal system is retaining the one-car flexibility that AMTK made liberal use of with the off-peak Shuttles. I would imagine demand's on the increase enough that single cars are probably not going to appear much longer. But it definitely gives NHHS a leg up on economically expanding its schedule if they didn't have to run minimum 4-car sets on every dead late night or weekend slot. That first half to two-thirds decade is going to have a lot of empty trains on the off-peak until the demand growth starts to fill in, and it's easier to stick to the service buildout in an uncertain budgeting environment if they had means to shave a few bucks off the loss-leader slots during that route-priming first decade instead of feeling pressured during any budget squeeze to outright cut some off-peak slots.

no restriction on diesels or diesel territory other than single Diesel can not be followed between interlockings due to possibility of shunting loss.