Metrolink in LA getting more Comet1b cars from NJ Transit.

ryanov wrote:If the cars can still run at all (no frame cracks, etc.), it is more economical to repair/rebuild them than it is to buy new cars. I'm not sure what $500,000 per car couldn't do, and it doesn't take quite long to see a major savings with those numbers. I don't know why it would be that one transit agency can see a use for cars that another cannot -- do the finances somehow make more sense in Utah? I doubt it.

I've been saying this all along, and not just on this forum. NJT could easily have rebuilt those Pullman cars to run alongside the Comet IIMs, IIIs, and IVs. Imagine the time, money, and aggravation we would have saved over buying the Comet 5s.

The passenger railroad car has been around for several hundred years. NJT does not have to reinvent the (metal) wheel at every order just because they can.

This reminds me of when my grandfather gave away his 1975 Chevy Nova and bought a new 2000 Cadillac Deville, with all the bells and whistles, just because he wanted to treat himself in his old age. That '75 Chevy is dutifully serving its second owner (my Dad), but the Deville has has been nothing but problems. He regrets buying that car all along.

"Tired is probably the best word to use to describe them, and that might be generous," NJ Transit spokesman Dan Stessel told The Star-Ledger of Newark.

BULLSHEET !

Maybe if NJT should have taken better care of them, eh ?

So transit angencies in Utah, L.A., Philly and Montreal see them as still useful and can make them more than functional for their citizens but NJT CAN'T ????

Utah is spending $400,000 per Comet I to make them like new. Meanwhile, NJT is spending nearly $2 million PER for new bi-levels AND is about to junk the still newer Comet III's !!

Is anyone watching this ?

Tri-State Tom wrote:

Utah is spending $400,000 per Comet I to make them like new. Meanwhile, NJT is spending nearly $2 million PER for new bi-levels AND is about to junk the still newer Comet III's !!

Is anyone watching this ?

Modernizing the fleet would be fine and dandy if the state was awash in cash. However, the State of NJ is broke. The Governor has admitted that the citizens of New Jersey can no longer afford the cost of government. How could we be so wasteful in such hard times?

Like my "grandfather" example, one can splurge when they have a lot of money and no significant expenses. However, NJ is like a debt-ridden person maxing out the credit cards before the inevitable bankruptcy. I lump NJ Transit in with state government since so much funding comes from taxpayers and riders alike.

It' s a real shame.

I'll bet NJ Transit could get Bombardier to do the work for even less if they awarded a contract to rebuild the C1s, C3s, and C4s as one large contract.

And the Arrows as well, which could be good for another 15-20 years. SEPTA's Silverliner II (a direct ancestor of the Jersey Arrow) was built in 1963 and is now 45, 15 years older than the Arrow III.

moveonrp wrote:Modernizing the fleet would be fine and dandy if the state was awash in cash. However, the State of NJ is broke. The Governor has admitted that the citizens of New Jersey can no longer afford the cost of government. How could we be so wasteful in such hard times?

If you had actually read the thread and done some research, one would see that the new Multi-Level cars cost almost 3x more then one single Comet I being refurbished and that state of NJ and NJT purchased almost 200+ cars.

But if platform lengths are fixed, and tunnel capacity is maxed-out, then what is the value in refurbishing those cars? NJT needs to move more people on the same trains. Refurbishing old cars does absolutely nothing to meet that goal. Nothing. Zero.

The bi-levels seat what, 20% more people than the standard cars? And they have an expected lifespan of how many years? Rehabbing the old cars is looked-upon as an emergency stopgap by these other agencies, who I am sure will replace them with new cars when they can.

Eventually, that '75 Chevy will die.

yea, but the thing is, a Comet 1 only holds just a handful of people less than a brand new multilevel.

And the number of folks sitting on the single level comets (2, 3, 4 and 5s) isn't THAT much less than the MLs.

du_dragons wrote:But if platform lengths are fixed, and tunnel capacity is maxed-out, then what is the value in refurbishing those cars? NJT needs to move more people on the same trains. Refurbishing old cars does absolutely nothing to meet that goal. Nothing. Zero.

Single level cars work just fine on the Hoboken Division trains going to Hoboken. NJT does have other lines that aren't the Northeast Corridor that don't have such ridiculously high ridership numbers all day long.

du_dragons wrote:The bi-levels seat what, 20% more people than the standard cars?

No. They don't. Remember, 2x2 seating. Comets, 3x2 seating. Plus the seating area is shorter then the single levels. So that third missing row was pretty much put on the upper level and the seats that would have occupied the ends of the cars where put upstairs too.

Jtgshu wrote:yea, but the thing is, a Comet 1 only holds just a handful of people less than a brand new multilevel.

And the number of folks sitting on the single level comets (2, 3, 4 and 5s) isn't THAT much less than the MLs.

Exactly! The seating capacity of the Multi-Level is not much more then any of the single level cars. Multi-Levels where designed with standing room in mind. Why else do you think the train is set up with 2x2 seating. Because their little passenger consultants thought it was a good idea? No. Cram as many people into that car as possible and put those engines to work.

moveonrp wrote:
The passenger railroad car has been around for several hundred years. NJT does not have to reinvent the (metal) wheel at every order just because they can.

This reminds me of when my grandfather gave away his 1975 Chevy Nova and bought a new 2000 Cadillac Deville, with all the bells and whistles, just because he wanted to treat himself in his old age. That '75 Chevy is dutifully serving its second owner (my Dad), but the Deville has has been nothing but problems. He regrets buying that car all along.

I can see that there is absolutely no future for you in NJT's purchasing department. None whatsoever.