MTA To Vote On Hundreds Of New LIRR, Metro-North Train Cars

[Bracamonte]

From CBS

 

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/09/17/mta-to-vote-on-hundreds-of-new-lirr-metro-north-train-cars/
 

[lirr42]

That article's nonsense. First off, it says in the article that the contract is for $1.8 million. They're off by well over a billion dollars there (but what's a couple billion dollars amongst friends?).

Plus, I highly, highly, highly doubt that we will see Wi-Fi on these trains. They may come Wi-Fi ready (i.e. have the basic wiring installed), but the infrastructure necessary for Wi-Fi on trains is no where near being in place. People are confusing wish lists with reality here.

At the end of the day the interior design is going to be very similar to the M8's (with a different color scheme). Everything else is going to be practically the same. To quote the great Mr. DutchRailnut, there's not all that much you can do with an 85 foot long maximized metal box that has to seat 120 passengers.


The article also mentions how the M9's will have 8 more seats and wider middle seats. I haven't been inside an M7 for a little while, but I'm hard pressed to imagine a spot where they could fit a whole 8 more seats. Furthermore, I thought the aisles were narrow enough, and now they want to widen seats!

[DJ MC]

30 years old is antique? Try 60 years old. I too have doubts the cars will have wifi when they are built and in service.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Well the one thing they need to do is start making cars for people that aren't midgets.  The leg room is ridiculous for what we pay on these commuter trains.  Even short people have a hard time.  I never understood why they would have seats facing each other (say 6 seats when in reality you can only fit maybe three people in there because of the limited leg room).  A waste of space that could be better utilized.  The climate control is also lacking.  On really hot days, I find the AC on the Hudson Line not exactly the greatest and the trains are like ovens in the winter, as if we need all of that heat with no ventilation when we have coats on. They seem to have a good concept of proper ventilation and AC on the subways but not on MNRR and LIRR trains when we're paying triple or four times the price.    Incredible.  

 

Are they going to be having these cars displayed anywhere and if so where and when because for what I pay I would like better service and would like to give feedback on these new cars, even if they aren't on the Hudson Line.

[lirr42]

Are they going to be having these cars displayed anywhere and if so where and when because for what I pay I would like better service and would like to give feedback on these new cars, even if they aren't on the Hudson Line.

 

Yeah, on revenue trains on the LIRR in six years.  There's no real prototype phase or commuter sampling of the cars.  When Kawasakis's ready they're going to turn on their M9 making machine, pump the first car out, and then they won't stop until they hit 584.

[Truckie]

The leg room is ridiculous for what we pay on these commuter trains.

Try riding Amtrak. Sure, you get roomier and more comfortale seats but it's gonna cost you quite a bit more than what you're paying now.

[lirr42]

Maybe we'll just order R179's for the LIRR.  Yeah, you'll get all that awesome legroom, but where would you put the people? 

[Vistausss]

Try riding Amtrak. Sure, you get roomier and more comfortale seats but it's gonna cost you quite a bit more than what you're paying now.

 

Not to burst your bubble but last time I checked Amtrak bypassed Riverdale at all times so that's a no-go for VG8.

Maybe we'll just order R179's for the LIRR.  Yeah, you'll get all that awesome legroom, but where would you put the people? 

 

LMAO. Maybe it would work for the PW or Far Rockaway branches because they're not much longer than an average subway line in NYC but I can't imagine how painful it would be to commute on an R179 from Babylon all the way to Penn (or Jamaica)! On the other hand, it would save quite some money

30 years old is antique? Try 60 years old. I too have doubts the cars will have wifi when they are built and in service.

 

Yeah, 30 years old is not that old. And I too have doubts on the WiFi. WiFi on regular commuter trains (so that excludes Amtrak and similar trains) is still kinda rare in Europe and the USA.

[tun]

I hope WiFi never makes it to the trains. The last thing I need is an entire car full of people with their headphones plugged in and their eyes glued to their smartphone/tablet when I'm trying to collect tickets. 

[Via Garibaldi 8]

Try riding Amtrak. Sure, you get roomier and more comfortale seats but it's gonna cost you quite a bit more than what you're paying now.

I don't see what paying more has to do with anything.  Why not just arrange the seats in a way that doesn't waste so much space as the current M7's do?  I'm sure you know about the two and three seaters that face each other on the M7's on the Hudson line. If there are 4 seats (2 and 2 facing each other), only two people can sit there due to the lack of leg room, so what's the point of having those seats face each other if only 2 people can sit there when there are four seats and three people for six seats??  It seems to make more sense to just have the seats facing in the same direction, this way more people can actually sit in the seats.

 

I hope WiFi never makes it to the trains. The last thing I need is an entire car full of people with their headphones plugged in and their eyes glued to their smartphone/tablet when I'm trying to collect tickets. 

It already happens now without WiFi. 

[Vistausss]

I hope WiFi never makes it to the trains. The last thing I need is an entire car full of people with their headphones plugged in and their eyes glued to their smartphone/tablet when I'm trying to collect tickets. 

 

It could be different in the States but here in my country we have a couple of trains with free WiFi and I hardly see anyone use the WiFi. Most people just have an MP3 with 'em or their smartphone with unlimited data.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

It could be different in the States but here in my country we have a couple of trains with free WiFi and I hardly see anyone use the WiFi. Most people just have an MP3 with 'em or their smartphone with unlimited data.

Unlimited data? It's about time Europe moved out of the stone ages.  They charge for everything!  In Italy the only thing that was free was incoming phone calls on the cell phone, but I remember still having to pay for internet by the minute. 

[Vistausss]

Well, here in The Netherlands most people with a smartphone have unlimited data. So you'll just pay a few bucks a month and then you can use 3G/4G internet unlimited. Pay per minute is long gone here.

[Truckie]

Not to burst your bubble but last time I checked Amtrak bypassed Riverdale at all times so that's a no-go for VG8.

 

 

Yeah, I know.  Just trying to demonstrate that you get what you pay for.  He's complaining about the price but Amtrak from Yonkers to NYP is more than twice the amount than MNR Yonkers to GCT.

I don't see what paying more has to do with anything. 

 

You're the one that brought it up!

 

"The leg room is ridiculous for what we pay on these commuter trains".

 

 

I hope WiFi never makes it to the trains. The last thing I need is an entire car full of people with their headphones plugged in and their eyes glued to their smartphone/tablet when I'm trying to collect tickets. 

 

 

 

 

Tun, wifi won't make a difference for two reasons.  1)  They already have their heads up their... I mean eyes glued to their phones.  2) Try using wifi on Amtrak or one of the Metro North stations.... It's useless!

[Vistausss]

True. Even WiFi on the couple of trains that have it here is useless. Tried using it more than once (even recently) and sending out more than a tweet is almost impossible! I don't think the concept of WiFi on trains isn't advanced enough yet so MNRR and LIRR better wait until technology become better.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

You're the one that brought it up!

 

"The leg room is ridiculous for what we pay on these commuter trains".

 

Yeah it is because the configuration on the trains is retarded.  I mean who do they think can actually sit in the seats that face each other with the leg room that they give?

[Joel Up Front]

I've been riding the LIRR for a few years now and I know the leg room is horrible, but I certainly wouldn't use that word to describe it.

 

At any rate, the M3's are held together with duct tape but are trucking on after almost 30 years of service.  The M7's are only a decade old and buck everywhere, have the most awful ride quality, and manage to make any sound caused by the truck seem louder.  It helps that you can hear and feel all this even in the middle of a car.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I've been riding the LIRR for a few years now and I know the leg room is horrible, but I certainly wouldn't use that word to describe it.

 

At any rate, the M3's are held together with duct tape but are trucking on after almost 30 years of service.  The M7's are only a decade old and buck everywhere, have the most awful ride quality, and manage to make any sound caused by the truck seem louder.  It helps that you can hear and feel all this even in the middle of a car.

How about deplorable?  

[Vistausss]

I've been riding the LIRR for a few years now and I know the leg room is horrible, but I certainly wouldn't use that word to describe it.

 

At any rate, the M3's are held together with duct tape but are trucking on after almost 30 years of service.  The M7's are only a decade old and buck everywhere, have the most awful ride quality, and manage to make any sound caused by the truck seem louder.  It helps that you can hear and feel all this even in the middle of a car.

 

Yeah, with Bombardier it's always a hit or miss when it comes to commuter trains. Sometimes they build comfortable, not-annoying stuff and sometimes they half-ass the the job. I can totally feel what you're feeling in an M7. We also have a fleet of Bombardier trains here and it's suffering from exactly the same problems as the M7's that you describe.

[trainfan22]

Yeah, on revenue trains on the LIRR in six years.  There's no real prototype phase or commuter sampling of the cars.  When Kawasakis's ready they're going to turn on their M9 making machine, pump the first car out, and then they won't stop until they hit 584.

 

Actually they had a mock up for the M8s at GCT before the cars came into service. It had M8 style seats inside it with a M8 bathroom, it was inside a big metal box. There was a guy there that introduced people to the mock up and gave out this report card like paper for people to give there opinion about the mock up. I didn't fill it out though lol.

 

 

 

LMAO. Maybe it would work for the PW or Far Rockaway branches because they're not much longer than an average subway line in NYC but I can't imagine how painful it would be to commute on an R179 from Babylon all the way to Penn (or Jamaica)! On the other hand, it would save quite some money

 

 

 

Riders on the far end of the   in the BX and the   in Far Rockaway have near hour commutes to Midtown. So riding a subway car on the Babylon line wouldn't be too bad, it takes about an hour for a LIRR to travel to Babylon from NYP

[youngblaze]

Yeah, with Bombardier it's always a hit or miss when it comes to commuter trains. Sometimes they build comfortable, not-annoying stuff and sometimes they half-ass the the job. I can totally feel what you're feeling in an M7. We also have a fleet of Bombardier trains here and it's suffering from exactly the same problems as the M7's that you describe.

 

You have to understand that these manufacturers build these cars in accordance to the specifications provided by the agency.

[theaveragejoe]

Unlimited data? It's about time Europe moved out of the stone ages.  They charge for everything!  In Italy the only thing that was free was incoming phone calls on the cell phone, but I remember still having to pay for internet by the minute. 

 

Also remember Europe is falling behind on smart phone useage and high speed data 3 and 4 G service.

[Vistausss]

You have to understand that these manufacturers build these cars in accordance to the specifications provided by the agency.

 

Yeah, because Bombardier is a perfect company who builds everything perfectly. They never make a mistake. [/sarcasm]

 

Riders on the far end of the   in the BX and the   in Far Rockaway have near hour commutes to Midtown. So riding a subway car on the Babylon line wouldn't be too bad, it takes about an hour for a LIRR to travel to Babylon from NYP

 

I dunno where you got your info from but according to (MTA)'s LIRR trip planner it takes 1 hour and 18 minutes from NYP to Babylon (that's  a direct train FYI).

[Truckie]

You have to understand that these manufacturers build these cars to the specifications provided by the agency.

So this means Metro North's M7's were manufactured to have noisy trucks because that's the way they were spec'd?

 

Thanks for enlightening me.

[trainfan22]

 

 

 

I dunno where you got your info from but according to (MTA)'s LIRR trip planner it takes 1 hour and 18 minutes from NYP to Babylon (that's  a direct train FYI).

LIRR has direct trains from NYP to Babylon that only take a hour, I just looked it up they have trains that do that run in an hour off peak and I ridden Babylon Branch trains to traveled from NYP to Babylon in that time frame...

 

On weekdays Babylon Branch service runs half hourly off peak, one train takes about a hour and 20 minutes whereas the other takes only a hour..

 

IDK about the weekends though.