vnc
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Post by vnc on Jun 30, 2008 23:23:37 GMT -8
Trains have been very crowded as ridership has surged. But some extra seats may be coming. Metrolink spokesperson Denise Tyrrell e-mailed on Monday: "The Metrolink Board of Directors authorized Metrolink CEO David Solow to lease additional equipment from both New Jersey Transit and Utah Transit. Staff members will travel to New Jersey on July 11 to pick out lease cars and finalize lease agreements New Jersey. I do not have a time line on Utah. "New Jersey cars that are for lease were manufactured in the 70s. New Jersey is replacing its fleet --hence surplus cars.) These cars will have to be brought across country by freight train. We will be using them to relieve crowding until our new rail cars are available. It's a stop=gap measure we hope our passengers more comfortable." The Metrolink board took the action at Friday's meeting. At the end of 2008, the agency is set to lose some other rail cars it had leased from the commuter rail service in the Seattle area, which could cost the agency 1,752 seats, according to the board report. The lease cars from New Jersey and Utah would prevent those losses and may add some seats. Pictures of the lease Cars from NJ Transit: Lease Car 1Lease Car 2Story from Steve Hymon - LA Times Story LinkNote. The Story is the third one down.
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Post by James Fujita on Jul 1, 2008 9:36:33 GMT -8
well, it'll certainly be interesting to see those NJT trains at Union Station. even if they repaint them, it'll be obvious these aren't your typical Metrolink cars! (they look sorta like Amfleet trains, but without that distinctive rounded sleekness).
I know that New Jersey runs trains on the Northeast Corridor.... they wouldn't be sending us high-platform loading vehicles, would they? ;D
as for Utah... well, it's just another day in the life of a double-decker Bombardier...
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Post by Transit Coalition on Jul 1, 2008 9:57:56 GMT -8
well, it'll certainly be interesting to see those NJT trains at Union Station. even if they repaint them, it'll be obvious these aren't your typical Metrolink cars! (they look sorta like Amfleet trains, but without that distinctive rounded sleekness). I know that New Jersey runs trains on the Northeast Corridor.... they wouldn't be sending us high-platform loading vehicles, would they? ;D as for Utah... well, it's just another day in the life of a double-decker Bombardier... Actually, Utah has the Comet equipment that is expected to complete refurbishment near the end of the year. Utah has NO Bombardier equipment available. So, Metrolink is looking to lease the Utah Comet cars. The Comet fleet is all single level with low level boarding and a vestibule at each end. The seating is probably NJT standard, which is 2 - 3 with an isle and briefcase racks. As far as logos go, Metrolink would just slap their logo over the NJT on each end and on both sides. Because of the door configuration, the plan is to insert them next to the engine. I am not sure that the doors between the Comet and Bombardier match up, so these will be an isolated ride.
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vnc
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Post by vnc on Jul 1, 2008 11:25:53 GMT -8
Actually. The Comet Cars are from UTDC which became or merged to became Bombardier. And these are the same Car Style as Amtrak's Horizon Fleet. Bombardier also built Amtrak's Superliner II Cars.
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Post by antonio on Jul 1, 2008 11:29:06 GMT -8
I ride these Comets a lot while I'm at school. They are high platform but have movable steps. NJT trains on the Northeast Corridor often use low level boarding after 11pm at select stations. The interiors are very drab. They have some newer refurbished ones but the ones we will be getting will be a big downgrade from the Metrolink Bombardiers in terms of seat comfort if they are the 70's ones. However, they are definitely rideable and good cars considering their age. They were the NJT workhorse as recently as a few years ago and still are on the diesel lines. Bart is correct about the 3-2 seating and overhead luggage racks
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Post by James Fujita on Jul 1, 2008 14:36:31 GMT -8
heh. ah, my mistake. all I know about the Utah commuter trains is what I've seen from pictures and the photos I've seen show the new trains, which have that same distinctive octagon shape found from Puget Sound to Albuquerque. I should have guessed that they would have had to have borrowed cars from someplace.
hopefully the ride won't be too bad, as modern train cars are usually designed to last. and if they aren't as comfortable, even that's better than running out of cars unexpectedly during a growth spurt. call it "growing pains"
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Post by Elson on Jul 1, 2008 14:43:46 GMT -8
Actually. The Comet Cars are from UTDC which became or merged to became Bombardier. And these are the same Car Style as Amtrak's Horizon Fleet. Bombardier also built Amtrak's Superliner II Cars. ...and the original Toronto GO Transit car models our Bombardier commuter coaches were fashioned after were made by...drum roll please....UTDC (pre-Bombardier acquisition). The end doors do line up; it's part of federal railroad standards. The only ones that don't line up with them are the Amtrak Superliners.
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vnc
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Post by vnc on Jul 8, 2008 10:07:49 GMT -8
NJ Transit leases 'tired' train carsTrenton, N.J. - They're cramped and with about 40 years of wear and tear, the Associated Press. reports. But for transit agencies scrambling to meet higher demand, old NJ Transit rail cars don't seem like a bad deal right now. Transit agencies across the country have been trying to meet higher demand as high gas prices cause people to take the train, instead of their cars, to work. All of a sudden, the 104 Comet 1 train cars that NJ Transit is retiring seem like a pretty good deal. "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. SEPTA is leasing eight Comet 1 Cars for two years at a cost of $15,000 per car, per year. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Montreal is paying about the same amount for at least 14 of the cars. Officials from Metrolink in Southern California are expected in New Jersey in the coming week to negotiate a leasing argeement. (This item was distributed July 7, 2008 by the Associated Press.) Link from UTU. which has the story on their site.
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Post by spokker on Jul 8, 2008 12:24:44 GMT -8
Haha I can't wait to ride on these "tired" cars.
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Post by dasubergeek on Jul 9, 2008 12:47:11 GMT -8
I rode for nearly two decades on those "tired" cars -- part of the reason I'm so in favour of public transport is the fact that if I wanted to go to New York, that was how I did it -- driving in, waiting for the tunnel traffic and paying a toll for the privilege, parking for $30 a day, etc., etc., simply meant that we took NJ Transit (which runs with astonishing frequency). I commuted both ways on that train -- south to Point Pleasant Beach when I was a lifeguard there, and north to New York when I was working in 2 World Trade Center.
Sure, they're not as comfy as the Metrolink cars. Sure, the seats are probably a little, hm, "well-loved". They're vinyl, too, and designed for the 70s, when people were slimmer, so there will be a lot of two-people-in-three-seats problems.
But they serve well, they rarely if ever break down (UNLIKE certain ORANGE COUNTY trains I could mention), and they're designed for commutes of similar lengths. The only problem is the "Amtrak" problem -- NJ Transit trains tend to feature steps, like Amtrak, so loading of wheelchairs can be difficult. Also, bikes are not typically allowed on NJ Transit, so there's not really room for them (some of the "newer" trains -- as opposed to the brand-new rollstock they're using now -- have corrected this problem).
To James -- yes, these trains are used on all North Jersey heavy-rail routes -- the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line are duplexed north from Rahway, and the trains are interchangeable. South of Long Branch, the trains all use lower- (surface-) level platforms and it's fine (but puts a crimp in the schedule when a wheelchair has to disembark, because it's not some nice lovely air-controlled system, it's a bunch of clanky manual metal bits). Think Burbank vs. Fullerton and you've got the idea.
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Post by Elson on Jul 9, 2008 17:25:54 GMT -8
I would guess that they'd mix in at least one Bombardier coach with these NJ cars as a priority car to accommodate wheelchairs and bikes. The main advantage our rail systems have over the ones in the East Coast is that ours is 100% ADA-accessible. I rode for nearly two decades on those "tired" cars -- part of the reason I'm so in favour of public transport is the fact that if I wanted to go to New York, that was how I did it -- driving in, waiting for the tunnel traffic and paying a toll for the privilege, parking for $30 a day, etc., etc., simply meant that we took NJ Transit (which runs with astonishing frequency). I commuted both ways on that train -- south to Point Pleasant Beach when I was a lifeguard there, and north to New York when I was working in 2 World Trade Center. Sure, they're not as comfy as the Metrolink cars. Sure, the seats are probably a little, hm, "well-loved". They're vinyl, too, and designed for the 70s, when people were slimmer, so there will be a lot of two-people-in-three-seats problems. But they serve well, they rarely if ever break down (UNLIKE certain ORANGE COUNTY trains I could mention), and they're designed for commutes of similar lengths. The only problem is the "Amtrak" problem -- NJ Transit trains tend to feature steps, like Amtrak, so loading of wheelchairs can be difficult. Also, bikes are not typically allowed on NJ Transit, so there's not really room for them (some of the "newer" trains -- as opposed to the brand-new rollstock they're using now -- have corrected this problem). To James -- yes, these trains are used on all North Jersey heavy-rail routes -- the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line are duplexed north from Rahway, and the trains are interchangeable. South of Long Branch, the trains all use lower- (surface-) level platforms and it's fine (but puts a crimp in the schedule when a wheelchair has to disembark, because it's not some nice lovely air-controlled system, it's a bunch of clanky manual metal bits). Think Burbank vs. Fullerton and you've got the idea.
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Post by spokker on Jul 9, 2008 19:53:54 GMT -8
lol why did you put a picture of the car in my post? I meant nothing bad by my remark. I just thought it was funny how the article phrased it.
No, I'm really forward to seeing the leased cars in service, not only because it'll add some much needed capacity, but make for a nice change of pace as well.
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Post by railman55 on Jan 2, 2009 23:18:22 GMT -8
Hey everyone this is my first post, but I have been reading this message board for about a year now. Well on Dec 31 I rode Metrolink from Palmdale to LA Union. When we were pulling in I happened to see a UP SD-70 hooked to about 8-10 NJT cars on track 14 (Amrak Sothwest Chief was in the way for a sure count) . So it seems we got our first batch of cars from NJT. Does anyone know how many cars are being leased by Metrolink.
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Post by bluelineshawn on Jan 3, 2009 10:09:32 GMT -8
Thanks for the update! I wonder when these cars will see service? I don't even know what line these are for.
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Post by bluelineshawn on Jan 3, 2009 12:07:37 GMT -8
From our own snuffy.
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Post by spokker on Jan 3, 2009 18:12:11 GMT -8
Oh does he post on this forum? I watch his videos almost every day. On YouTube his name is "singwith".
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Post by bluelineshawn on Jan 3, 2009 20:26:23 GMT -8
He posts here occasionally. He uses "snuffy" here just like he does at the very beginning of the video. A few months ago he posted a video of one of the first Breda lrv's in revenue service and before that Breda lrv's testing.
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Post by wad on Jan 11, 2009 5:40:50 GMT -8
So would this be called a "snuffy film"?
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dane
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Post by dane on Jan 12, 2009 10:26:11 GMT -8
All right, that's it, young man! Go straight to bed without your dinner!
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snuffy
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Post by snuffy on Feb 28, 2009 13:47:14 GMT -8
UPDATE
Amtrak is also going to use 14 comet cars. anyway, here's some interesting update from "Amtrak Southwest Division News(Jan 2009)" about NT Comet cars.
"The Comet Car, a version of the single-level Horizon equipment currently on use throughout the division, will undergo a retrofit process to make the cars suitable for inter-city service. They will be conformed into two equipment sets and introduced into the San Joaquin service, Caltrans will then re-allocate several California bi-level cars into the Pacific Surfliner fleet."
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Post by James Fujita on Feb 28, 2009 21:08:00 GMT -8
UPDATE Amtrak is also going to use 14 comet cars. anyway, here's some interesting update from "Amtrak Southwest Division News(Jan 2009)" about NT Comet cars. "The Comet Car, a version of the single-level Horizon equipment currently on use throughout the division, will undergo a retrofit process to make the cars suitable for inter-city service. They will be conformed into two equipment sets and introduced into the San Joaquin service, Caltrans will then re-allocate several California bi-level cars into the Pacific Surfliner fleet." that is certainly interesting news. I ride the San Joaquin when I get the chance, so I will have to keep my eyes out for the Comets. I assume that they will be paired with a single-level Amcafe of some sort?
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Post by bobdavis on Mar 20, 2009 13:21:06 GMT -8
I noticed three NJT cars at Union Station today, on the far right track looking northward. They were NJTR 5127, 5130 and 5113. They were on the same track with the Patron Tequila private car; one can assume that the NJT cars are somewhat more Spartan than the Tequila Express.
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