June 14, 2011

GOV. MALLOY: CONNECTICUT M-8 RAIL FLEET CONTINUES TO GROW

More Than 100 Train Runs Now Feature M-8s Car Weekly

(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Metro-North Railroad (MNR) today announced that a third set of M-8 rail cars was put into service this morning, bringing to 130 the number of train runs operating with the new cars each week. A total of 26 new M-8s have now been accepted from Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc., and put into service on the New Haven Line.

Today's new M-8 train left New Haven at 8:04 a.m. and arrived at Grand Central Terminal in New York City at 9:36 a.m.

"This is a significant milestone. More and more commuters are seeing the benefits and enjoying the amenities of these new cars each week," Governor Malloy said. "Connecticut is investing heavily in rail improvements. I believe that this is the best possible way to encourage commuters to stop driving to work alone and start using our ever-improving mass transit system."

"The M-8s are arriving, passing inspection and being placed into service as quickly as we can make it happen," said Acting DOT Commissioner James P. Redeker. "The new cars have received overwhelmingly positive customer feedback. I encourage commuters to monitor the progress of M-8 cars on the Department or Metro-North websites."

A new webpage tracking the progress of the M-8 rail cars is available at www.ct.gov/dot or www.mta.info .

Of the 380 M-8s now on order, the first 38 are being built in Kobe, Japan, and the remaining 342 are being built at Kawasaki's plant in Lincoln, Nebraska. Under the current production schedule, 60 M-8s are expected to be in service by the end of 2011.

"We are making progress with the third train going into service and the Lincoln plant in full production. We are looking forward to receiving additional cars in the fall," said Howard Permut, president of Metro-North Railroad.

Customers will have 130 weekly trains in service with the new three M-8 train sets (approximately 95 weekday and 36 on weekends). These trains operate during peak and off-peak service between New Haven and Grand Central. Twenty-two M-8s are available for revenue service deployed in three train sets -- two eight-car train sets and one six-car train set with four spare cars for routine maintenance.

DOT and MNR will also be testing 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. Installation and testing will begin in late summer in New York and Connecticut, as well as in-service testing on off-peak trains. More information will be available in the coming months.

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For Immediate Release: June 14, 2011

Contact: Judd Everhart
Department of Transportation
Judd.Everhart@ct.gov
860-594-3062 (office)
860-604-8096 (cell)

Twitter: @GovMalloyOffice

Facebook: Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy