The M8 is an
electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
railroad car built by
Kawasaki for use on the
Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...
New Haven Line
The Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line is a commuter rail line running from New Haven, Connecticut to New York City. It joins the Harlem Line at Mount Vernon, New York and continues south to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The New Haven ...
and the
CTrail
CT Rail, stylized as CT''rail'', is the brand for commuter rail services overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), in the U.S. state of Connecticut, with some service extending into Massachusetts. CTDOT oversees two lines: ...
Shore Line East
Shore Line East (SLE) is a commuter rail service which operates along the Northeast Corridor through southern Connecticut, United States. The rail service is a fully owned subsidiary of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and i ...
. The fleet of 471 cars first entered service in 2011, replacing the
M2, M4 and M6 cars, which entered service in 1973, 1987 and 1994, respectively. An additional 60-car order is currently finishing delivery in response to increased ridership and usage on Shore Line East.
Design
![M8 railcar -9101 contact shoe, September 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/M8_railcar_-9101_contact_shoe%2C_September_2016.jpg)
The M8 is similar in design to the
M7 car used on the
Harlem Line
The Metro-North Railroad Harlem Line, originally chartered as the New York and Harlem Railroad, is an commuter rail line running north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Southea ...
and the
Hudson Line. Like the M7, the M8 is able to pick up 750 V DC power from bottom-contact
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
for operation along the New Haven Line from
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
to
Pelham, where the traction power source is transferred to the overhead catenary wire. The overhead wire is at a nominal 12.5 kV AC (60 Hz) power from
overhead line
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipmen ...
s via
pantograph
A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
s for operation from Pelham, New York to New Haven, Connecticut (as well as along the
New Canaan Branch
The New Canaan Branch is an 8.2-mile (13 km) long branch line of the Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line that begins from a junction east of downtown Stamford, Connecticut, north to New Canaan. It opened in 1868 as the New Canaan Railroad.
...
), and 25 kV AC (60 Hz) power from catenary for operation along the
Shore Line East
Shore Line East (SLE) is a commuter rail service which operates along the Northeast Corridor through southern Connecticut, United States. The rail service is a fully owned subsidiary of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and i ...
route east of New Haven to New London, Conn.
Unlike in earlier classes, changeover between the two AC voltages can be made by the
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
while on the move.
[
]
In response to rising number of people seeking to use their bicycle to solve the "
last mile" problem between Metro-North stations and destinations, CTDOT has pledged to provide bike racks for storage of two bicycles in the disabled riders area of each rail car.
In the event that a disabled rider boards a car, all cyclists must move their bicycles to the entry vestibule. In spite of the hook installation, during peak travel periods only folding bicycles are permitted aboard most Metro North trains.
The M8s have new roomier, high-back seats with individual headrests and curved arm rests for more comfort.
For improved safety, especially in the vestibules, the cars have larger windows and better lighting. An additional safety feature is the installation of intercom systems that customers can use to contact the train crew in case of emergency. Other features included curved luggage racks, coat hooks, electrical outlets to charge personal devices, and LED displays that show that next stop and automated announcements. The cars also have external public address speakers, and electronic destination signs. Higher reliability is possible with single leaf doors, which also lessen the susceptibility to snow intrusion.
Also, the M8s have sealed alternating current motors that are less susceptible to weather.
The M8s have regenerative braking; each time that the cars go into braking mode, the cars feed back power into the catenary system. The M8's are equipped with contact shoes that can operate on both Metro-North's under-running and the LIRR over-running third rail.
The exterior design of the new M8 rail car is red, in keeping with the traditional exterior color of the New Haven Line rail cars. The body shape is similar to the M7 rail cars that are in operation on the Hudson and Harlem lines.
History
![Metro north M8s being shipped by CSX](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Metro_north_M8s_being_shipped_by_CSX.JPG)
In August 2006, the contract for the M8s was awarded to
Kawasaki Rail Car. The
Connecticut Department of Transportation
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (often referred to as CTDOT and occasionally ConnDOT, or CDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports and waterways in Connecticut. ...
and Metro–North Railroad awarded the contract for the M8s to
Kawasaki Rail Car in August 2006 for $706.3 million. The contract included 380 cars, of which 210 would be in the base order, and an option order of 90 cars. 65% of the cost was paid by Connecticut, while the remaining 35% was paid by Metro–North. Later on, two additional option orders were added; the first consisted of 42 cars and the second consisted of 38 cars.
Full production of the M8's was scheduled to begin in early 2010 but was then delayed.
Kawasaki cited problems with steel suppliers and sub-contractors (which is responsible for 60% of the cars). Once production reached full output the cars were delivered at a rate of ten per month.
The first M8s were supposed to be delivered in late 2009.
In December 2010, the first 24 cars were received and began to undergo testing.
The cars were originally supposed to go into revenue service in December 2010, however, because of technical problems, revenue service was deferred until March 1, 2011.
The first run of the initial eight-car set (consisting of cars 9114, 9115, 9116, 9117, 9112, 9113, 9108, and 9109) originated in Stamford at 10:30 am, arriving in Grand Central Terminal at 11:28 am. A total of ten eight-car train sets were slated to enter service by the end of the year.
On May 7, 2011, Kawasaki announced that deliveries of 20 cars of the 80 scheduled to enter service by the end of the year would be delayed due to supply problems; Kawasaki said it would build the cars at a later date and absorb the costs incurred.
At the time of the announcement, 16 cars had entered service, with an additional ten delivered but not yet in service.
Two months later, an
investigative report by
WABC-TV
WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neighbor ...
's news operation examined correspondence between Kawasaki and Metro-North over the delays in introducing the cars. At the time it had been claimed the cars merely had
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
problems, but the documents reporters obtained under New York's
Freedom of Information Law
Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfa ...
showed Kawasaki repeatedly asking for deadline extensions over issues such as bad weather and financial difficulties at the company that supplied the onboard toilets. Railroad officials complained in emails reviewed by the channel that some of the requests "defie
logic" and were a waste of time. Kawasaki said such multiple delays were "not unusual given the complexity of the cars and suppliers" and were often beyond their control.
![Unpowered M8 at New Haven Yard, September 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Unpowered_M8_at_New_Haven_Yard%2C_September_2018.jpg)
On July 20, 2011, the Connecticut Department of Transportation announced the order of 25 unpowered M8 railcars, with options for up to 25 more, at a cost of $93 million to provide additional service. The new cars are single cars, allowing for one car, instead of two, to be added to an additional train, which is an efficient way to add capacity to meet ridership growth.
They were also intended to replace the 48 car M6 fleet.
On October 16, 2012, Metro-North announced that they would be installing 15 weekday and 30 weekend M8 trains to their schedule to accommodate increased ridership.
![Damaged M8 cars in Bridgeport yard May 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Damaged_M8_cars_in_Bridgeport_yard_May_2013.JPG)
On May 17, 2013, several cars were
damaged in a train accident in
Fairfield, Connecticut
Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan area ...
. Senator
Richard Blumenthal
Richard Blumenthal (; born February 13, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of ...
of Connecticut credited the M8 railcars' design with potentially saving lives.
On January 29, 2014, the MTA board approved a miscellaneous procurement to purchase three additional M8 cars (one pair and one additional B car; to replace cars lost in the Fairfield Crash), twelve car trucks, spare parts, additional bench test equipment and repairs to four additional M8s. Of the total cost of $36 million, $8.4 million will be funded by a credit from Kawasaki in the original contract. The remainder will be funded by Metro-North and CTDOT.
The original order of 405 cars was completed on July 13, 2015, except for the 25 unpowered cars on option. Of the 380 original cars, the first 38 cars were built in Kobe, Japan, while the remaining 342 were built at Kawasaki's plant in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The purchase of the M8s was based on ridership growth forecasts, and it was not anticipated that additional train cars would need to be purchased until the 2020–2024 MTA Capital Program. However, increased ridership required additional cars to be purchased. Currently, 24 existing cars are intended to be use for service on
Shore Line East
Shore Line East (SLE) is a commuter rail service which operates along the Northeast Corridor through southern Connecticut, United States. The rail service is a fully owned subsidiary of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and i ...
.
On September 13, 2016, Connecticut governor
Dannel Malloy
Dannel Patrick Malloy (; born July 21, 1955) is an American politician, who served as the 88th governor of Connecticut from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association from 2016 to 2017. On July ...
announced plans for the state to purchase 60 additional M8 cars, funded by $200 million from the state and $108 million from the MTA, with delivery beginning in 2019. The cars cost $3.85 million apiece for a total of $231 million; the remaining cost covers other expenses like inspections plus a 15% contingency. Ten of the cars will be
bar car
A bar car is a train car that has as its primary purpose the provision and consumption of alcoholic and other beverages.
In the United States
Bar cars were common during the heyday of U.S. rail travel prior to World War II. However, since May 2 ...
s, similar to those of the former M2 fleet retired in 2014.
In November 2016, the MTA announced that 60 additional cars would be purchased, with an option order of 34 cars.
The cars were expected to enter service in three years, allowing the railroad to lengthen rush hour trains, retire the last M2s, and to have flexibility to increase train service with increasing ridership.
The bar cars were later dropped, due to cost and train capacity concerns, as well as Metro-North not being willing to handle the bar themselves, wishing for an outside company to run the operation itself. M8s have provided all service on the New Haven Line since the retirement of the last remaining M2 cars at the end of December 2018.
Testing of M8 cars on the Shore Line East route took place intermittently in the 2010s. On March 21, 2021, the Connecticut DOT Commissioner stated that M8 testing on the Shore Line East was continuing, and that a set might be provided to the
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
for testing and potential joint orders in the future. Amtrak crew qualifications with M8 cars on Shore Line East took place in April 2022. Four-car sets of M8s began running on Shore Line East on May 24, 2022, providing all service on the line.
Car roster
![M8 9101 at New Haven Yard, September 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/M8_9101_at_New_Haven_Yard%2C_September_2016.jpg)
*9100-9199, 9300-9399, 9500-9519, 9600-9623, 9700-9738 (CTDOT / pairs) - 283 cars
*9200-9299, 9400-9441, 9443-9449 (MTA / pairs) - 139 cars
*9460-9476 (MTA / unpowered singles; even numbers only) - 9 cars
*9560-9590 (CTDOT / unpowered singles; even numbers only) - 16 cars
*9530/9631 - 9542/9643 (CTDOT / pairs; 95xx even numbers only, 96xx odd numbers only) - 14 cars
See also
*
M1/M3 (railcar)
The M1 and M3 are two similar series of electric multiple unit rail cars built by the Budd Company for the Long Island Rail Road, the Metro-North Railroad and Metro-North's predecessors, Penn Central and Conrail.Cudahy, p. 264 Originally bran ...
*
M7 (railcar)
The M7 is an electric multiple unit railroad car built by Bombardier, with delivery beginning in 2002, used by the MTA on the Long Island Rail Road (M7) and Metro-North Railroad (M7A). The M7 replaced the M1 railcars, which had previously prov ...
*
M9 (railcar)
The M9 is a class of electric multiple unit railroad cars being built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries for use on the MTA's Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad. They entered service September 11, 2019. These cars will replace the ...
References
{{LIRR and MNCR rolling stock
Metro-North Railroad multiple units
Train-related introductions in 2011
Electric multiple units of the United States
750 V DC multiple units
25 kV AC multiple units
Kawasaki multiple units