Shoreliners are a class of

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

-hauled rail car used by 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 public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...

for service on non-electrified portions of their system. They are similar to the

Comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

coaches used by

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

, however there are several differences between the two. Ownership of the fleet is split between the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

and 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. ...

, as part of the latter's operating agreement with the MTA. MTA coaches have blue window bands, while CDOT coaches have red ones.

Usage patterns

The Shoreliners are primarily used on non-electric territory such as the upper Hudson Line north of Croton-Harmon, on the upper

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 Sou ...

north of

Southeast station Southeast station (formerly known as Brewster North station) is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem Line, located in Southeast, New York. It is the terminus of the Harlem Line electrified service, and with the exception of ...

, and the

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 ...

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

and

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...

branches. They are typically operated in a push-pull configuration.

Hudson Line

Shoreliners are used in the non-electrified territory north of Croton-Harmon. Trains often operate to and 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 ...

and

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

and running express south of Croton-Harmon, along with two daily late night shuttle trains running in the non-electrified territory, one in each direction.

Harlem Line

Shoreliners are used in the non-electrified territory north of

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. Service between Southeast and Wassaic is mostly operated using three car shuttle trains. During rush hour, a few trains run direct to Grand Central Terminal.

New Haven Line branches

Shoreliners operate on the Danbury and Waterbury branches, as well as to provide extra service on the main line during the day. Danbury service includes limited through-service to Grand Central during peak periods, while off-peak Danbury and all Waterbury service operates as shuttles from

South Norwalk South Norwalk is a neighborhood in Norwalk, Connecticut which corresponds to the city's Second Taxing District. Often referred to as SoNo, the neighborhood was originally settled as Old Well, then chartered as the city of South Norwalk on August ...

and

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...

, respectively.

Former Shore Line East Service

Before the state of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

acquired used equipment for

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 ...

, several Shoreliner sets would run on SLE service. These have since been transferred to the Metro-North pool.

Models

Shoreliners I and II

The Shoreliners I and II were built in 1983 and 1987, respectively. Based on the New Jersey Transit Comet II, their only difference is the type of lighting used for indicator lights. These cars have doors at each end vestibule, and no center door. The Shoreliner I order includes 39 cars, while the Shoreliner II order includes 36 cars. Cars numbered in the 6200s are owned by Connecticut DOT, which include 14 cab cars and 26 coaches, while all other cars are owned by the MTA. Four of the Shoreliner I cars were originally equipped with an underfloor head-end power generator, for use behind CTDOT's five rebuilt freight locomotives, which lacked HEP generators. The generators were removed when the freight locomotives were replaced by CTDOT's rebuilt

GP40-2H The passenger locomotives derivatives of the General Motors EMD GP40 diesel-electric locomotive have been, and continue to be, used by multiple passenger railroads in North America. For passenger service, the locomotives required extra componen ...

units. These cars are identified externally by twin square windows at the center of the cars, where the air intake ductwork (to the rooftop) for the generator was located.

Shoreliner III

Shoreliner IIIs date from 1991; 49 cars were built. This series is based on New Jersey Transit's Comet III. The main differences between this series and previous ones are an added center door and the restroom is located at the center of the cars that are so equipped instead of the end.

Shoreliner IV

The Shoreliner IV is much like the Shoreliner III but the engineers side door has been removed as a safety measure. Based on the NJ Transit Comet IV, they were built in two distinct groups between 1996 and 1998. The first order, from 1996–97, consisted of 50 cars. The second set, built for Connecticut DOT in 1998, consisted of 10 cars. One Connecticut DOT-owned coach and one cab car were wrecked in 2013. This gives a total count for the order of 60 cars.

Car names

Many of Shoreliner cars are named in honor of people and places significant to their service area, such as The Connecticut Yankee and Washington Irving.

References

{{LIRR and MNCR rolling stock Rail passenger cars of the United States Metro-North Railroad