R36 Combine Coach wrote: ↑Thu Jan 30, 2020 5:36 pm
mtuandrew wrote: ↑Thu Jan 30, 2020 4:14 pmThe Bombardier MLV isn’t my favorite; it feels top-heavy and has a pronounced sway not present in single-level cars, but the Superliner feels very similar.
NJT customers love them and they are highly rated over single levels (possibly due to the 3-2 seating on single levels).
EWR passengers with heavy luggage do not find them comfortable.
For commuter cars, they're fine as you don't usually move between cars. For LD with a lounge car and/or diner do you really want to be walking up and down steps in each and every car to get from the first coach to the cafe? The reason they're called multilevel: the vestibules and entry doors are on a mezzanine level requiring a walk up or down steps to get to the seating areas. The ADA seating is also on the mezzanine level, but you'd be confined to your car and the vestibule of the next car. That won't fly for new equipment with tougher ADA standards.
I'm not aware of any bilevel design that has low level passthrough, high level boarding, and fits the NEC loading gauge.