The EGE wrote:...mixing some bar cars in was the price that MNRR pays for being allowed to buy additional cars at all.
Just a clarification, CDOT (not MNR) is the agency looking to spend the money for the 60 new M8s and having 10 cars retrofitted as bar cars. Note that all the news articles and posts have only mentioned the Governor and other officials from Connecticut (and asking CT voters to approve the bond to fund the purchase). Nobody from MNR itself or New York State has been mentioned. Although MTA runs the railroad, CDOT is responsible for most of the funding for the New Haven Line, since most of the line exists within Connecticut.
On a separate note: some critics point out that the bar cars have zero seats and only generate revenue on PM Peak trips. Since they're currently in the process of being designed (and won't become a reality for at least a few years), has anyone considered the possibility of designing them to serve as "coffee bars" during AM Peak? Could be a draw for people who don't (or can't) leave home early enough to get coffee elsewhere before they get on the train... or people who ride the bus to the train, and don't have the option to stop en route. Or maybe for people who want a second cup of joe about halfway through their ride (at the risk of losing their seat).
Perhaps the only reason why it might not work is because coffee doesn't have the same kind of profit margin as booze, but some might argue that a modest profit is better than whatever it would cost in wear and tear (and otherwise lost capacity) to run an empty car all morning.
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