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Discussion relating to the operations of MTA MetroNorth Railroad including west of Hudson operations and discussion of CtDOT sponsored rail operations such as Shore Line East and the Springfield to New Haven Hartford Line

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 #1502303  by Train322
 
Is it possible to run a two car (one set) M8 on SLE?
Did not know as Dutch mentioned, about how only one of the single cars can be run on any single train and wondered if M8's needed to be run with one or more pairs.

Also = how many M8 does Metro North/CDOT have?
Compare to how many combined M2,M4,M6 they had prior to the M8 introduction/

I know they run more trains as ridership has increased.


Also, is it possible to run M8's on SLE weekend service or perhaps middle of day?
I would think fuel costs for Diesel runs are higher than electric costs and electrics probably emit less pollution.
The other question is down time for maintenance. Is it better to run M8's more often and put slightly few miles on the Diesel?
 #1502305  by njtmnrrbuff
 
Train322, please refer to DutchRailnut's last post. Don't count on them running east of New Haven in revenue service anytime soon. They haven't been approved by Amtrak to operate east of New Haven.

While the P40s have lousy acceleration, even with a three or four car train, it's not like they are stopping every mile and a half. Many of the SLE stops are four to five miles a part from one another and with high level platforms at many of the depots, that helps a little with the dwell time. A four car SLE diesel train can keep up with its schedule.



MNR runs so many trains on the New Haven Line. On weekends, while more trains might run between Stamford and GCT, there are plenty of trains that run to New Haven. Most times of the day, there are trains that run between New Haven and Grand Central twice an hour. Several of the trains runs express to Stamford from 125th Street and then after Stamford, it turns into a local. Many of the train operates as an express from 125th St to Stamford with a few that stop in Greenwich and then it makes Darien, S. Norwalk, Westport, Fairfield, Fairfield Metro, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford, W. Haven, and New Haven. Again, MNR needs as many of the M8s as possible. On the New Haven Line, the stops are close enough to each other that the line is meant for MUs.
 #1502315  by daybeers
 
Wow this is so incredibly annoying! I'll be calling my state reps about this. CTDOT knows the SLE has been utter poop for a while now, and this was going to be its saving grace. Those P40s are in terrible shape. The paint is chipping so badly that it looks like a house that hasn't been painted in 20 years, they're inefficient, and they use diesel. The world is dying, people, and we need to do all that we can to stop it. Every little bit helps.
 #1513310  by XBNSFer
 
Stop being ridiculous. The world is not dying.
 #1513464  by njtmnrrbuff
 
If Connecticut managed its money better, there would have been enough M8s ordered by now to cover Shore Line East service. Sadly, there are other priorities, especially fixing up the infrastructure of the New Haven Line. Those P40s aren't in the best shape. Brand new equipment needs to be ordered for Ctrail services.
 #1513465  by DutchRailnut
 
enough M-8's were bought for SLE , sad part is Amtrak won't ok them for service
 #1513496  by Jeff Smith
 
Were there though Jaap? They kept those three sets of 2’s around far longer than they wanted. The additional sets after the 9’s are done for LIRR will help. And then there’s Penn...
 #1513543  by DutchRailnut
 
the 14 cars bought for SLE are in service in MN pool, provided the numbers several times already.
From insiders I hear SLE might not see M-8's due to Amtrak not cooperating.

and of course Amtrak says CDOT is not funding upgrades to catenary and power fast enough.

with about 1/3 of M-8 lifespan gone and no progress on SLE debacle its slim they will ever see SLE service.
 #1513947  by Backshophoss
 
The "singles" are trailers,at best,2pairs with the single between them,a 5 car set for SLE
Amtrak' complaint has been the M-8's ACSES gear,might be a moot point as the New Haven line's ACSES goes online. :wink:
 #1513972  by Riverduckexpress
 
Backshophoss wrote: Sun Jul 14, 2019 7:10 pm The "singles" are trailers,at best,2pairs with the single between them,a 5 car set for SLE
Amtrak' complaint has been the M-8's ACSES gear,might be a moot point as the New Haven line's ACSES goes online. :wink:
Is the ACSES system on the M8s not up to par with what Amtrak desires?
DutchRailnut wrote: Wed Jul 10, 2019 4:36 pm the 14 cars bought for SLE are in service in MN pool, provided the numbers several times already.
From insiders I hear SLE might not see M-8's due to Amtrak not cooperating.

and of course Amtrak says CDOT is not funding upgrades to catenary and power fast enough.

with about 1/3 of M-8 lifespan gone and no progress on SLE debacle its slim they will ever see SLE service.
I understand there are a few short segments between New Haven and New London that need electrifying, but other than that, what does Amtrak want? Is the existing power not sufficient to handle both Amtrak and SLE trains? Shouldn't using M8s on SLE be in Amtrak's best interest? They can charge ConnDOT for using power and replacing diesel trains with faster electric trains should better for Amtrak's operations, no?
 #1514007  by DutchRailnut
 
the ACSES system on M-8's need some serious updating including radio link and it means all cars need update as the 14 cars would not be captive to SLE service only.

as for power Amtrak besides having pay CDOT for wiring tracks other than main tracks, wants to have CDOT upgrade the power system between New Haven and New London.
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