MNRR Bilevel/Double Decker Coaches Proposal

A blast from the past: https://gothamist.com/news/is-metronorth-going-bi-level

Railroad officials say a purchase could happen sometime in 2015, and note that the taller trains will "be designed to fit the narrow clearance of the tunnel to Grand Central Terminal." One way to make them fit, however, is to take out some overhead luggage racks. Another downside: everyone is going to want the upper deck, so things might get nasty between commuters making a dash for the prime real estate—does this happen on the New Jersey Transit double-deckers?

The 3rd gen MLV design should fit all MN,ConnDOT,and LIRR requirements,With BBD as the builder,their "track record "is suspect at NYCTA,MTA needs to proceed carefully with this

Backshophoss wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2020 2:03 pm The 3rd gen MLV design should fit all MN,ConnDOT,and LIRR requirements,With BBD as the builder,their "track record "is suspect at NYCTA,MTA needs to proceed carefully with this

For the most part, their track record with commuter coaches and locomotives has never really been at issue. They've churned out the last batches of multilevels and their standard bilevels for a number of rail agencies with few issues. All the trouble seems to be on the transit side (TTC's new LRV's in terms of lateness of assembly and delivery, some random issues with the new BART cars, and of course, the R179's troubles at MTA).

Didn't BBD get a debar from MTA? NJT is using them for a Double Decker EMU, though. And I agree, these are unpowered coaches, they just have to fit a profile. Kawasaki has been problematic with the M9's (the 8's weren't really a picnic during testing either). NipponSharyo? had issues with the midwest order. I could see Siemens jumping in.

If SEPTA can resort to CRRC building "knockoff" multilevel coaches, I'm sure Kawasaki or Siemens could too.

But Sacramento is quite busy (and with many orders to come for some time), so opening a NY state assembly
plant would also be a bonus (+ MTA credit for "Made in NY").

R36 Combine Coach wrote:But Sacramento is quite busy (and with many orders to come for some time), so opening a NY state assembly plant would also be a bonus (+ MTA credit for "Made in NY").

With COVID-19 (and all the confusion/lack of firm consensus on transmission, severity for each age group/demographic) having such a night and day affect on ridership due to places of work switching to the "work from home" model there won't be any need for quite awhile for higher capacity trains. And with the 1983-1987(?) BBD cars having been recently overhauled within the past 10-15 years they can easily go another.. what, 15 years before mandatory retirement? And then of course you've got the 1996(?)-2002 centerdoor cars which I think have yet to see a rebuild (correct me if I'm wrong).

And even when things go back to normal (or whatever "normal" becomes) will the ridership levels we saw last year ever bounce back to where they were? Will they get even close to that? And if so will ridership patterns shift towards suburb-to-suburb vs suburbs-to-city? "Reverse commuting" and "non-commuter" ridership growth had been strong for decades to the point that it made up about half of MNRR's total ridership.

MTA/NYCTA has told BBD to take a hike as the R-179 nitemare continues,Figure that applies on the next EMUS in the M series.
The 3rd gen MLV cars,aka Shoreliner IV's or LIRR C-5's could be the exception

Info from Railway Age

https://www.railwayage.com/eoi-rfp-rfq- ... annel=news

MTA-Metro-North Railroad (MNR)

Contract & Purchasing Solicitations

BID# 325966 – Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) – Design, Manufacture, Assembly, and Supply New Bi-Level Passenger Rail Cars.

Opening Date: 11/6/20 @ 2:00 PM    

Contact: [email protected]; 212-340-3237

More detailed info. & the MTA-MNR contact for the above solicitation(s) can be found on the MTA Vendor Portal at www.mymta.info

Backshophoss wrote: ↑Fri Oct 09, 2020 12:22 am MTA/NYCTA has told BBD to take a hike as the R-179 nitemare continues,Figure that applies on the next EMUS in the M series.
The 3rd gen MLV cars,aka Shoreliner IV's or LIRR C-5's could be the exception

They've had a lot of issues in light rail and subway. I'm thinking the Toronto order? And of course, NYCT.

Weren't the M-7's (and "a's") pretty good/reliable? I think the 8's from Kawasaki had more issues. I think NJT is happy with the ALP's. Unpowered coaches of course.