Update: New Haven Line M8 Rail Cars
April 7, 2013

This status report will be updated periodically to provide the most current information on the M8 rail car procurement.

Current Status of the M8s.

Delivered to New Haven Yard	Under Inspection and Testing by Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc.	Conditionally Accepted by Metro-North Railroad for Service	Information Provided
216 (total)	22	194	4/7/13
186 (total)	20	166	1/7/13
156 (total)	18	138	10/15/12
128 (total)	6	122	7/31/12
124 (total)	12	112	7/2/12
108 (total)	8	100	5/8/12
100 (total)	14	86	4/2/12
78 (total)	0	78	2/6/12
74 (total)	10	64	1/11/12
68 (total)	8	60	12/22/11
68 (total)	12	56	12/19/11
68 (total)	14	54	12/15/11
64 (total)	16	48	12/9/11
56 (total)	12	44 (includes 2 undergoing modifications)	11/28/11
42 (total)	10	36 (includes 4 undergoing modifications)	10/20/11
38 (total)	8	30	9/20/11
34 (total)	4	30	8/1/11
34 (total)	8	26	6/14/11
32 (total)	12	20	6/6/11
28 (total)	8	20	5/16/11

State of Connecticut & MTA/Metro-North Railroad Purchased 25 M8 Single Rail Cars

In 2011, twenty-five new single M8 rail cars were added to the 380 M8 rail cars already on order from Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. for use on the New Haven Line. The new cars will be "singles," as opposed to the "married pairs" now being delivered. This will provide the additional advantage of being able to add one car, instead of two, on trains and is a very efficient way to add capacity in order to meet ridership growth.

The roll out of the new M8s on the New Haven Line (NHL) continues. Of the 380 original order, the first 38 were built in Kobe, Japan, and the remaining 342 are being built at Kawasaki's plant in Lincoln, Nebraska.

More M8s In Service

As of April 7, 2013, we are operating more M8s than old equipment (M2/M4/M6) on the New Haven Line. Customers have the opportunity to ride one or more of the 808 M8 weekly trains (122 on Mondays-Thursdays, 125 on Fridays, 101 on Saturdays and 94 on Sundays).

The new M8 trains represent 54% of total weekday New Haven Main Line service (Monday-Friday), 78.9% of Saturday service and 79.7% of Sunday service.

These trains operate during peak and off-peak service between New Haven, Stamford and Grand Central Terminal.

The new cars have received overwhelmingly positive customer feedback. Click here to see customer reaction:

M8 Bike Rack Prototype

The Connecticut Department of Transportation and MTA Metro-North Railroad tested two prototype bike mount systems specifically designed and manufactured for the M8 fleet by Sportworks on a pair of new M8s. A final prototype design is under review by Metro-North and the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Production Progress

• Kawasaki continues to prepare M8 cars for the testing phase before being accepted for regularly scheduled train service.

(Updates are reflected in bold.)