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Metro-North Adds 30 More M8 Rail Cars In Connecticut

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- Another 16 new M8 rail cars have been delivered to run on Metro-North’s New Haven Line in Connecticut, bringing the total to 372, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on its website.

Metro-North is awaiting the delivery of only eight more of the new M8 rail cars for the New Haven Line.

Metro-North is awaiting the delivery of only eight more of the new M8 rail cars for the New Haven Line.

Photo Credit: Casey Donahue, File

Nearly all of the new rail cars have been delivered: Metro-North ordered 380 M8s from Kawasaki Rail Car in 2006 for use on the New Haven Line.

Of the total number of M8 cars, 356 have been accepted for service with 16 more being inspected and tested by Kawasaki, as of late June.

Metro-North is now operating more M8s than old equipment on the New Haven Line. On weekdays, 195 of the new M8 cars are running on the rails, 109 on Saturdays and 107 on Sundays. 

The new M8 trains represent 87 percent of total weekday New Haven Main Line service, 92 percent of the Saturday service and 90 percent of the Sunday service.

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

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, Neb.

The MTA and Kawasaki Rail Car announced a new contract this fall for up to $1.83 billion to design and build the next generation of M9 rail cars for the Metro-North Railroad on the Hudson and Harlem lines and on the Long Island Railroad.

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