BusTalk

[Mr. Linsky]

'Metro-North Is Considering Double-Decker Trains'


By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: August 15, 2010 The New York Times


Some commuters who take the railroad to Manhattan may soon enjoy an amenity more common to Paris than Ossining: the double-decker ride.

The Metro-North Railroad is seriously considering buying double-decker coaches for its Harlem and Hudson lines, in a move to ease overcrowding on a rail network that routinely runs standing-room-only trains during rush hour.

Two-level trains cost the same as their single-story counterparts, and can carry a third more passengers. And railroad officials insist that size would not be a problem: the taller trains could be designed to fit the narrow clearance of the tunnel to Grand Central Terminal. Metro-North’s next major purchase of new cars, including possibly the double-deckers, is scheduled for 2015.

If approved, the double-deckers could redefine the travel experience of thousands of commuters who depend on the railroad each day. Upper-floor seats would command sweeping views of the Hudson River and, when the trains run above ground in Manhattan, glimpses of Central Park.

One drawback: Some overhead luggage racks could be removed to make room. And the scramble for a prime seat above might inject another element of neighborly competition into Westchester County’s status-conscious suburbs.

But a fleet of rolling duplexes would bring the railroad in line with its nearby cousins. Double-decker trains, then called “up and downs,” were commonplace on the Long Island Rail Road from the late 1930s to the late 1960s; a more modern version began operation in 1998. New Jersey Transit has run double-deckers since 2005.

Officials at both commuter railroads say the bilevel trains receive rave reviews from customers, particularly because their interior layouts eliminate the hated middle seat.

“Customers love them for a number of reasons,” said Dan Stessel, a spokesman for New Jersey Transit. “They are quieter, and you have more leg room. It’s been overwhelmingly positive.”

Howard Permut, the president of Metro-North, said he was attracted to the double-decker option because it could help solve a broader challenge facing Metro-North: its ballooning ridership, which has risen 10 percent in the last five years.

The railroad is nearing capacity at Grand Central Terminal, its Midtown hub, and at rush hour it currently runs trains in and out of the Park Avenue tunnel at the fastest rate it can.

Trains with greater seating capacity would allow the railroad to serve more passengers without creating more congestion at the terminal, Mr. Permut said.

While multilevel trains are typically taller than regular trains, officials in the region have found ways to deal with the narrow clearance of underwater and underground tunnels that provide access into Manhattan. At New Jersey Transit, the bilevel cars feature a sharply beveled roof, which curves at a roughly 45-degree angle to ensure the trains do not scrape against walls.

Metro-North engineers believe their trains would require an even steeper bevel to avoid the walls of the Park Avenue tunnel. And low-hanging wires and underground protrusions might have to be trimmed back.

But the biggest potential deal breaker for the double-deckers, officials said, is how they would work with the crisscrossing rails beneath Grand Central.

Unlike most train cars currently used by the railroad, bilevel coaches cannot run by themselves; they have no motors and must be propelled by a locomotive. But Grand Central’s tracks have hundreds of gaps where the electrified third rail abruptly ends, which could cause the locomotive to stall.

A solution would be to use two locomotives, one on either end, to ensure the train never loses contact with the third rail, but that approach would be expensive.

Another alternative, to use a locomotive that runs on both diesel and electric power, could result in slower trips, because those engines do not accelerate as fast their electric-only cousins. “There are many considerations,” said Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for Metro-North.

If the railroad decides to purchase the bilevel trains, they would not serve the New Haven line, which is receiving its own new single-level fleet of trains starting this fall.

This month, Connecticut transit officials said they had decided not to buy custom-designed bar cars. Instead, the officials pledged to eventually retrofit seven of the 80 new cars into bar cars.

The timing was still unclear; Judd Everhart, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, would say only that it would occur “at some point.” The converted bar cars would not be ready until 2012 at the earliest, Mr. Everhart said.

But in an e-mail message, he said that “bar cars are very popular with many customers and in the interest of their satisfaction, we would like to keep this tradition alive.”

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

[djmarco12]

i think they should put 2 engines in the front with a cab car like NJT does with some of their multi-level sets

[traildriver]

Interesting arcticle, but I am trying to figure out what the reporter was talking about "and, when the trains run above ground in Manhattan, glimpses of Central Park.".......?
Where is this? The elevated portion north of 96th street is too far away.
Even if the Metro-North strikes a deal with Amtrak to run down their 'Empire Line", there is no way to see Central Park from its mostly depressed right-of-way that doesn't get very close to Central Park...

[RailBus63]

Central Park runs north up to 110th Street. You can see very brief glimpses of the park (up the various side streets) if you're sitting on the west side of a Metro North train running on the viaduct from about 102nd St. northward.

[traildriver]

Um, okay....those would be very brief....sort of like the view of the park that ambitious realtors would describe to would be purchasers.....

[HwyHaulier]

[traildriver]