@@douglasrogers4675 Yeah I know. It’s just very familiar. The way the cars look are so familiar to the JR Line ones I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s based off of them
Most of the square leg catenary bridges you see around New Rochelle are the original 1907 design. The overhead wire system is different. Initially the overhead wires were in a triangular cross-section configuration. The catenary bridge design east of Stamford incorporated a tapered leg and more conventional overhead wire arrangement due to the New Haven Railroad’s revised method of power distribution initiated in 1914. The railroad’s goal was to electrify all the way to Boston, but this was interrupted by World War I and the rail line remained under wire only to New Haven. The line from New Haven to Boston was finally electrified in 1999.
Another great report. Most interesting and we appreciate the history that you know so well and the technical details. You are a walking encyclopedia on trains...that is why we like you Thibault!!
Glad you finally rode the New Haven line! The State of Connecticut owns most of the M8 cars , and the tracks within Connecticut up to New Haven, and are operated by MetroNorth/MTA. It's also the busiest passenger rail line in North America. Congestion slows down the high speed potential though, until they replace the bridges and better coordinate signaling and traffic flow. That's a lot of cost for a small state. They are currently testing the M8s for use along Shore Line East to New London to replace the diesel trains. New Haven RR originally planned to use third rail in Connecticut, but early experiments in Berlin CT resulted in so many electrocutions of people and stray livestock that the State banned third rail in 1906 and that's why NHRR turned to overhead catenary. The State finished rehabbing the structures and restringing the catenary to constant-tension a few years ago. It's also the only commuter line that had bar cars for an adult beverage on your ride home in the evenings.
Meanwhile there's ground level 3rd rail track all over Long Island as LIRR runs 3rd rail with no grade separation. I remember as a kid growing up on Long Island being warned to stay away from the 3rd rail.
Love to see it. Of course, a visit to New Haven Union Station is in order. It's one of the beautiful train halls on the NEC, plus the trip to there, while long, offers many great views of rivers, marshes, cities and town centers. Shore Line East is also a very worthy venture, concluding at New London and another unique and beautiful station. That portion of the NEC is the most beautiful, and onwards to Westerly. I know you have showcased it before on a video, but there is much more to see.
But don't forget all of the "lovely" views of decaying factories in Bridgeport! You can see the corpse of Connecticut shoreline industry from the 1800's.
@@FireStickzz Is it really? I would've thought it would be the Hudson line because of the commute to Westchester and Poughkeepsie, as well as Yankee Stadium during baseball season
That was my commuting train in pre-COVID times. All in all, a nice commuter system with reliable service and frequent trains (almost 24/7). Nice video, as always.
Thank you!! As someone who has never been to a train station or ridden on a train this makes me feel so much better about my upcoming trip. Seriously thank you.
Of all the railroads serving NYC, Metro North is the least dysfunctional. Those trains are very interesting looking, I feel like it would really give the LIRR more pleasant or interesting to see some different colors than the same boring grey trains we've had my whole life
Metro north railroad is horrendously dysfunctional. It’s horribly managed and it’s nothing what it used to be. Track maintenance has been deferred for so long that there are endless delays on all the lines while they fix all the issues. The New Haven line has 4 tracks that at any given time the best case scenario 3 of them will be open, but usually it’s two. Their track crews don’t work nights and only work small windows during the day which just further points out how poorly run they are. Everything takes forever. They have speed restrictions on lines that have been there for years that could be fixed in a day if they’d actually have competent management. The dispatcher’s as well have gotten progressively worse over the years as senior dispatchers retire. The new generation are borderline incompetent. You should watch some of the horrendous, dispatching decisions made where they cross yard moves over in front of revenue trains and delay packed trains for trains with a few people on them. They need to hire some actual railroaders to run that place and get a Track department contract where you can have work done at night for longer periods of time without interfering with train traffic. Any real railroader will just laugh at that place.
The AC system shutting off and turning on during the catenary to third rail switchover sounds just like ones used for many light rail systems in the US!
I like that our New Haven Line M8's all have outlets at each of their seats. On the Hudson Line, we have passengers running wires all over the place. Turns into a tripping hazard.
Nostalgia for me!!! Been on this line several times to/from New Rochelle(a friend used to live there) The other was to Bridgeport to catch the ferry to Port Jefferson NY. Thank you for a great report and bringing back memories😀😀♥️♥️
My family used to go to New Rochelle a lot since my grandma lived there, and my dad used to take me down to the tracks there to watch the trains when I was very young. Seriously, thanks for this.
Down my line nice to see this I also rode an m8 Kawasaki on Tuesday Nov 2 a local From New Haven To grand central took about 4 hours one to grand central from new haven and back.
I recently rode the Northeast Regional past New York, where it ran next to the New Haven Line. It was during rush hour but every train was packed and trains were coming pretty frequently (I saw them about every 5 - 6 minutes, but of course I was on the train, so I'd estimate they come every 10 - 15 minutes during rush hour). Definitely a very well-used commuter rail system!
Strange that it's prohibited because there are short platforms at some stations. I'm not sure on Metro North but that's definitely the case on LIRR, which is run by the same agency. You have to walk to the front 4-6 cars (and trains can be as long as 12 cars!)
By prohibited, they don't mean anything. You can still pass through, you need to to get to some stations, and I've had conductors help me in passing between cars before.
Wow! Just found this channel, and it just so happened to be reviewing the train on which i go on literally every Friday, Sunday and Saturday. I’m subscribing!
Mumbai suburban railway ran on 1.5 kV DC while rest of country ran on 25000 kV AC, thus in order to run trains special dual locomotives and MEMU's were used. The AC pantograph of locomotive used to get lowered at neutral zone and DC pantograph used to take its place. But by 2016 all such crossing were eliminated by converting last remnants of DC to AC.
This used to be my main source of transportation when I was in college since I didn't have a car. Easy to get to New haven, Bridgeport, Westport, Stamford, and into Grand Central station in NY City.
Every once in a while, the announcer-bot gets confused and starts calling out weird stations. I have no idea why it's so complicated for the train to know where it is :-) Not sure why you say the third rail switchover happens at Woodlawn; the switchover is immediately south of the Pelham station. And one thing you didn't mention; the best seat on the train if you've got long legs is that un-opposed single you can see at 10:00; there's only one of those on every other car.
Ayyy! Someone actually rides my railroad! This is the RR that raised me, and I’m really glad you enjoyed Thibault, even though the M8 is not my favorite…
I remember my Brother-in-law taking me and my family on the M8's from Larchmont to GCS for a night in the city. Even got a chance to ride the New York Subway.
That changeover reminds me a bit of the TramTrain we have in South Yorkshire, except its still using overhead wires, it just has to swap voltage as it comes off the Mainline Railway overhead wires and onto the overhead wires of the Supertram system. The Mainline Overhead wires are 25 KV AC and the tram system is 750 V DC
I noticed that when boarding it said “the next station is Pelham” then the seat check it said “this is the train to grand central the next station fordham” then it said “this station is Pelham” Great video!
I feel honored you took the train out of new Rochelle my home town. Not what it used to be by any means but I used to take the train to grand central once a week after work before my day off as a means to unwind.
Very good video Thibault, as always. I do like the mural on the station. Personally, I prefer the videos with introduction like this, without you speaking, LOL. Can't wait for you Canada reports.
I live near nyc and whenever I go there I take the Hudson line. I’ve always wanted to take the new haven line because the rolling stock looked really cool but there was never a reason for me to. Oh well. Cool video!
NYC 😍🥇💯 What a beautiful train ❗👌💯 In Germany , Austria and Switzerland was these trains called as,, S-BAHN'' ( Stadtbahn,or ,, Städte- Schnellbahn''). My lovley cars from the USA are the ,, Pullman'' cars 😍💯
My wife has family in Westchester on the Harlem line, these trains are nice, but if you’re unlucky with your timing you get the train that makes EVERY stop, which is a much longer ride and usually more crowded. The Hudson line is probably the best for stunning views (didn’t ride it on MNR, but on Amtrak since they share the right of way up to Poughkeepsie).
Commuted from Rye to Grand Central Terminal over 30 years. Since Dad's passing at 90 three years ago. Parents married 63 years now there is no more "going home."
Epic video: piece together itinerary from New London or Old Saybrook, Connecticut to Wilmington or Newark, Delaware, all on commuter trains. Warning, SEPTA has the most user unfriendly fare system with its center city zone stations being gated, and needed to present ticket or tap Key car to enter or exit. Outlying stations have Key card readers. Those without Key cards have to get single tickets good only on day of purchase or pay cash.
New Haven was one of first electric railroads of the world. Unfortunately, a very bad administration in the Fifties killed the old NH, which was incoportated into Penn Central in 1969. Until 1981, freight trains ran on New Haven line.
It was more than just the Fifties, the NH had been shifting in and out of imminent receivership throughout its history. It just was too big for its own coffers, lots of branches and freight lines that just never saw much traffic because by then New England had been losing a lot of its industrial prowess. It certainly is impressive how they managed to keep themselves afloat, especially being able to do such radical projects like a fully electrified mainline before even the Penn itself would do so in the 20s and 30s.
I was disappointed that you didn't go all the way to New Haven, but I'm glad that you highlighted the electrification system. You missed noting the unique underhanded third rail system and the New Haven-inspired color scheme. Can't wait to see you do the Hudson Line. Hopefully you go all the way up!
The M7s & M8s really transformed service on all 3 Metro North Lines. They introduced computerized controls, automated station call outs, larger single ingress/egress doors & energy saving braking systems. No longer will cars go dark at track crossovers either. Restroom clean outs are easier as are most maintenance functions.They are fast & reliable. The downside to the design: less interior space than previous models and Metro North continued its custom of a fairly harsh ride + these cars have a bit of excessive pitch to & fro. Otherwise, Metro North entered the 21st C. w/ these cars & its long standing station improvement program. It also improved safety recently w/ installation of automatic train speed/controls...
They used to coast down the hill (flyover track shown on video) at Woodlawn and pick up the third rail at the bottom; former New York Central trackage (now the Harlem line).
If you went north to CT than you would have taken a Stamford bound train the Stamford station connects with a ton of train routes including Acela express, northeast regional, vermonter, shoreline east, etc. The Stamford station has a lot of stuff in it even a dunkin donuts
@@rambam23 Great to hear. It's about time they do. It should not take 2 hours and 4 minutes to get from Grand Central Terminal to New Haven Union Station. I live in Jersey City, New Jersey and it takes 1 hour and 40 minutes to drive to New Haven.
@@233CFH Totally agreed. Why use the train if it's slower than driving in a country where more than 90% of households have a car? If we want to get to zero emissions, we need to make trains appealing, and slow trains are not appealing.
It’s always funny to see that the middle seat of 3 is always the cleanest and most pumped up seat which means most people gravitate to the window or aisle seat, me I prefer the central seat as it puts most people off and then I can lie across all 3 seats, yep I’m of that certain age were I need to lie down a lot 😇
The catenary has been redone in recent years with many new towers, and everywhere a new cable and counterweight system designed to prevent the overhead power lines from sagging too low on hot days. Some of the old towers were incorporated into the new system, some not. Previously, the cables would expand and sag on hot days, meaning electric trains couldn't run without getting tangled in the wires. Connecticut uses overhead vice third rail b/c when it was built there were cows that would wander onto the tracks and we didn't;t want them electrocuted.
A slight correction to your one caption, the electrification Amtrak uses below NYC is still 12KV @ 25hz. The 60hz/25hz frequency change occurs about 5 miles east of Penn Station on the Hell Gate line in Queens.
Metro-North is definitely the best out of the 3 commuter lines in the NY Metro area. Seems like it has the fewest problems and its terminal is the beautiful (and functional) Grand Central. Probably would benefit from having double decker cars though.
They really need to redo the platforms in GCT. Such a shame to have that as your first view of Grand Central coming from up north. It would be so easy to take few platforms out of service every month to replace the platforms on each one with minimal, if any, impact on service.
Not easy. GCT is at capacity as far as platforms and tracks. A couple of western platforms were lost earlier with Northside access. If there were extra capacity, NY wouldn't have carved a whole new cavern for the LIRR's Eastside access.
Penn Station Access project is coming soon to the New Haven Line! The MTA will repair and upgrade the existing Hell Gate Line to accommodate Metro-North trains and provide a direct connection at Penn Station. This will substantially cut back on overcrowding and commute times by eliminating the need to get between Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station for connections to NJT, Amtrak, and PATH.
@@afcgeo882 Actually made for the State of Connecticut. Connecticut owns the rails from the NYS line to New Haven, and contracts with the MTA to run the New Haven, New Haven, Danbury, and Waterbury lines. The M8 cars are unique in that they can use both the third rail and overhead lines.
@@peter7936 You’re wrong. Connecticut is a part of the MTA, but it was the MTA that contracted these cars, specifically for use on NY-CT lines. So the tracks are owned and maintained by the CT DOT, but the trains are owned and operated by the MTA, to which CT is a party.
Metro-North and LIRR might be the best commuter rails in the entire country. The trains are mostly EMUs (except for some diesel trains), which means they are quicker. Also, they are really comfortable.
SEPTA and Denver RTD use a Hyundai-Rotem built version of the Silverliner. The Denver trains look identical to Metro-North M8s except they use a double door instead of a single door and different color scheme. Denver RTD commuter trains also have a full power freight train horn and bell installed
I'm PO'ed that you included the flyover only to cut away before a glimpse of Woodlawn station! Yes, the train doesn't stop there but so what?! Woodlawn is MY stop!
Though the M8s are from Kawasaki, a Japanese firm, they are actually manufactured in Yonkers, New York, a city just to the north of New York City on Metro North's Harlem line. You can actually see the factory and manufactured railcars from the train.
The kick buttons on the doors seem unique to North America. I don't see them in Europe much but it seems like a pretty good idea, don't see many down sides to having them besides adding a little bit more complexity to the door mechanism. If they are common in other parts of the world and I just haven't noticed them please let me know I'm very interested. And if not why they may not be in use more often?
The dual electric power systems are required because the old New York Central (Woodlawn to GCT) used 3rd rail and the Connecticut legislature outlawed the use of third rails, allegedly because on the original line near Hartford some farmer had his cow BBQed when it wandered on the tracks.
The NEC south of NYC actually still runs on 11 or 12 kV @ 25 Hz -- I forget the reason why the New Haven Line was upgraded to 12.5 kV @ 60 Hz, but it wasn't to match the rest of the NEC. Then, the NEC north/east of New Haven runs at 25 kV @ 60 Hz.
The description is incorrect. You've reviewed the double deckers on the LIRR, which are C3s also made by Kawasaki. (I'd still like to know how C3s feel cramped in ways that the Bombardier Multilevels don't. 😅)
New York doesn't have any rolling stock made by Hitachi, but they did build the newest metro cars for Miami. I believe Hitachi also acquired AnsaldoBreda and is continuing their series of driverless metros which are what Honolulu, Hawaii is getting right now.
A shame you weren't around to review the 1970's M2/4/6 trains that retired in 2018, those blew the M8s out of the water in terms of comfort and character. I ride those "trashcans" nearly daily, and I'm not fond of their ride quality through switches
Thanks for a vid on my childhood line! I was on the first M8 journey in 2011 by accident and all of these cameras were on the platform… probably found it exciting for the same reason I am subscribed to your channel. In any case, I find the M8s to be unnecessarily bumpy compared to other commuter rail networks with similarly aged rolling stock.
I love the way these trains look. There's something robust and purposeful looking about them.
Yes the seats look so easy to clean in a Covid era.
They remind me of the JR Line trains I took in Tokyo tbh. The outside looks familiar to me
@@cy_torrent theyre made by kawasaki which is Japanese so there might be similar trains in Tokyo.
@@douglasrogers4675 Yeah I know. It’s just very familiar. The way the cars look are so familiar to the JR Line ones I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s based off of them
@@cy_torrent I'm guessing it's the stainless steel plus the colored stripe towards the bottom! Plus the AC units towards the center
Most of the square leg catenary bridges you see around New Rochelle are the original 1907 design. The overhead wire system is different. Initially the overhead wires were in a triangular cross-section configuration. The catenary bridge design east of Stamford incorporated a tapered leg and more conventional overhead wire arrangement due to the New Haven Railroad’s revised method of power distribution initiated in 1914. The railroad’s goal was to electrify all the way to Boston, but this was interrupted by World War I and the rail line remained under wire only to New Haven. The line from New Haven to Boston was finally electrified in 1999.
That's cool history...
The need to switch from electric to diesel engines meant every train had to stop in New Haven, a boon to New Haven.
Another great report. Most interesting and we appreciate the history that you know so well and the technical details. You are a walking encyclopedia on trains...that is why we like you Thibault!!
Glad you finally rode the New Haven line! The State of Connecticut owns most of the M8 cars , and the tracks within Connecticut up to New Haven, and are operated by MetroNorth/MTA. It's also the busiest passenger rail line in North America. Congestion slows down the high speed potential though, until they replace the bridges and better coordinate signaling and traffic flow. That's a lot of cost for a small state.
They are currently testing the M8s for use along Shore Line East to New London to replace the diesel trains.
New Haven RR originally planned to use third rail in Connecticut, but early experiments in Berlin CT resulted in so many electrocutions of people and stray livestock that the State banned third rail in 1906 and that's why NHRR turned to overhead catenary.
The State finished rehabbing the structures and restringing the catenary to constant-tension a few years ago.
It's also the only commuter line that had bar cars for an adult beverage on your ride home in the evenings.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts owns the NEC within its borders.
The MTA also owns part of the M8 fleet, about a third of the New Haven Line ones
Meanwhile there's ground level 3rd rail track all over Long Island as LIRR runs 3rd rail with no grade separation. I remember as a kid growing up on Long Island being warned to stay away from the 3rd rail.
Love to see it. Of course, a visit to New Haven Union Station is in order. It's one of the beautiful train halls on the NEC, plus the trip to there, while long, offers many great views of rivers, marshes, cities and town centers. Shore Line East is also a very worthy venture, concluding at New London and another unique and beautiful station. That portion of the NEC is the most beautiful, and onwards to Westerly. I know you have showcased it before on a video, but there is much more to see.
But don't forget all of the "lovely" views of decaying factories in Bridgeport! You can see the corpse of Connecticut shoreline industry from the 1800's.
@@jasonkaiser1179 and it's a good view of it all, up on that raised structure.
The New Haven Line is good, but the Hudson Line def has one of the best scenery
New haven line is the busiest out of the 3 meteor north railroads
@@FireStickzz Is it really? I would've thought it would be the Hudson line because of the commute to Westchester and Poughkeepsie, as well as Yankee Stadium during baseball season
Brett Buono yea, Stamford station on the new haven side is the busiest station for metro north.
@@gerardocosta3557 Have you heard of Grand Central
We had/have bar car. So pfft.
I've been working on this line for almost five years, thanks for showing it!
That was my commuting train in pre-COVID times. All in all, a nice commuter system with reliable service and frequent trains (almost 24/7). Nice video, as always.
Thank you!! As someone who has never been to a train station or ridden on a train this makes me feel so much better about my upcoming trip. Seriously thank you.
Of all the railroads serving NYC, Metro North is the least dysfunctional. Those trains are very interesting looking, I feel like it would really give the LIRR more pleasant or interesting to see some different colors than the same boring grey trains we've had my whole life
They're also used on Metro-North's Harlem Line and the electrified portion of the Hudson Line.
Metro north railroad is horrendously dysfunctional. It’s horribly managed and it’s nothing what it used to be. Track maintenance has been deferred for so long that there are endless delays on all the lines while they fix all the issues. The New Haven line has 4 tracks that at any given time the best case scenario 3 of them will be open, but usually it’s two. Their track crews don’t work nights and only work small windows during the day which just further points out how poorly run they are. Everything takes forever. They have speed restrictions on lines that have been there for years that could be fixed in a day if they’d actually have competent management. The dispatcher’s as well have gotten progressively worse over the years as senior dispatchers retire. The new generation are borderline incompetent. You should watch some of the horrendous, dispatching decisions made where they cross yard moves over in front of revenue trains and delay packed trains for trains with a few people on them. They need to hire some actual railroaders to run that place and get a Track department contract where you can have work done at night for longer periods of time without interfering with train traffic. Any real railroader will just laugh at that place.
Ironic because the two other main lines of metro north use the same trains as lirr
The AC system shutting off and turning on during the catenary to third rail switchover sounds just like ones used for many light rail systems in the US!
That's actually kinda funny, you realize during that transition the train is literally just rolling with no power
I like that our New Haven Line M8's all have outlets at each of their seats. On the Hudson Line, we have passengers running wires all over the place. Turns into a tripping hazard.
Nostalgia for me!!! Been on this line several times to/from New Rochelle(a friend used to live there)
The other was to Bridgeport to catch the ferry to Port Jefferson NY.
Thank you for a great report and bringing back memories😀😀♥️♥️
Great review. Can’t wait to see your review on the Hudson Line. I used to commute on it to New York City every day from Poughkeepsie NY.
I’m impressed seeing you do a report on a train I rode basically everyday, very good job
So happy to see my home train line get a good review! It's a great privilege to ride it out of Grand Central Station!
My family used to go to New Rochelle a lot since my grandma lived there, and my dad used to take me down to the tracks there to watch the trains when I was very young. Seriously, thanks for this.
Seen something new....Never used the bathroom on the train but its cool they have a hand air dryer. Nice video
New Rochelle Station reminds me of some of the smaller stations we have here in the UK
Down my line nice to see this I also rode an m8 Kawasaki on Tuesday Nov 2 a local From New Haven To grand central took about 4 hours one to grand central from new haven and back.
Great Video! Can't wait for your Grand Central Terminal Video.
I recently rode the Northeast Regional past New York, where it ran next to the New Haven Line. It was during rush hour but every train was packed and trains were coming pretty frequently (I saw them about every 5 - 6 minutes, but of course I was on the train, so I'd estimate they come every 10 - 15 minutes during rush hour). Definitely a very well-used commuter rail system!
Another adventure with you. It's true pleasure to be subscribed on your channel.
The mural is a tribute to Norman Rockwell
I like your detailed train review, especially you even passed the door while it is prohibited to do so.
Strange that it's prohibited because there are short platforms at some stations. I'm not sure on Metro North but that's definitely the case on LIRR, which is run by the same agency. You have to walk to the front 4-6 cars (and trains can be as long as 12 cars!)
It’s “prohibited” not prohibited
By prohibited, they don't mean anything. You can still pass through, you need to to get to some stations, and I've had conductors help me in passing between cars before.
@@samuelitooooo That's why the signs say it prohibited when the "train is in motion", not just flatout prohibited.
Wow! Just found this channel, and it just so happened to be reviewing the train on which i go on literally every Friday, Sunday and Saturday. I’m subscribing!
Nice video! I remember 5-6 years ago, I went on the MNRR M8 train to Rye, NY to play at Playland.
Mumbai suburban railway ran on 1.5 kV DC while rest of country ran on 25000 kV AC, thus in order to run trains special dual locomotives and MEMU's were used. The AC pantograph of locomotive used to get lowered at neutral zone and DC pantograph used to take its place. But by 2016 all such crossing were eliminated by converting last remnants of DC to AC.
This used to be my main source of transportation when I was in college since I didn't have a car. Easy to get to New haven, Bridgeport, Westport, Stamford, and into Grand Central station in NY City.
Every once in a while, the announcer-bot gets confused and starts calling out weird stations. I have no idea why it's so complicated for the train to know where it is :-) Not sure why you say the third rail switchover happens at Woodlawn; the switchover is immediately south of the Pelham station. And one thing you didn't mention; the best seat on the train if you've got long legs is that un-opposed single you can see at 10:00; there's only one of those on every other car.
Ayyy! Someone actually rides my railroad! This is the RR that raised me, and I’m really glad you enjoyed Thibault, even though the M8 is not my favorite…
You finally did metro north
I remember my Brother-in-law taking me and my family on the M8's from Larchmont to GCS for a night in the city. Even got a chance to ride the New York Subway.
That changeover reminds me a bit of the TramTrain we have in South Yorkshire, except its still using overhead wires, it just has to swap voltage as it comes off the Mainline Railway overhead wires and onto the overhead wires of the Supertram system. The Mainline Overhead wires are 25 KV AC and the tram system is 750 V DC
I noticed that when boarding it said “the next station is Pelham” then the seat check it said “this is the train to grand central the next station fordham” then it said “this station is Pelham”
Great video!
Great Video as always!! Can't wait for your Hudson Line video. Hopefully you're in the GE Genesis Locomotives and the Shoreliner Coaches!!
I feel honored you took the train out of new Rochelle my home town. Not what it used to be by any means but I used to take the train to grand central once a week after work before my day off as a means to unwind.
Very good video Thibault, as always. I do like the mural on the station. Personally, I prefer the videos with introduction like this, without you speaking, LOL. Can't wait for you Canada reports.
I live near nyc and whenever I go there I take the Hudson line. I’ve always wanted to take the new haven line because the rolling stock looked really cool but there was never a reason for me to. Oh well. Cool video!
Those look a lot like the hyundai rotem used in Denver. Very nice!
Once upon a time, there were bar cars where liquor was served. Those days are no more.
Those were MTA-owned M2s, retired in 2014 after nearly 40 years in service.
NYC 😍🥇💯
What a beautiful train ❗👌💯
In Germany , Austria and Switzerland was these trains called as,, S-BAHN'' ( Stadtbahn,or ,, Städte- Schnellbahn'').
My lovley cars from the USA are the ,, Pullman'' cars 😍💯
Thank you for the info on this trainset. I have seen them on the South Norwalk VRF railcam and had been hoping to get more info on them. Thanks again.
My wife has family in Westchester on the Harlem line, these trains are nice, but if you’re unlucky with your timing you get the train that makes EVERY stop, which is a much longer ride and usually more crowded. The Hudson line is probably the best for stunning views (didn’t ride it on MNR, but on Amtrak since they share the right of way up to Poughkeepsie).
Nice views on the Harlem Line too.
Commuted from Rye to Grand Central Terminal over 30 years. Since Dad's passing at 90 three years ago. Parents married 63 years now there is no more "going home."
Great video, and nice train!
Those carriages or coaches reminds me of the MkII, MkIII and MkIV coaches used on the railways in the UK.
I live in mamaroneck approximately 2 stops away from new Rochelle. And also, great video!
I really love your videos!
Epic video: piece together itinerary from New London or Old Saybrook, Connecticut to Wilmington or Newark, Delaware, all on commuter trains.
Warning, SEPTA has the most user unfriendly fare system with its center city zone stations being gated, and needed to present ticket or tap Key car to enter or exit. Outlying stations have Key card readers. Those without Key cards have to get single tickets good only on day of purchase or pay cash.
Get a key card then
New Haven was one of first electric railroads of the world. Unfortunately, a very bad administration in the Fifties killed the old NH, which was incoportated into Penn Central in 1969. Until 1981, freight trains ran on New Haven line.
It was more than just the Fifties, the NH had been shifting in and out of imminent receivership throughout its history. It just was too big for its own coffers, lots of branches and freight lines that just never saw much traffic because by then New England had been losing a lot of its industrial prowess. It certainly is impressive how they managed to keep themselves afloat, especially being able to do such radical projects like a fully electrified mainline before even the Penn itself would do so in the 20s and 30s.
There’s still some Providence and Woster freight runs on the Metro-North controlled section of the line. Mostly their stone trains.
@@trashrabbit69 sounds a lot like the Rock Island...
I was disappointed that you didn't go all the way to New Haven, but I'm glad that you highlighted the electrification system.
You missed noting the unique underhanded third rail system and the New Haven-inspired color scheme.
Can't wait to see you do the Hudson Line. Hopefully you go all the way up!
Took this train from New Rochelle to Grand Central 5 days a week for almost 20 years.
The M7s & M8s really transformed service on all 3 Metro North Lines. They introduced computerized controls, automated station call outs, larger single ingress/egress doors & energy saving braking systems. No longer will cars go dark at track crossovers either. Restroom clean outs are easier as are most maintenance functions.They are fast & reliable. The downside to the design: less interior space than previous models and Metro North continued its custom of a fairly harsh ride + these cars have a bit of excessive pitch to & fro. Otherwise, Metro North entered the 21st C. w/ these cars & its long standing station improvement program. It also improved safety recently w/ installation of automatic train speed/controls...
The signs say it’s prohibited, but don’t worry. Nobody ever enforces it, especially since certain stations have short platforms.
You made a typo when you said that electrification ends at Woodland and its spelled Woodlawn
They used to coast down the hill (flyover track shown on video) at Woodlawn and pick up the third rail at the bottom; former New York Central trackage (now the Harlem line).
Kinda reminds me of the ICE with the red stripes
If you went north to CT than you would have taken a Stamford bound train the Stamford station connects with a ton of train routes including Acela express, northeast regional, vermonter, shoreline east, etc. The Stamford station has a lot of stuff in it even a dunkin donuts
The Vermonter is a single train run, and shoreline east barely runs
Just wait for the LIRR to soon be at Grand Central Terminal and the New Haven Line to be at Penn Station by December of next Year.
They said metro north will be in penn station in 2025. Remember they have to build the stations, fix up the hell gate bridge and much more.
I hope you have a lot of time, if you take the trip from grand central to new haven. It takes over 2 hours, to do the 70 miles!!
Nice to see you rode the Turtle North Railroad.
They’re speeding it up through Connecticut with the Time for CT project.
@@rambam23 Great to hear. It's about time they do. It should not take 2 hours and 4 minutes to get from Grand Central Terminal to New Haven Union Station. I live in Jersey City, New Jersey and it takes 1 hour and 40 minutes to drive to New Haven.
@@233CFH I live between Danbury and Waterbury. It's more convenient to drive to Katonah or Golden's Bridge and get on the other line for NYC.
@@01cthompson Yeah, the Harlem line seems to run a little faster.
@@233CFH Totally agreed. Why use the train if it's slower than driving in a country where more than 90% of households have a car? If we want to get to zero emissions, we need to make trains appealing, and slow trains are not appealing.
MNRR New Haven Line connects to Amtrak's Northeast Corridor at Shell Interlocking just south of New Rochelle station! @ 5:27
great review of my home line
It’s always funny to see that the middle seat of 3 is always the cleanest and most pumped up seat which means most people gravitate to the window or aisle seat, me I prefer the central seat as it puts most people off and then I can lie across all 3 seats, yep I’m of that certain age were I need to lie down a lot 😇
Actually that inter car door said Passing through was prohibited... WHILE THE TRAIN IS IN MOTION. I'm sure it would be fine when stopped at a station
Conductors will help you pass between cars while the trains is moving if your stop has short platforms.
The catenary has been redone in recent years with many new towers, and everywhere a new cable and counterweight system designed to prevent the overhead power lines from sagging too low on hot days. Some of the old towers were incorporated into the new system, some not. Previously, the cables would expand and sag on hot days, meaning electric trains couldn't run without getting tangled in the wires. Connecticut uses overhead vice third rail b/c when it was built there were cows that would wander onto the tracks and we didn't;t want them electrocuted.
A slight correction to your one caption, the electrification Amtrak uses below NYC is still 12KV @ 25hz. The 60hz/25hz frequency change occurs about 5 miles east of Penn Station on the Hell Gate line in Queens.
Metro-North is definitely the best out of the 3 commuter lines in the NY Metro area. Seems like it has the fewest problems and its terminal is the beautiful (and functional) Grand Central. Probably would benefit from having double decker cars though.
They really need to redo the platforms in GCT. Such a shame to have that as your first view of Grand Central coming from up north. It would be so easy to take few platforms out of service every month to replace the platforms on each one with minimal, if any, impact on service.
Not easy. GCT is at capacity as far as platforms and tracks. A couple of western platforms were lost earlier with Northside access. If there were extra capacity, NY wouldn't have carved a whole new cavern for the LIRR's Eastside access.
Penn Station Access project is coming soon to the New Haven Line! The MTA will repair and upgrade the existing Hell Gate Line to accommodate Metro-North trains and provide a direct connection at Penn Station. This will substantially cut back on overcrowding and commute times by eliminating the need to get between Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station for connections to NJT, Amtrak, and PATH.
It will also make it possible to get from EWR to New Haven after teh Amtrak trains end service (last train from EWR at 18:10.
The interior looks cozy! I wonder if it's equipped the same way as the Japanese trains with this or similar cars 🤔
It isn’t. While it’s built by Kawasaki of America, the set was custom made for the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
@@afcgeo882 Actually made for the State of Connecticut. Connecticut owns the rails from the NYS line to New Haven, and contracts with the MTA to run the New Haven, New Haven, Danbury, and Waterbury lines. The M8 cars are unique in that they can use both the third rail and overhead lines.
@@peter7936 You’re wrong. Connecticut is a part of the MTA, but it was the MTA that contracted these cars, specifically for use on NY-CT lines. So the tracks are owned and maintained by the CT DOT, but the trains are owned and operated by the MTA, to which CT is a party.
You should take a ride on the M3A their still in good condition for 40+ year old train also I think they run on Hudson or Harlem line
Metro-North and LIRR might be the best commuter rails in the entire country. The trains are mostly EMUs (except for some diesel trains), which means they are quicker. Also, they are really comfortable.
SEPTA and Denver RTD use a Hyundai-Rotem built version of the Silverliner. The Denver trains look identical to Metro-North M8s except they use a double door instead of a single door and different color scheme. Denver RTD commuter trains also have a full power freight train horn and bell installed
I took this train between Stamford, CT and New York City, NY all the time with my family
Great video.☺️
I'm PO'ed that you included the flyover only to cut away before a glimpse of Woodlawn station! Yes, the train doesn't stop there but so what?! Woodlawn is MY stop!
Super vidéo 👍🏻 continue comme sa
Though the M8s are from Kawasaki, a Japanese firm, they are actually manufactured in Yonkers, New York, a city just to the north of New York City on Metro North's Harlem line. You can actually see the factory and manufactured railcars from the train.
Correction--Yonkers is on Metro North's Hudson Line.
They are also made in Lincoln NE, according to The Four Foot channel. He had video of them sitting in the plant there.
Some have also been made in Lincoln, NE
@@stevetalkstoomuch Built in Lincoln, assembly in Yonkers.
I would love to go on this train.
The kick buttons on the doors seem unique to North America. I don't see them in Europe much but it seems like a pretty good idea, don't see many down sides to having them besides adding a little bit more complexity to the door mechanism. If they are common in other parts of the world and I just haven't noticed them please let me know I'm very interested. And if not why they may not be in use more often?
The dual electric power systems are required because the old New York Central (Woodlawn to GCT) used 3rd rail and the Connecticut legislature outlawed the use of third rails, allegedly because on the original line near Hartford some farmer had his cow BBQed when it wandered on the tracks.
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Which very popular and long running 1960's US Sit-Com tv show was largely set in New Rochelle?
*MAJOR* rail nerd points for knowing to call it Grand Central TERMINAL, rather than Station.
The NEC south of NYC actually still runs on 11 or 12 kV @ 25 Hz -- I forget the reason why the New Haven Line was upgraded to 12.5 kV @ 60 Hz, but it wasn't to match the rest of the NEC. Then, the NEC north/east of New Haven runs at 25 kV @ 60 Hz.
I lived 1 block from Mt. Vernon train station on Metro North
The description is incorrect. You've reviewed the double deckers on the LIRR, which are C3s also made by Kawasaki.
(I'd still like to know how C3s feel cramped in ways that the Bombardier Multilevels don't. 😅)
a.k.a. the 'Scoots'.
7:00 it is possible that the wiring is the original ones too.
0:16 Oh heck yeah
Great trip. I'm curious, is Hitachi also sell their rolling stock in US?
New York doesn't have any rolling stock made by Hitachi, but they did build the newest metro cars for Miami. I believe Hitachi also acquired AnsaldoBreda and is continuing their series of driverless metros which are what Honolulu, Hawaii is getting right now.
All legacy AnsaldoBreda rolling stock is now Hitachi, and Hitachi will be supplying WMATA's 8000 Series
Hourly services to NYC seems infrequent, especially compared to what we get in the UK.
It usually is more frequent, this was cuts due to low ridership during the peak of COVID.
It’s 30 min mostly
They had nearly 130 round trips a day in 2019
Bro you gotta go to Asia to review trains there!
It’s weird to see that you were in my neck of the woods!
Much better than the LIRR but not as good as the Harlem line 😉
A shame you weren't around to review the 1970's M2/4/6 trains that retired in 2018, those blew the M8s out of the water in terms of comfort and character. I ride those "trashcans" nearly daily, and I'm not fond of their ride quality through switches
Next Stop! Venice-Simplon Orient Express!
Long Island rail road next?
Train tracks surroundings must be fenced to prevent squatters of their illegal settlement.
Thanks for a vid on my childhood line! I was on the first M8 journey in 2011 by accident and all of these cameras were on the platform… probably found it exciting for the same reason I am subscribed to your channel. In any case, I find the M8s to be unnecessarily bumpy compared to other commuter rail networks with similarly aged rolling stock.
Can you do the port Jervis line from Hoboken to port Jervis the line goes through some nice scenery
The Moodna viaduct is the best view.
@@hirampriggott1689 I very much agree with you
Omg I live in new rochelle I was recently on the train however its not the same cause mine was very crowded