Governor Rell Announces Shipping of First M-8 Cars from Japan

                Hailing it as a major milestone for Connecticut’s transportation infrastructure, Governor M. Jodi Rell announced today that the first pair of the eagerly awaited M-8 rail cars will be shipped next week from the Kawasaki plant in Japan. Connecticut has ordered 300 new cars to serve commuters on the New Haven Line as well as Shore Line East.

The new M-8 rail cars.

            The first pair will ship on a freighter on October 28, and over the next four months, three additional pairs will be shipped to Connecticut, where they will undergo a series of rigorous quality-assurance tests lasting several months before being put into regular service on the Metro-North Line between New Haven and Grand Central Terminal in New York. While the testing is being completed, Kawasaki will be producing and shipping 10 cars every month to fulfill the 300-car order.

The M-8 interior.

            “These state-of-the-art cars represent our latest investment in our rail system and I am confident our commuters will be delighted when they see them,” Governor Rell said. “I am committed to having and maintaining the best system possible. With safe, reliable and attractive cars, we hope to entice even more Connecticut commuters to leave their cars at home and hop aboard the train. The resulting reduction in highway congestion will benefit everyone – commuters and the companies they work for – and help reduce emissions and enhance Connecticut’s quality of life.”

            Governor Rell announced plans to order the new rail cars in 2005 as part of a massive $1.3 billion public transportation program, which also included the New Haven Rail Yard, which will house and maintain the new fleet. The rail yard is currently under construction and the M-8 “acceptance facility” there is already complete.

            The rail cars are being ordered by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the parent company of Metro-North – the operator of the New Haven Line. Connecticut expects to exercise an option to order an additional 80 M-8 cars, but a timetable for that has not been determined.

            “A sound transportation system is essential to Connecticut’s economic and social health and welfare,” Governor Rell said. “We are trying to improve mobility in every way we can.”

            DOT Commissioner Joseph F. Marie noted that, with more than 36 million passenger trip a year, the New Haven Line is among the busiest in the country. He said that the M-8 cars will also be able to operate on Shore Line East, the commuter rail line between New Haven and New London, which has almost a half-million passenger trips annually.

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