New rail cars accommodate more riders, and comfortably
Multilevel commuter train cars to be in operation mid-Dec.
BY TOM CAIAZZA
Staff Writer

PHOTOSCOURTESY OF NJ TRANSIT Mayor John McCormac of Woodbridge speaks at the dedication ceremony of nine of more than 200 new multilevel rail cars NJ Transit will add to the fleet by 2008.

The commute to New York-Penn Station may become just a little easier for riders of the Northeast Corridor this December, and on other NJ Transit lines, including the North Jersey Coast Line, by 2008.

During a dedication ceremony on Nov. 15 at the Atlantic City Convention Center, NJ Transit officials, in conjunction with the state Assembly Transportation and Public Works Committee, dedicated the first nine multilevel rail cars to be added to operation starting Dec. 11. The new cars are capable of carrying 15 to 20 percent more passengers than current single-level cars.

At the urging of John Wisniewski, state assemblyman and chair of the Transportation and Public Works Committee, NJ Transit dedicated those

nine cars to nine municipalities, which the new cars will service.

Mayor Jun Choi of Edison and Mayor John McCormac of Woodbridge took time out of the League of Municipalities Convention in Atlantic City to tour the new cars and share in the dedication of the cars to their towns.

The new multilevel train cars will consist of three levels, two with seating. These are the first NJ Transit trains to eliminate the third seat.

Dan Stessel, a spokesman for NJ Transit, said that the new cars come at a price tag of $1.9 million apiece and offer a stark contrast to the Comet series of single-level cars currently used by more than 800,000 weekday passengers.

"The multilevel rail cars have three distinct levels on the car," Stessel said, "an upper-seating level, a lower-seating level and then a mezzanine level, which is actually a distinct level from the other two."

In comparison to the single-level cars, the multilevel versions, of which Stessel said NJ Transit will put 234 into operation by the middle of 2008, offer 20 percent more seating capacity in order to seat more people on trains and limit the overcrowded conditions many commuters face on the railway's most popular rail lines.

In addition to more people, Stessel said, the new cars will transport more people more comfortably.

"Among the amenities, the multilevels feature all two-by-two seating," Stessel said. "In other words, every seat is a window or an aisle, so there is no more middle seat. The restrooms are larger than many that you see out there in the single-level fleet."

The aesthetics of the new cars were designed by a customer-design team made up of commuters working with the manufacturer, Stessel said. The team helped select colors and fabrics, and pushed for a redesign of the seats to improve lumbar support and leg room.

"What we've come up with is a rail car that at least, so far, we've brought it to a number of locations, and everyone who's seen it seems to love it," Stessel said.

Stessel said that there would not be an additional cost to commuters for the newer, more comfortable rail cars and that these cars would be rotated into operation, replacing older, single-level cars.

The desire for more train capacity comes as a stop-gap measure to ease the demand of a growing number of commuters on an older, less-accommodating railway network.

The three lines that will benefit most from the new rail cars, the North Jersey Coast Line, which has stops in Middletown, Hazlet, and Aberdeen-Matawan, the Northeast Corridor, and the Midtown Direct, must all pass under the Hudson River into New York-Penn Station via one rail line, meaning "one train in, one train out," Stessel said.

"It [the three New York City-bound rail lines] all narrows down into this bottleneck, this choke point under the Hudson River, the tunnel between New Jersey and New York," Stessel said.

Stessel said the new cars provide some relief during the construction of the Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel (THE Tunnel) that would provide more capability for interstate travel by trains between New Jersey and New York.

"What the multilevels represent," Stessel said, "is a near-term capacity enhancement that will allow us to meet ridership demand over the next several years while we work to build the tunnel."

Stessel said that while accommodating more customers, the new cars will do so in more comfort than the older Comet series, some of which have been in operation for 34 years.

Hudson Express Tunnel (THE Tunnel) that would provide more capability for interstate travel by trains between New Jersey and New York.

"What the multilevels represent," Stessel said, "is a near-term capacity enhancement that will allow us to meet ridership demand over the next several years while we work to build the tunnel."

Stessel said that while accommodating more customers, the new cars will do so in more comfort than the older Comet series, some of which have been in operation for 34 years.