M9 (railcar)

The M9 is a future electric multiple unit railroad car to be designed for and ordered by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the Long Island Rail Road as part of the 2008–2013 Capital Plan.^[3] It will be built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The purchase of the initial 92 M9 cars is intended to expand the Long Island Rail Road's fleet size in anticipation of the completion of the East Side Access Capital project. The additional rolling stock will address the need for additional service to Grand Central Terminal and anticipated expanded service. The projected cost of developing, designing, and constructing the first order of M9 cars is $205 million. The MTA plans a larger additional fleet purchase at some point to replace the aging M3 railcars, beyond the scope of the 2009-2014 Capital Plan.

In mid-2012, the MTA (LIRR) issued a joint procurement request for itself and MNR for a total of up to 676 M-9 and 160 M-9A railcars, set for delivery between 2016 and 2020.

On September 18, 2013, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the builder of Metro-North's M8 railcars, was awarded a nearly $1.8 billion contract a base order of 92 M9 cars for the Long Island Rail Road, with additional options for a total of 584 cars (304 to LIRR and 280 to MNCR) if exercised. Funding for the base order of cars is provided through the MTA's 2009-2014 Capital Plan. Funding for future car options will be provided for in future capital plans. As of July 2014, the MTA forecasts LIRR's need for the M9/M9A to be 416 cars (180 cars to replace the M3, and 236 cars for ESA service related increases), and MNCR's need for the M9 to be up to 188 cars. The LIRR portion of the M9/M9A order is split as follows: 92 base order cars (to be complete April 2018), 88 option 1 order cars (to be complete November 2018), 76 ESA option order cars (to be complete August 2020), and 160 cars as part of the M9A contract (to be complete October 2021). 14 pilot cars are to be delivered September 2016 for testing, with the production cars being delivered at a rate of 12 cars per month. The MNCR balance of 188 cars is expected to begin delivery in December 2018 and be completed February 2020.^[4]

Features

The M9s will have numerous customer amenity improvements. The cars will have closed loop seat armrests (like the M8s), wider seats, electrical outlets on both sides of a car in each row of seats, four 32-inch multimedia screens in each car, four to six additional seats per married pair, as well as powered b-end door. The flip seats in the cars will have suspension systems so they don't slam, and to allow passengers to know which number car they are in the train consist, there will be a display saying "Car X out of 10". At the front of the train, there will be exterior destination signs that are visible as the train approaches a station. All M9s will be equipped with Positive Train Control. The cars will have CCTV cameras, allowing the train crew to view the passenger areas of the train.^[5]

The M9As will have USB ports installed in each A/C electrical outlet, as well as powered bathroom doors, a stainless steel urinals in each bathroom, and gorilla glass side windows, which do not haze, fade or crystallize.^[5]

Timetable of introduction

The first eight-car pilot train will be testing in Pueblo from June to August 2017; the first fourteen-car pilot train on the LIRR will be testing from October to December 2017. From June 2018 to January 2019, the base order, consisting of 92 cars, is scheduled to be delivered.^[5]

See also

• M1/M3 (railcar)
• M7 (railcar)
• M8 (railcar)
• Long Island Rail Road
• Metro-North Railroad

External links

• M9 Railcars (The LIRR Today)

References