M-7 trains aren't so easy on riders

[x635 4,066]

In my continuing love for the new Metro North M7's which has been professed on this board before, I highly disagree with this article!! I think the new M-7's are not only beautiful, but ride very smoothly and are very comfortable. Although I don't ride them everyday.

M-7 trains aren't so easy on riders

By CAREN HALBFINGER

chalbfin@thejournalnews.com

THE JOURNAL NEWS

About the new fleet

New train cars: 336

Cost per car: $1.8 million

Car weight: 128,000 pounds

Seats: 213 per two-car set

Upgrade: Windows are one-third larger and more plentiful. Lights are brighter. The next station is automatically announced and displayed on signs in every car.

Wheelchair access: Four spaces per train; restrooms newly accessible.

Backup help: Two electric motors that can operate independently, two air conditioners and an extra inverter that can provide auxiliary power to keep lights, air conditioning or heat running when the train is stopped. Levers that allow emergency crews to open train doors from inside or out.

(Original publication: January 4, 2006)

Metro-North Railroad riders have a love-hate relationship with the M-7s, the newest trains in the railroad's fleet.

"The seats are extremely uncomfortable," said Marybeth Levy, 48, an information technology director from Mahopac. "I'm all of 5 feet tall, and the headrest is in such a position that my head is forced down."

Levy, who endures a 70-minute ride each way from the Croton Falls station, said she dislikes the M-7s so much that she'll wait for a later train rather than ride in one.

"On the way home, I can see them on the platform and take the next train," she said. "Coming in, in the morning, you really have no choice if you want to be on time to work. The only good thing about them is they're quieter."

Edward Semlies, an investment company manager who, as usual, boarded an M-7 at 7:38 a.m. yesterday at the Scarsdale station, agreed with her assessment.

"I think they really could have done a better job designing them," he said. "It's too tight. Those facing seats have no legroom. I'm five-eleven and I can't sit across from someone else in those seats. It's impossible. You have seats for five people and three people can sit comfortably. In the three-seaters, there's not enough room for three normal-size people."

The railroad says riders have gained an inch of legroom on these new trains, but riders say they find this hard to believe. They've also lost a few inches all around, which probably leads to the cramped feeling many riders say they have, especially at rush hour when all seats are taken. The railroad says that each seat has lost less than an inch in width, another inch in the space between the passenger and the seat in front of him or her, and another inch in aisle width.

Although Semlies, 36, of Scarsdale said he had ripped two pairs of pants on the armrests, he allowed that the new trains do have a few things going for them: "The heat always works. The air conditioning isn't a problem. The bathrooms are an improvement."

In the summer, the M-7s were the coolest cars in the fleet. The air conditioning worked "in the comfort zone" 99.3 percent of the time and kept the cars 71 to 75 degrees, railroad spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. The only car class that was below 95 percent was the M-1s at 93.7 percent.

Metro-North now has 248 of these train cars in service on the Harlem and Hudson lines. An additional 20 M-7s are being put through their paces by the railroad before being sent out on the tracks. The railroad had ordered 336 M-7s, and expects to get the last of this order in June. The M-7s cannot be used on the New Haven line, because they do not run on overhead power.

While riders complain the most about the tight seating, armrest issues are a close second. The armrests on these trains stick out and catch on clothing, tearing many a pocket on pants and coats. The railroad has paid $31,845 to 287 customers for complaints about ripped clothing on M-7s. Intending to retrofit the trains with armrests that won't tear clothing, the railroad hired a consulting designer along with Long Island Rail Road, which has received similar complaints. So far, not one of the designs was enough of an improvement to go forward. Another design is now in development, Anders said.

"I have heard from several men the tailors in Westchester are very happy," said Nancy True, 53, a director of the retiree division for Teamsters Local 237. She boarded a new M-7 train at the Scarsdale station yesterday morning.

"On the other hand," she said, "I'm happy Metro-North is virtually always on time. I'm happy on a day like today not to be driving. They are what they are."

Another aspect of the new trains that is getting tweaked is their doors. It takes twice as long for the doors on these trains to open or close as it does on other electric cars, so some conductors aren't as quick to reopen a door for a late-arriving rider as they once were. Anders said software changes were developed to cut down the open or close time from 10 seconds to 7.5 seconds, reducing the duration of the alarm and the pause between the conductor pressing the open-close button and the door's motor starting. As the train cars come into the shop for routine maintenance, the software changes are being installed.

As expected, the M-7 trains have been performing far better than the older trains in rough weather. The new trains have sealed traction motors and their electrical components are protected inside the cars. This keeps snow and ice away from key parts that are quick to short out in the older trains when wet snow gets near them.

"The M-7 is the best performing car that Metro-North has ever had," Anders said. "It survived last winter without a single weather-related breakdown. It performed in today's storm without incident. The M-7 travels more than 700,000 miles without a breakdown, although the contract specified only 100,000 miles between breakdowns. The M-7 put Metro-North on track for a record on-time performance for 2005 of more than 97 percent."

Yesterday, with a snowy, slushy, rainy mix of weather making road conditions treacherous, commuters were happy to see the shiny steel trains arrive on time.

"They're fine," said Bob Cohen, 51, a lawyer from Scarsdale. "As long as it gets me there on time. That's all I care about."

Frank Greco, 60, of New Rochelle, who works in the private security business, found plenty to smile about as he boarded an M-7 train in Scarsdale yesterday

"I like them a lot," he said. "They're brighter and cleaner. Their public-address system works better. To me, they feel great."

Edited January 5, 2006 by x635

[BIGRED1 71]

I am on the New Haven Line and we don't get to ride these trains. i have gone to the city from Fleetwood and i would take the new one anyday. they are bright, clean, i think more roomy, and seats more comfortable. only complain is they aint on the New Haven Line.

[JohnnyOV 2]

I just took the Harlem Line the other day to Grand Central and back. I had no problem with the trains, they were acctually quite the improvement.

[IzzyEng4 427]

I am on the New Haven Line and we don't get to ride these trains. i have gone to the city from Fleetwood and i would take the new one anyday. they are bright, clean, i think more roomy, and seats more comfortable. only complain is they aint on the New Haven Line. 

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I think CT is spending money to replace the cars on the New Haven Line, when I don't know/ It has been in the news recently. I know some guys in the New Haven shop. I'll ask if the news rumors are true next time I see them.

[grumpyff 1,159]

my only dislike is that the seats are narrow, and the person next to you is right on top of you. On LIRR the seats are opposite od Metro Norths, and lots of people rip their pants pockets off