On September 11, the New York Long Island Rail Road has put into commercial operation the first M9 electric multiple units, designed and manufactured by Kawasaki Rail Car.
The fleet will consist of 202 cars, the last of which are expected to begin passenger service in March 2021.
The cars will have exterior destination signs on the front of cars that are visible to passengers as the train approaches the station, similar to the new cars on Metro-North’s New Haven Line. They will have electrical outlets on both sides of the car in each row of seats, and closed loop armrests.
The cars will feature an innovation that is new for the first time in the region. They will be equipped with an electronic display that will let passengers know what car within the train they are seated, which will be of help to customers exiting at stations where not every car will meet the platform.
Walking from car to car will become easier because between every other car there will be a door that operates at the push of a button. The seats in the cars will be slightly wider than the seats on the M7 cars, and the cars will seat more people than the M7 cars, with up to 6 additional seats in each pair of cars.
The cars are fully equipped for Positive Train Control, they have cameras in the train engineer’s cab, facing into the cab to monitor the engineer’s alertness and facing forward to show the tracks ahead, and cameras in passenger area of the cars to serve as a deterrent to criminal activity.
The cars will have additional speakers in the vestibule for clearer public announcements, threshold illuminating lights at the side and end doors, and are anticipated to offer a smoother ride than the M7 cars and reduce sun glare with a slightly increased level of window tint.
Share on:
