New Metro North Cars Add Impressive Technology
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Riders on the New Haven Line of Metro-North finally have something to celebrate.
LISTEN: WCBS 880's Paul Murnane reports
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Metro North started rolling out its new rail cars this week and these new cars have made many technological leaps.
"If you saw what's in the engineer's cab, you could see all the systems and all the computer software," Metro North president Howard Permut said. "It's completely different than when you look at the older trains, which are so much more mechanically based."
The new trains can run on third rail D.C. power and two kinds of overhead A.C. as far as Boston. The trains are also the most expensive, but for the MTA and the Connecticut Dept. of Transportation planners, they're also the most flexible of trains.
Engineer Donald Wayland, who has more than 30 years of experience, said he likes the board diagnostics that allow him to keep track of more things and more systems on the train.
"I'm able to monitor a lot more of the equipment than before. I can see different things going on behind me whereas the older equipment I could never do that," he said.
