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Commuters along Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line will have to wait a little longer for their shiny new rides. Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Jeffrey Parker announced Wednesday the first batch of the new M-8 railcars will not debut until January. An "electrical interference problem" is causing the delay.
"This testing process cannot and should not be rushed," Parker said in a statement. "Frankly, it's a matter of public safety. We will not put these cars into service until we are confident that these cars are safe and reliable."
Parker and Gov. M. Jodi Rell initially announced the cars would be in service this month. But in the final rounds of testing, DOT workers discovered the problem. Metro-North officials and engineers from Japanese company Kawasaki, the cars' builder, will work to fix the 24 cars the state now has and hoped to put into service. Parker said the DOT has a solution, and should have the cars repaired over the next week.
Even after the problem is corrected, Parker said it will take an additional three to four weeks before they hit the rails. The cars still need to pass their final test: 4,000 miles of consecutive, problem-free travel.
General Assembly Transportation Committee chair Sen. Donald DeFronzo (D-New Britain) and vice chair Sen. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) expressed frustration for the delay and the DOT's reluctance to talk about the problem. They say Parker did not properly brief the committee on the problem.
"While we fully support the need for safety and reliability, another delay affects our constituents directly," DeFronzo and Duff said in a joint statement. "Over and over, they have been told one thing, only to find that the situation again changes."
What do you think about the delay? Voice your concerns in the comments below.
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