Shoreliner

Shoreliners are a class of locomotive-hauled rail car used by the Metro-North Railroad. They are similar to the Comet coaches used by New Jersey Transit. Ownership of the fleet is split between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Connecticut Department of Transportation, as part of the latter's operating agreement with the MTA. MTA coaches have blue window bands, while CTDOT coaches have red ones. Many of the Shoreliner cars are named in honor of people and places significant to their service area, such as The Connecticut Yankee and Washington Irving.

Shoreliner
Metro-North Shoreliner IV on the Hudson Line
In service	1983-present
Manufacturer	Bombardier Transportation
Constructed	1983–1998
Entered service	Shoreliner I: 1983 Shoreliner II: 1987 Shoreliner III: 1991 Shoreliner IV: 1996
Number built	Shoreliner I: 39 Shoreliner II: 36 Shoreliner III: 49 Shoreliner IV: 60 Total: 184
Capacity	102–130
Operators	Metro-North Railroad
Lines served	Hudson Line, New Haven Line, Harlem Line
Specifications
Car length	85 ft (25.91 m)
Width	10.5 ft (3.2 m)
Doors	Shoreliner I and II: 4 Shoreliner III: 6 Shoreliner IV: 6 (5 on cab units)
Maximum speed	90 mph (145 km/h) (Limit) 120 mph (193 km/h) (Design)

The Shoreliners are primarily used on non-electric territory such as the upper Hudson Line north of Croton-Harmon, on the upper Harlem Line north of Southeast station, and the New Haven Line's Danbury and Waterbury branches. They are typically operated in a push-pull configuration.^[1][2] Several sets were used for Shore Line East service in the early 1990s until used equipment was acquired.^[3]

Models

The Shoreliners I and II were built in 1983 and 1987. They were heavily based on the New Jersey Transit Comet II. These cars have doors at each end vestibule, and no center door. The Shoreliner I order includes 39 cars, while the Shoreliner II order includes 36 cars. Cars numbered in the 6200s are owned by Connecticut DOT, which include 14 cab cars and 26 coaches, while all other cars are owned by the MTA. Four of the Shoreliner I cars were originally equipped with an underfloor head-end power generator, for use behind CTDOT's five rebuilt freight locomotives, which lacked HEP generators. The generators were removed when the freight locomotives were replaced by CTDOT's rebuilt GP40-2H units.

Shoreliner IV car 6222 enters North White Plains station. 6222 was destroyed in the December 2013 Spuyten Duyvil derailment.

Shoreliner IIIs date from 1991; 49 cars were built. This series is based on New Jersey Transit's Comet III. They have an additional center door and a different restroom location from the older Shoreliner series. The Shoreliner IV is much like the Shoreliner III, but the engineer's side door has been removed as a safety measure.^[4] Based on the NJ Transit Comet IV, these were built in two distinct groups between 1996 and 1998. The first order, from 1996–97, consisted of 50 cars. The second set, built for Connecticut DOT in 1998, consisted of 10 cars.

Future

In August 2023, CTDOT approved a contract with Alstom for 60 single-level Adessia passenger cars. The cars will replace the existing Shoreliner coach fleet on the Waterbury Branch and the Danbury Branch, as well as Mafersa coaches and leased MBTA MBB coaches on the Hartford Line. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2026.^[5][6] Metro-North intends to begin replacing the Shoreliners used on other east-of-Hudson services by 2029.^[7]

See also

• Horizon (railcar) – railcars operated by Amtrak similar in design to that of the Comets and Shoreliners.