Gallery cars in Chicago

[AdamWW]

Following on from the useful thread on what to see rail-wise in Chicago, does anyone know if gallery cars are still in use in the area?

 

[43096]

Following on from the useful thread on what to see rail-wise in Chicago, does anyone know if gallery cars are still in use in the area?

They were when I was there in August 2022. I’ll be able to see if they still operate in October!

 

[nctd2306]

If you're talking about the Metra Nippon Sharyo passenger cars then yes, they aren't going anywhere any time soon, all metra passenger services are operated by them (or a version of them)
It's the loco that will be powering them that is less predictable

 

[ac6000cw]

It's the loco that will be powering them that is less predictable

At least you can be confident it'll have an EMD prime mover under the hood

 

[AdamWW]

If you're talking about the Metra Nippon Sharyo passenger cars then yes, they aren't going anywhere any time soon, all metra passenger services are operated by them (or a version of them)
It's the loco that will be powering them that is less predictable

I'm talking about double level coaches where the upper level consists of a balcony on each side with an area open to the lower level between them. I don't know who made them.

Aren't some of them being replaced with more conventional double deck coaches from Alstom?

 

[nctd2306]

I'm talking about double level coaches where the upper level consists of a balcony on each side with an area open to the lower level between them. I don't know who made them.

Aren't some of them being replaced with more conventional double deck coaches from Alstom?

Yes those are the ones I'm talking about, they will eventually be replaced but not soon, they will form the backbone of all Metra services for the time being

At least you can be confident it'll have an EMD prime mover under the hood

That is true! Unless of course you're using the electric service

 

[AdamWW]

Yes those are the ones I'm talking about, they will eventually be replaced but not soon, they will form the backbone of all Metra services for the time being

I had a quick look and found a few articles from 2021 saying that METRA had ordered replacement coaches. Has this been abandoned or delayed?

 

[Wandering Pom]

They've managed to order some battery-powered FLIRT units from Stadler - 8 of them, I think. Recent Youtube videos and reports elsewhere don't show any sign of major fleet replacement that I'm aware of.

 

[AdamWW]

They've managed to order some battery-powered FLIRT units from Stadler - 8 of them, I think. Recent Youtube videos and reports elsewhere don't show any sign of major fleet replacement that I'm aware of.

Thanks.

That's interesting. I wonder what happened to the 2021 order.

 

[Wandering Pom]

I've done some more digging: the 2021 order was for 200 Coradia coaches from Alstom, with a contract option for 300 more. Based on the reports from 2021, construction should be underway, with the first vehicle due some time later this year (42 months from contract finalisation, which was apparently in March 2021). But it seems to have gone suspiciously quiet since then - you'd have thought by now both Metra and Alstom would want publicity photos with mock-ups, bodyshells under construction, test running, etc. I will see whether folk I know in Chicago have any more idea about this.

 

[AdamWW]

I've done some more digging: the 2021 order was for 200 Coradia coaches from Alstom, with a contract option for 300 more. Based on the reports from 2021, construction should be underway, with the first vehicle due some time later this year (42 months from contract finalisation, which was apparently in March 2021). But it seems to have gone suspiciously quiet since then - you'd have thought by now both Metra and Alstom would want publicity photos with mock-ups, bodyshells under construction, test running, etc. I will see whether folk I know in Chicago have any more idea about this.

Indeed. Lots of news stories from 2021....but not much since. Curious!

I did find this:

WASHINGTON — Metra will receive $100 million to purchase 50 new multilevel commuter rail cars, the Federal Transit Administration announced today, part of almost $631 million in federal funding awarded through the FTA’s Rail Vehicle Replacement Program.
...
Metra placed an order for 200 new multilevel cars from Alstom in January 2021, along with an option for up to 300 additional cars [see “Metra board approves order …,” News Wire, Jan. 1, 2021]. This funding, along with $100 in local matching funds, will allow Metra to exercise part of the option.

But curiously no mention of when the first 200 are now expected arrive.

And I'm impressed that the option from 2021 is still open in 2024...

I'm quite intrigued now.

 

[Wandering Pom]

Someone another forum has turned up this blog post from a month ago. It appears to be summarising a Metra board meeting, specifically the new Stadler order and an update on the Alstom order. The relevant information on the Alstom order:

Metra chief mechanical officer Kevin Clifford said that the original order is running behind schedule, saying that Alstom is still finalizing the design. “As for delivery, we should have our first car on site in 2025, and full-scale production should begin in mid-2027."

 

[AdamWW]

Someone another forum has turned up this blog post from a month ago. It appears to be summarising a Metra board meeting, specifically the new Stadler order and an update on the Alstom order. The relevant information on the Alstom order:

Wow.

That's some delay for an order placed in 2021 with deliveries expected to begin in 2024.

Still finalising the design....?

OK so there's some time yet to be sure of getting a gallery car then!

 

[Backroom_boy]

Yes they are still in use from when I was there last fall; and still being used so the conductor can check tickets on the gallery level from the bottom level.

 

[AdamWW]

Yes they are still in use from when I was there last fall; and still being used so the conductor can check tickets on the gallery level from the bottom level.

Well if they ever get their new Coradia coaches they'll have to do without that on them.

 

[ac6000cw]

This is an Metra video of what the new cars should be like, when they eventually appear:

 

[AdamWW]

This is an Metra video of what the new cars should be like, when they eventually appear:

I wonder if they will actually have the flat-ended cab cars with corridor connection when they appear, given that other US operators seem to be moving towards more conventional looking non corridor cabs, I believe for crashworthiness reasons.

Assuming they appear at all.

I've just seen the METRA ridership figures and they aren't encouraging. Dropping significantly year on year before Covid, and a very poor post-Covid recovery.

 

[eldomtom2]

I've just seen the METRA ridership figures and they aren't encouraging. Dropping significantly year on year before Covid, and a very poor post-Covid recovery.

Like many other US commuter rail systems, Metra suffers from schedules designed around 9-to-5 commuters, with infrequent (and in some cases no) service outside peak hours.

 

[AdamWW]

Like many other US commuter rail systems, Metra suffers from schedules designed around 9-to-5 commuters, with infrequent (and in some cases no) service outside peak hours.

Which presumably makes them particularly vulnerable to losing traffic due to people working from home, as there is little leisure traffic on such routes.

Though Metra does at least have routes with proper all day timetables as well as the rush hour direction (or mostly) ones.

 

[b0b]

Following on from the useful thread on what to see rail-wise in Chicago, does anyone know if gallery cars are still in use in the area?

yep everywhere, still the mainstay of the operation!