M2/M4/M6 (railcar)

An MTA-owned Budd/GE M2 car at New Haven Union Station, August 2006

The M2 is a series of electric multiple unit cars produced for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Connecticut Department of Transportation for use on the New Haven Line (then part of Penn Central, now part of Metro North). Built primarily by the Budd Company in a consortium with General Electric and Canadian Vickers between 1972 and 1977, the cars were initially branded as The Cosmopolitans.

Both the model and brand name followed the pattern set up by the M1/M1A series (a.k.a. The Metropolitans) in use on the Long Island Rail Road (M1) and on the Metro-North Hudson and Harlem lines (M1A), sisters to the Metro-North New Haven Line. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the M2 design was licensed by the MTA and CDOT to two other companies to produce followup series.

M2 series

The Cosmopolitan/M2 series replaced EMU cars dating from the 1920s to the early 1950s. These were originally manufactured for, and inherited from, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. As with the cousin M1 series, the M2s accompanied an overhaul of the long-neglected main line and the New Canaan Branch in which longer, high level platforms were introduced along with other infrastructure improvements.

Aside from the technical differences of the New Haven Line (electrification via overhead catenary instead of third rail), the cars are similar to the sister M1A order and, in times of equipment shortages or severe weather, the M2s have run on the Hudson and Harlem lines. Most of the other differences are in the interior and exterior appearance of the cars, such as red striping on the exterior rather than blue, the interior wallpaper having both the New York and Connecticut state seals and the obvious pantograph and mechanical hump on the roof. Both the MTA and CDOT purchased bar cars, but complaints from riders from stations in New York, coupled with arrival of new equipment on the Hudson and Harlem lines, led to the conversion of the ten MTA-owned bar cars to standard coaches. The ten CDOT-owned bar cars, which run on express trains to New Haven, Stamford, South Norwalk and New Canaan, remain in service, mainly staffed during the weekdays.

M4/M6 series

After the LIRR and Hudson/Harlem lines received an updated version of the original Metropolitan series of cars in the mid-1980s (the LIRR M3 and Metro North M3A series), plans were announced for a similar undertaking on the New Haven Line. Originally, Budd was to produce these cars but pulled out in the wake of struggles that eventually led to the company's departure from railroad manufacturing.

After Budd stepped away from the order, the rights to the M1/M3 and M2 designs were transferred to the MTA. With these rights, MTA and CDOT eventually awarded the order to Tokyu Car, a unit of Sumitomo, which produced series M4 cars in 1987-1988. Nearly identical to the M2s, Tokyu Car initially gave the "Triplex" brand name to the M4 cars to highlight their being a three-car set, as opposed to the married pairs of the M2s. The arrival of the M4s allowed for the mid-life rehab of the M2s while also adding a net increase of cars in the long run.

In 1993 M6 series cars were produced by Morrison-Kundsen. Nearly identical to the M4s and overhauled M2s, these cars have the distinction of being one of the last with wholly American construction.

Retirement and replacement

At the start of the 21st Century, the original Cosmopolitans began to reach the end of their expected service lives. It was then that the cars saw some of their most intense service as the combination of increased ridership and conflicts on funding between CDOT and former Governor John Rowland delayed CDOT's ability to fund replacement cars.

With the replacement of Rowland by current Governor M. Jodi Rell in 2004, the process for a replacement series was expedited. After an earlier deal in principle with Bombardier Transportation fell through, Kawasaki Heavy Industries was awarded a contract in July 2006 to produce the M8 series, expected to enter service in early 2009. These cars will be based on the M7/M7A series much as the M2s were based on the M1 series, though with some interior improvements and a different front end. The M8 series will fully replace the M2 series sometime between 2010 and 2012, though the M4/M6 followup series will last for approximately another decade.