Comet V

Comet V
New Jersey Transit Comet V cab car #6044 leads train #5738, at Dunellen Station. Note the two additional Comet V cars in this set.
Interior of a Comet V car.
In service	2002-present
Manufacturer	Alstom
Family name	Comet
Constructed	1999-2004
Entered service	2002
Number built	265
Number in service	263
Fleet numbers	6000-6083, 6700-6714 (cab cars) 6200-6213, 6750-6754 (trailers with lavatories) 6500-6601, 6755-6799 (trailers without lavatories)
Capacity	109 (cab) 111 (with restroom) 117 (without restroom)
Specifications
Car length	85 ft (25.9 m)
Width	10.5 ft (3.2 m)
Doors	6(2 high-level handicap doors and 4 regular, low-level doors.) 5 on cab units (3 high-level handicap doors and 2 regular, low-level doors.)
Weight	100,000 lb (45,359 kg)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Comet V railcar is the fifth generation of the Comet railcar series. Produced by the manufacturer Alstom, the Comet V is a much different type of car compared to previous versions of the series. The Comet V began servicing New York metropolitan area commuter rail operators New Jersey Transit and Metro-North in April 2002.

Layout and design

The main design of the Comet V is similar to its predecessors starting with the Comet III. Each trailer car has six doors for entering and exiting (like the Comet IV, the cab cars have five doors); the doors at the ends of the car are single-leaf with trap doors for low-level boarding while those in the middle are double-leaf but lack steps and trapdoors, only opening at high platform stations. The length of the cars at 85 feet (25.9 m) over the couplers remains unchanged from previous models and their width adheres to the standard loading gauge of 10.5 feet (3.2 m).

The one unique feature of Comet V cab cars, compared to earlier Comets and especially the Comet IV, is the lack of steps and a trapdoor at the door in the vestibule opposite the engineer's operating position. Like the Comet IV, the engineer's side of the cab vestibule has no door.

The interiors of the trains have significant differences from previous Comet railcars, featuring redesigned seats and windows that are larger than previous Comet coaches. There are also new LED digital information displays along with slightly more seating.

Door problems

One prominent problem of the Comet V is failures in its door-opening mechanism. On the Comet V, Alstom added a new button to open vestibule doors that lead to the end doors labeled with "push to open." This led to confusion among passengers about how to open the doors; eventually many resorted to opening them manually. The Comet V's software glitches came to light as doors failed to open or malfunctioned.

Accidents

On the morning of September 29, 2016, an NJ Transit train crashed through a bumper block and into the concourse of the station, killing one person and injuring over 110 people. Comet V can car #6036 suffered major damages due to falling debris.

External links

Media related to Alstom Comet V at Wikimedia Commons