M7 (railcar)

M7
An M7A leaving Morris Heights station
Long Island's M-7 has seats that face towards the center (away from the doors and vestibule areas), creating a 'booth' in the middle of the car.
In service	M7: 2002-present M7A: 2004-present
Manufacturer	Bombardier Transportation
Constructed	1999-2006
Number built	1,172 cars Long Island Rail Road, 836 cars Metro-North Railroad, 336 cars
Formation	married pairs
Fleet numbers	Long Island Rail Road - 7001-7836 Metro-North Railroad - 4000-4335
Capacity	Seated passengers: 110 (A car); 101 (B car)
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Long Island Rail Road Metro-North Railroad)
Specifications
Car length	85 ft 0 in (25,908 mm)
Width	10 ft 6 in (3,200 mm)
Maximum speed	100 mph (161 km/h) (Design) 80 mph (129 km/h) (Service)
Power output	~200 kW (270 hp) Per Motor
Transmission	(4) Mitsubishi Electric AC Traction Motors and (2) IGBT inverters per car
Electric system(s)	750 V DC Third rail
Current collection method	Contact shoe
Braking system(s)	Regenerative / Pneumatic
Coupling system	Budd Pin and Cup coupler
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The M7 is an electric multiple unit railroad car built by Bombardier, with delivery beginning in 2002, used by the MTA on the Long Island Rail Road (M7) and Metro-North Railroad (M7A). The M7 replaced the M1 railcars, which had previously provided electric service on these lines. The M7 are powered from an electric third rail. An eight-car set of M7s cost $18 million each.

Cars are arranged as married pairs, where each car contains a complete set of controls for an engineer, conductor, or brakeman. However, the 'B' Cars (denoted by odd-numbered car designations) contain a handicapped accessible restroom, which is larger than the restroom provided on the M1 and M3 railcars and designed to accommodate a wheelchair, as well as an attendant and/or service animal (such as a guide dog, hearing dog or service dog) accompanying the passenger. The enlarged bathroom reduces the number of seats in the car.

The M7 was built as two separate, but similar models owing to the different electrical and signaling systems on the LIRR and Metro-North. The M7 has AC traction motors and can accelerate more quickly from a standing stop than previous MU sets. The two different cars also contain different door-closing lights; the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) has small red button-sized closing-lights, while Metro-North has white light strips. Unlike the M7s, the M7As have pads behind each headrest. On the M7, the seats face toward the center, but on the M7As, the seats face away from the center. Additionally, there are differences in third rail shoe design between the M7 and M7A, as the Metro-North uses under running third rails and the LIRR uses over running third rails.