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Comet (railcar)
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Comet (railcar)
The Comet railcar is a class of locomotive-hauled railcars that was first designed in the late 1960s by Pullman-Standard as a modern commuter car for North American rail lines. Later, the Comet moniker was adopted by NJ Transit for all of its non-powered single level commuter coaches. Additional series of cars bearing the Comet name, based on the original design, have since been built by Bombardier Transportation and Alstom. The successful design was adopted by numerous commuter agencies.
These cars were the first of the Comet series, built by Pullman Standard in 1970–73 for the New Jersey Department of Transportation and used the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad's diesel-hauled commuter services. These railcars were named after the Jersey Central train Blue Comet. These were considered state of the art at the time, due to their all-aluminum body shell construction as well as their use of head-end power (HEP). Their automated entrance doors, designed for use with low platforms only, earned them the nickname "Sliders". 155 cars were built, with 35 cab cars, 110 trailer coaches and 10 bar cars.
In 1987, the fleet was rebuilt by Bombardier at Barre, Vermont, with all 35 cab cars and a number of trailer cars receiving high doors, for ADA access and future compatibility with high platforms. They were given NJ Transit logos adjacent to the entrance doors at this time, as NJ Transit had taken over EL commuter service. The bar cars were converted to standard coaches.
The low door cars were retired from service in 2005. 25 of the cars were sold to Utah Transit Authority (UTA) for the FrontRunner service, and 20 were leased to Metrolink in 2008 to help with an acute car shortage there. In March 2011, Metrolink returned the cars to FrontRunner upon the expiration of the lease. Metrolink also leased 15 cars directly from New Jersey Transit in 2009. These cars have not been used since 2011. The Comet I cars have become popular with western commuter lines as the low door setup is compatible with the low-platform stations in use. Eight Comet Is were sold to SEPTA, but are now out of service and put into storage, except for one cab car now used in work service.
NJ Transit retired the last of its Comet Is in March 2009. The Comets that were not sold to SEPTA, Metrolink, UTA or to private railroads and museum fleets were scrapped by 2010. FrontRunner retired their Comet I cars on April 18, 2022, citing increased maintenance costs and low ridership; they were put up for auction in October 2022, lasting until November 2022. In May 2023, the railcars previously taken out of service by UTA were painted with HMRX railcar markings and numbering onto the sides of them while inside of UTA's FrontRunner train yard. They were transported to Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad in September 2023.
Preserved examples are located at several museums, including the Whippany Railway Museum in Whippany, New Jersey and the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris, California. Three of the Whippany Railway Museum's Comet I lcoaches, including Cab Control Car no. 5119, were later sold to Cape May Seashore Lines in 2025.
The Comet II cars were built by Bombardier Transportation, which acquired the rights to the railcar's design from Pullman. The first order of cars was built for NJ Transit between 1982 and 1983 and consisted of 142 trailer coaches and 19 cab cars. A second order, the Comet IIB, was purchased in 1988. These cars feature long end-doors with trapdoors over the stairs for use at both low-platform and high-platform stations. The cars are similar to the MBTA's BTC-1 and CTC-1 cars, built in 1978 by Pullman Standard. These cars were intended for use on lines formerly operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey, operator of the Blue Comet train to Atlantic City. This led to the NJ Transit series of single-level cars becoming known as Comets. These cars have been overhauled by AAI Corporation and Alstom between 1999 and 2003 to make them aesthetically and technologically similar to the Comet IV series and are now compatible with later equipment. They are now mostly used on Newark Division or Midtown Direct trains, as well as the Atlantic City Line.
Shoreliner I and II coaches, purchased by Metro-North and the Connecticut Department of Transportation for use on non-electrified territories east of the Hudson River, are variations without long doors. Amtrak's Horizon coaches are also a variation without long, automatic doors. Metro-North also purchased Comet II coaches for use on the Port Jervis Line, where they ran until replaced by the Comet V. They have since been transferred to the East-of-Hudson pool, where they remain in service. SEPTA Regional Rail and AMT (later Exo) also purchased cars based on this class. The 24 ex-Exo cars were later sold to SEPTA in March 2026.
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Comet (railcar)
The Comet railcar is a class of locomotive-hauled railcars that was first designed in the late 1960s by Pullman-Standard as a modern commuter car for North American rail lines. Later, the Comet moniker was adopted by NJ Transit for all of its non-powered single level commuter coaches. Additional series of cars bearing the Comet name, based on the original design, have since been built by Bombardier Transportation and Alstom. The successful design was adopted by numerous commuter agencies.
These cars were the first of the Comet series, built by Pullman Standard in 1970–73 for the New Jersey Department of Transportation and used the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad's diesel-hauled commuter services. These railcars were named after the Jersey Central train Blue Comet. These were considered state of the art at the time, due to their all-aluminum body shell construction as well as their use of head-end power (HEP). Their automated entrance doors, designed for use with low platforms only, earned them the nickname "Sliders". 155 cars were built, with 35 cab cars, 110 trailer coaches and 10 bar cars.
In 1987, the fleet was rebuilt by Bombardier at Barre, Vermont, with all 35 cab cars and a number of trailer cars receiving high doors, for ADA access and future compatibility with high platforms. They were given NJ Transit logos adjacent to the entrance doors at this time, as NJ Transit had taken over EL commuter service. The bar cars were converted to standard coaches.
The low door cars were retired from service in 2005. 25 of the cars were sold to Utah Transit Authority (UTA) for the FrontRunner service, and 20 were leased to Metrolink in 2008 to help with an acute car shortage there. In March 2011, Metrolink returned the cars to FrontRunner upon the expiration of the lease. Metrolink also leased 15 cars directly from New Jersey Transit in 2009. These cars have not been used since 2011. The Comet I cars have become popular with western commuter lines as the low door setup is compatible with the low-platform stations in use. Eight Comet Is were sold to SEPTA, but are now out of service and put into storage, except for one cab car now used in work service.
NJ Transit retired the last of its Comet Is in March 2009. The Comets that were not sold to SEPTA, Metrolink, UTA or to private railroads and museum fleets were scrapped by 2010. FrontRunner retired their Comet I cars on April 18, 2022, citing increased maintenance costs and low ridership; they were put up for auction in October 2022, lasting until November 2022. In May 2023, the railcars previously taken out of service by UTA were painted with HMRX railcar markings and numbering onto the sides of them while inside of UTA's FrontRunner train yard. They were transported to Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad in September 2023.
Preserved examples are located at several museums, including the Whippany Railway Museum in Whippany, New Jersey and the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris, California. Three of the Whippany Railway Museum's Comet I lcoaches, including Cab Control Car no. 5119, were later sold to Cape May Seashore Lines in 2025.
The Comet II cars were built by Bombardier Transportation, which acquired the rights to the railcar's design from Pullman. The first order of cars was built for NJ Transit between 1982 and 1983 and consisted of 142 trailer coaches and 19 cab cars. A second order, the Comet IIB, was purchased in 1988. These cars feature long end-doors with trapdoors over the stairs for use at both low-platform and high-platform stations. The cars are similar to the MBTA's BTC-1 and CTC-1 cars, built in 1978 by Pullman Standard. These cars were intended for use on lines formerly operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey, operator of the Blue Comet train to Atlantic City. This led to the NJ Transit series of single-level cars becoming known as Comets. These cars have been overhauled by AAI Corporation and Alstom between 1999 and 2003 to make them aesthetically and technologically similar to the Comet IV series and are now compatible with later equipment. They are now mostly used on Newark Division or Midtown Direct trains, as well as the Atlantic City Line.
Shoreliner I and II coaches, purchased by Metro-North and the Connecticut Department of Transportation for use on non-electrified territories east of the Hudson River, are variations without long doors. Amtrak's Horizon coaches are also a variation without long, automatic doors. Metro-North also purchased Comet II coaches for use on the Port Jervis Line, where they ran until replaced by the Comet V. They have since been transferred to the East-of-Hudson pool, where they remain in service. SEPTA Regional Rail and AMT (later Exo) also purchased cars based on this class. The 24 ex-Exo cars were later sold to SEPTA in March 2026.
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