If you want to buy a drink on the Metro-North's new bar cars, you may have to stand.
Preliminary renderings of the cars were released Tuesday by the office of Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, upon his announcement that the state plans to purchase 60 more M-8 rail cars for its busy New Haven Line.
Ten of those cars will be converted into bar cars, bringing the saloons on wheels back to the line for the first time since 2014.
Renderings show plenty of counter space, but no seating. In addition to a bar counter, the cars will tentatively feature counters with metal handholds along both sides. (If you get a bit sloppy, you can grip a horizontal or vertical bar, but you'll still be expected to stand on your own two feet.)
Flickr/Dannel Malloy
Nostalgic riders may be disappointed that the faux-leather upholstered benches and saucer-shaped cup-holders that featured in the old bar cars won't be making a reappearance.
But don't drown your sorrows in a pint just yet. The design illustrated in the renderings is "subject to change," a press release says.
When the plans will be finalized is anyone's guess; the governor's office offered no timeline for the new cars' introduction to the New Haven Line.
Owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and operated by the MTA Metro-North, the railroad line set an all-time record for ridership in 2015, carrying more than 40.3 million passengers through New York and Connecticut, according to the press release. The new cars, which could cost the state $200 million, will accommodate more than 6,000 extra commuters.
