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The newest cars in New Jersey Transit's fleet, the Comet Vs promise to offer a whole new experience in commuter rail travel.  The superior ride, safety features, and passenger information systems all help to make the Comet V the car of the future.  These cars have a totally unique design and offer windows double the height of any of NJ Transit's other equipment. 

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Comet V 6513 on display at the 2002 Transit Festival in Hoboken Terminal	Inside of Comet V 6504 - stopped at Lyons Station	Center doors on 6513 - Hoboken Terminal
Photo by: Jason Del Nero, 9/29/02	Photo by: Jason Del Nero, 3/12/2003	Photo by: Jason Del Nero, 9/29/02
Vestibule on 6513 - note the internal trap door which allows the door to be automatically opened and closed on both high and low level platforms.  This feature became available on the Comet III and later.	Comet V coming from Long Branch departing Elizabeth for New York.	Comet V cab car in the rear of a train departing Elizabeth station on its way to New York - Penn Station
Photo by: Jason Del Nero, 9/29/02	Photo by: Andrew Syvertsen, 2/26/03	Photo by: Jason Del Nero, 2/26/03

Facts and Statistics:
You can get a comparison of this car along with the other types of cars by visiting the Car Comparison Page.

Detailed Information:
This section includes detailed information on the car, please choose a section to view, or scroll down to view the entire document.

Detailed information about the Comet V
What are the new things that the Comet V incorporated when it was built?

Detailed information about the Comet V

From the trains that we've ridden with Comet Vs on them, it is apparent that the Comet V really "wows" the passengers that board it.  Comments like "I wasn't expecting this!" and "This is nicer than that other train!" are always easily heard when passengers board the train.  I, being an Arrow III fan myself, was very impressed with several things on the train.

• First, I was very impressed at the new windows.  I can't even begin to describe how much different it feels to be on a Comet V compared to any of NJ Transit's other equipment because of these big windows.  They look good on the outside of the train as well.

• I also love the new style of seating on these cars.  While the seats aren't quite as comfortable as say the Flippable Phase III seats on the Comet III and Arrow III, they are still pretty nice.  They have separate headrests for every seat, giving the illusion that each seat is separate (it is not).  One thing that I did notice was that on some of the cars I've ridden on, there was one seat check/ticket holder for each seat as opposed to the standard two on the three seaters, and one of the two-seaters arrangement on all the other equipment.  The interesting thing about this was that on other Comet Vs, they have two seat check holders on the aisle seat of the three-seater, and they have one seat check holder on the aisle seat of the two-seater.  I do not know why there is a difference.

• These cars are extremely smooth.  Now that some of the cars have been in service for months, I still cannot feel a difference.  I rode on the first Comet V revenue train on the Morris & Essex Lines many months ago, and the ride that I get today still feels like when they were brand new.  Hopefully this continues!

• This goes along with the first thing in the list below regarding the vestibule doors.  In the Comet IV and IIM (the only other cars NJT operates that have these automatic inner vestibule doors), there is no indication of whether or not the door is operating.  So, passengers stand there and keep pushing the button, but the door doesn't do anything.  In the Comet V, there is a sign next to each door inside the car which lights up to say "Manual Operation" when the electronic door isn't working.  This helps avoid these problems

There are several negative things associated with these cars as well, but I think that overall the positives far outweigh the negatives.

• The most annoying thing about these cars is the interior doors leading to the vestibules.  On the Comet IV, there were two large buttons on the door (one below the window, the other near the floor for your foot).  On the Comet IIM, there were two buttons near the same location as the Comet IV's, except they were on the wall.  Now, on the Comet V, they have gone down to one small (but attractive looking) button, which is hardly noticeable.  The problem here is that people don't notice (or look) for this button and attempt to open the door manually, which I'm sure is not good for the door mechanism.  NJT added a "PUSH TO OPEN" notice below the button, and the outside of the button is now yellow instead of white.  This seems to have helped the problem some, but it seems like a poor design.

• The PA system on these cars is just plain awful.  The Comet IV definitely has the best sounding PA system, followed by the Arrow III.  The Comet V's is very tinny and it is hard to understand the announcements sometime.  The computer-generated voice announcements are easy to understand nonetheless (when they work, that is!).  Conductors don't seem to like the PA system either because it takes a few seconds for it to kick in after the "Push to Talk" button has been pressed.  Passengers hear a few beeps to indicate that someone is going to start talking before the conductor is allowed to speak.  While this really isn't a big deal, it is worthwhile to mention it anyway.

What are the new things that the Comet V incorporated when it was built?

Passengers will immediately notice the fresh, bright new look of these cars upon entering.  The maroon seats feature separate headrests for each passenger, which makes it more comfortable to sit next to a fellow passenger.  Building on Comet IV technology from the mid-90s, these cars also feature NJ Transit's passenger information system, which automatically announces the next station, the current station, and other relevant information.  The system is combined with two information screens (one on each end of the car), which graphically display the spoken information.  The system works with GPS (Global Positioning System) to pinpoint the trains location so the computer always knows where the train is and when it is approaching the station.

One thing that is new with the introduction of the Comet Vs is the computer status displays located in the vestibules of the cars.  These displays allow conductors, engineers, and other employees to view the status of the train from any vestibule at any time; and when combined with the new ALP-46 locomotives, the status of the locomotive is also available.  This gives the train crew information about incidents quickly and safely.

Probably the most noticeable thing when approaching a Comet V for the first time is the size of the windows.  The windows have been enlarged to almost double the size of the previous Comet cars window heights.  Now, you can see things you've never seen before because the window is so much bigger!  This also adds to the open and airy feeling inside the cars during the day.

Timeline:

2002-2003    Comet V built by Altsom

Questions? Comments?