Every New Haven commuter, when leaving their dusty old M2 car at Grand Central, seethes with envy when they see their Hudson Line M7 brethren parked on the next track. Honestly, they should not park these cars next to each other because it is just plain mean.

Its like the two sides of the track are joined by some sort of transparent time portal, or as if New Haven riders were being encouraged with some concept prototype of future travel on permanent display.

Those Hudson riders with their larger windows, better lighting, sleek blue/grey interiors, coddling headrests, stink-free vacuum toilets, redundant heating and air conditioning units (!) and seats that offer enough forward room to open a notebook computer (I haven’t tried this myself but a friend who rides Hudson watches movies on his laptop every commute).

Most annoyingly, as each M7 train departs from Grand Central, the sexy train crew pops Cristal Champagne for all the passengers as Donald Fagen’s “New Frontier” plays overhead - in stereo!

The M-7 Trains Cannot Be Used on the New Haven Line as they utilize the third rail vs. New Haven’s Overhead Catenary Wires.

Well, next year the New Haven Line is stepping into the 21st Century with some new cars of their own - the Kawasaki M8 (top photo). And although the specs hint at some significant welcome interior improvements, quite frankly the outside is uglier then the current cars we have now - at least the front, but what little we can see of the sides ain’t so exciting either. Very boxy and red.

Evidentially, the new interiors aren’t ready for display yet, but are expected to include many if not all M7 amenities, including the very welcome addition of power outlets, so that commuters can plug in their notebook, mobile phone, iPod, or rear-projection HDTV with Rock Band for XBox 360 to stay entertained on their commute.

Additionally, the M8 car design will likely incorporate changes to customer complaints about the M7 car - including seat width and seats per car, both of which are reduced because of interior mechanical components and ADA-Compliant larger restrooms.

Two-thirds of the M-2 cars are over 35 years old, 10 years over their projected life expectancy. So many are in a state of repair that trains are short cars almost daily, and many freeze solid in cold weather when not operating. The new cars, like the M7’s, will most likely have more mechanical components moved to the interior of the car to improve reliability.

Although the first car is slated for delivery in late 2009, delivery will be limited to about 10 cars per month, so don’t hold your breath on riding one of these bad boys until early 2010.

Governor Rell Unveils New Rail Cars at ct.gov