Introduced by Pullman-Standard as a replacement for aging commuter cars, the soon nicknamed “Comet” cars were first built between 1970 and 1973 for the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad’s services out of New Jersey.

Given their success with the E-L and then New Jersey Transit, the use of the Comet car quickly spread to other commuter agencies. Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority received their first cars in 1978, Metro-North and Connecticut DOT (or ConnDOT) in 1983, Philadelphia’s SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) in 1987, and Montreal’s AMT (Agence métropolitaine de transport) in 1989. In 2008, SEPTA and Frontrunner of Salt Lake City received original E-L/ NJT Comet cars to bolster their fleets. Additionally, LA’s Metrolink leased the Frontrunner cars from 2008 to 2010 due to a fleet shortage.

The original “Comet” cars built for the E-L were designed strictly for low platforms, but upgrades to the car design by Pullman- Standard (and later Bombardier) evolved the “Comet” design to support both high- and low-platform boarding, and feature amenities such as on-board washrooms, accessible seating and, after 1990, a wide center door for high-platform boarding.

Rapido brings its experience with passenger car models to this long forgotten fleet of cars used for commuter travel across major cities in the United States and Canada. The Rapido cars will feature the same great attention to detail you’ve come to expect, including free- rolling wheels, detailed underbodies, interior lighting and more.