Sources: Bar cars returning to New Haven Line trains on Metro North

Nan Buziak Lexow, left, Srikanth Reddy, center, and Mark DeMonte, right, raise a toast while riding the bar car on the 7:07 p.m. train from Grand Central Terminal in New York to New Haven, Conn., Thursday, May 8, 2014. The trio toasted the bar car, being retired from Metro-North's New Haven Line after Friday's afternoon rush hour. The cars were a fixture on Metro-North Railroad trains for at least a half century. The cars, decked out with orange walls and faux wood paneling, are being retired Friday, because they cannot be coupled to the new fleet of train cars on the New Haven line. (AP Photo/Michael R. Sisak) less Nan Buziak Lexow, left, Srikanth Reddy, center, and Mark DeMonte, right, raise a toast while riding the bar car on the 7:07 p.m. train from Grand Central Terminal in New York to New Haven, Conn., Thursday, May ... more Photo: Michael Sisak / Associated Press Photo: Michael Sisak / Associated Press Image 1 of / 35 Caption Close Sources: Bar cars returning to New Haven Line trains on Metro North 1 / 35 Back to Gallery

Last call? End of the line? Nope — bar cars are chugging back to Metro-North’s New Haven Line.

The steel horse speakeasies filled the plastic cups of commuters for decades, but the 1970s-era club cars were slowly phased out of service.

Once the last of the M2 rail cars were retired, bar cars faded into history.

The last Metro-North bar car, also last in the nation, made its final all-aboard on May 9, 2014.

Officials said at the time bar cars might be back, and rumors of their return have never gone away.

Now, it looks like the rumors are coming true.

According to sources, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is planning to announce next week the purchase of 60 new M8 rail cars, 10 of which are bar cars.

The news follows years of wrangling by the state to find a design that would be compatible with the M8s, but not bleed the budget.

It also comes days before a Thursday deadline for public comment on a proposed fare increase.

In January 2014, state Department of Transportation Commissioner Jim Redeker said there were plans to launch new bar cars, contingent on cost.

Revenue from bar car concessions had fallen to $357,000 in 2013, down from $491,000 the year before, according to the railroad.

It wasn’t for lack of commuter appetite.

Concession carts on the departure platforms at Grand Central Terminal earned $6.4 million in 2013 and $6.3 million in 2012.

At the same time, booze and sandwich storage competed with increasing ridership, who wanted more seats.

The DOT signed a $1.1 million contract in 2014 with Pennsylvania rail engineering firm Louis T. Klauder & Associates to come up with various design options.

As previously reported by Hearst Connecticut Media, Redeker said a proposal for ready-to-use M8 bar cars was scratched because they cost $2 million to $3 million each.

The price of bar car retrofitting has not been released, nor has the cocktail menu.

cattanasio@ctpost.com; @viacedar