METRO NORTH NEW HAVEN RAIL COMMUTER COUNCIL

 

MINUTES OF JULY 30, 2003 SPECIAL MEETING

AT SACIA OFFICES, ONE LANDMARK SQUARE

STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT

 

 

The meeting began at about 7:00 p.m. 

 

Present were:  Members Rodney Chabot, Chairman, Jim Cameron, Vice Chairman, Peter Marcuse, Joe McGee, Peter Millard, and Bob Jelley; Harry Harris from Connecticut DOT, Eugene Colonese, Fred Chidester and Sergeant John Mullen, from the Metro North Railroad, Ken MacCallum, a Danbury branch commuter, and Rob Varnon from the Connecticut Post

 

 

The Minutes of the June 18, 2003 meeting were corrected and approved.

 

The Chairman announced that Jim Mohs had resigned as Secretary of the Council and that Bob Jelley had agreed to act as interim secretary, pending his reappointment to the Council.

 

 

SHORE LINE EAST

 

It was reported by E.C. Schroeder via an e-mail that the train-approaching signal at Clinton station doesn’t work.  CDOT reported that passenger average for June was 1,584 one-way trips per day.  Yearly average has increased to 1,485, up 10% from the previous year.

 

Harry Harris reported that the 8:42 p.m. bus from New Haven will once again become a train.  He said that an analysis of costs indicated that the additional train is no more expensive than the bus. 

 

WATERBURY BRANCH

 

There was some discussion, raised by Peter Marcuse, of the midday timetable problem that had been raised by Waterbury riders at the June meeting.  Harry Harris then announced that the midday schedule problem would be taken care of by a major change in the operation of the Waterbury branch.  Commencing August 15, there will be no train service on the Waterbury branch for 45 days because of catenary work on Track 4, which precludes Waterbury trains from switching onto the main line.  Thereafter, service will resume with a reduced schedule, with no train service on the Waterbury branch between about 10:00 a.m. and about 6:00 p.m.  The two afternoon trains in each direction will be replaced by 3 round-trip buses, thereby increasing, in the view of the DOT, the midday and afternoon schedule.  Weekend service, after the catenary work as been completed, will remain the same as at present.

 

Peter Marcuse objected strongly to the proposed elimination of midday service.  He argued that the Waterbury branch was being treated unfairly, because its riders are less affluent than those on the other branches or on Shore Line East.  Bob Jelley asked about ridership on the Waterbury branch, and Gene Colonese reported that ridership was about 500 one-way trips per day on weekdays and on Saturday, and about 700 trips on Sunday.  He also reported that there were about 125 one-way trips on the four afternoon trains that will be eliminated. 

 

In general, members of the Council objected strongly to the reduction of the Waterbury branch train service. 

 

DANBURY BRANCH

 

Ken McCallum, a commuter, gave a lengthy description of various good and bad things about the Danbury line and complained that Danbury passengers were treated as stepchildren with poor scheduling and poor maintenance on cars.    As an interesting point, he commented that most of the commuters on Metro North to New York pay little or no Connecticut income tax, because they pay New York income tax instead. 

 

STAMFORD STATION

 

The new Stamford garage and the overpass to the station platforms are completed but not open.  As part of the operation of the new garage, taxis that wish to wait for passengers on the outbound (garage) side of the station will have to pay a fee.  Funds raised will be used to build a dedicated taxi lane and hire a taxi dispatcher.  The bathroom work in the Stamford station will be completed by the end of August.  All track work at the station has been completed.  New train schedule monitors have been installed on the platforms.  Harry Harris reported that when the new garage opens, an investigation will be carried out as to what work needs to be done on the old garage.  Pending that investigation the old garage will remain open. 

 

BACKLOG

 

It was reported by Metro North that in May, 71.7% of peak trains had their intended number of cars.  The figures for June and July were 73.1% and 72.7%.  It was further reported that rehabilitation work is on schedule.

 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

 

Jim Cameron circulated his letter of July 18, 2003 to Senator Eileen Daily and other members of the Transportation Committee informing them of last month’s resolution by the Council seeking a separate dedicated funding source for transportation.  His letter also noted that Metro North New Haven line riders were paying a higher percentage of operating costs than on any other commuter railroad in the United States.  There followed a general discussion of what the Legislature has been doing about railroad funding, and it was decided to discuss the subject further at the September meeting.

 

DARIEN STATION

 

It was reported that repairs to the new Darien railroad station have been completed.

 

EQUIPMENT SALE AND LEASEBACK

 

Harry Harris reported that the projected sale and leaseback of all Connecticut rolling stock would close during the first week of September.  This will result in a one-time receipt by the State of about thirty-five to forty million dollars.  He also reported that the State is proposing to do a similar sale and leaseback of railroad facilities.

 

METRO NORTH INSERVICE INDICATORS

 

There was discussion, led by Peter Marcuse, of what information could be sent to the Legislature each month to show the financial needs of railroad operations.  No conclusion was reached.   Jim Cameron noted that he was working on a new format for a regular e-mail newsletter to commuters which might also be sent to lawmakers, and promised a mock-up by the next meeting of the Council.  There was some discussion of whether the Council should propose a gasoline tax increase, but again, no conclusion was reached. 

 

OTHER

 

The Chairman reported the meeting schedule for the coming year:

 

September 17, 2003, Stamford

October 15, 2003, New Haven

November 19, 2003, New York City

December 17, 2003, Stamford

January 21, 2004, New Haven

February 18, 2004, Stamford

March 17, 2004, New Haven

April 21, 2004, New York City

May 19, 2004, New Haven

June 16, 2004, Stamford.

 

Stamford meetings will be at the offices of SACIA, One Landmark Sq.

New Haven meetings will be in CDOT Offices, Union Station

NYC meetings locations will be announced.

 

Harry Harris reported that Track 3 would be out of service for catenary work from Greenwich to Rye, and then Track 3 would be out of service from Greenwich to Stamford.  Track 3 is the last of the tracks in that area to have the catenary replaced. 

 

The meeting was adjourned at about 9:00 p.m.

 

Bob Jelley, Interim Secretary