METRO NORTH NEW HAVEN RAIL COMMUTER COUNCIL

(Established in 1985 under Connecticut Public Act 85-239, now Sections 13b-212b and

13b -212c of the Connecticut General Statutes)

 

MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2008

SWERPA

STAMFORD, CT

 

 

Present were:  Jim Cameron, Chairman; Rodney Chabot, Sue Prosi, Terri Cronin, Jeff Steele, Jeff Maron, Joe McGee, Connor Murphy, and Bob Jelley, members of the Council; Gene Colonese, Jeff Parker and Joe Marie, CDOT; Joe Kanell, Jeff Watson, Dan O’Connell, Robert MacLagger, Ed Lydecker, MNRR; John Austin, Scott Crosby, Harry Harris, Kristan Tulp members of the public;. 

 

The meeting began at 7:00 pm.

 

LOS ANGELES TRAIN ACCIDENT

 

Jim Cameron asked representatives of Metro North to comment on the recent Los Angeles train accident that resulted in a number of fatalities.  Jeff Watson said that the positive train control system on Metro North stops trains that go through red signals and prevents accidents such as the head-on collision outside of Los Angeles.  Joe Kanell said that with the system, an operator going through a red signal can go no faster than 15 mph.  In response to a question from Bob Jelley, he noted that there is no positive train control system on the Danbury and Waterbury  branches, because those branches have no signal systems.  He noted that the Danbury signal system will be in place in 2012.  He went on to explain that on the Danbury and Waterbury branches, the line is divided into blocks, and train operators have to get telephone permission to enter each block.  Scott Crosby said that on the Danbury branch some months ago, there was an incident where two trains were in the same block. 

 

STAMFORD GARAGE

 

DOT Commissioner Marie commented on the plan to replace the old Stamford parking garage.  He said that commuters who have permits for the 800 spaces in the old garage will not be left without parking spaces.  He said that the Department would move along rapidly to find 800 parking spaces somewhere else before the old garage is torn down.  Jim Cameron said that it appeared to him that the area west of Stamford station, where it had been thought there would be temporary surface parking, was being prepared for building foundations.  Mr. Cameron also asked how, if parking to replace the old Stamford garage is spread around, commuters will know which parking lot has open space.  He suggested automatic information signs. 

 

Al Martin said that the DOT will keep the existing old garage safe until it is torn down.  Jeff Maron said that it appeared to him that no maintenance at all has been done recently. 

 

Mr. Martin said the DOT had not yet decided what technology to use to show who are monthly parkers and entitled to spaces.  He went on to say that he was hopeful that the old garage would come down in 36 months. 

 

Mr. Maron asked once again for figures showing a comparison of cost to fully repair the old garage as against taking it down and building a new garage.  Gene Colonese said he would supply the figures. 

 

Joe McGee spoke of the amount of construction of office buildings near Stamford station.  He said that it was his view that there needed to be a master plan that would be managed by both the DOT and the City of Stamford to control the area around the station so as to permit enlargement of the station sometime within the next 25 years.  Mr. Martin said that Commissioner Marie has told Gene Colonese and Jeff Parker to engage with the City on master planning. 

 

Mr. Maron asked why the DOT was only planning a 1,000 car garage to replace the old 800 car garage when it was obvious that many more spaces are required.  There was general discussion of the need for parking all along the New Haven line and indeed throughout the Tri-State area. 

 

Sue Prosi said that both Stamford and Norwalk were working on systems to give drivers real-time information on where parking spaces are available. 

 

NEW M-8 CARS

 

Dan O’Connell of Metro North said that 1,500 riders completed surveys after looking at the M-8 mock-up in New Haven, Stamford, and Grand Central Terminal.  He said that the research was initially to find “fatal flaws” in the design and that there was an overall 7.6 (on a scale of 1-10) favorable rating on the new car design.  He said no fatal flaws appeared.  He did say that some people found the seating too tight.  Teri Cronin said that in the view of many on the Council, the 3 opposite 3 seating was a fatal flaw.  Robert MacLagger said that the 3 opposite 3 seating cannot be changed, because it is necessary to have as many seats as possible in the new cars.  Ms. Cronin spoke of baby carriages using the extra space when there is 3 opposite 2 seating, and said that no one ever sits in all 6 seats in 3 opposite 3 seating on the M-7 cars. 

 

Mr. Cameron asked what is being done about Governor Rell’s insistence that there be space for bicycles on all trains.  Mr. MacLagger said he was reviewing bikes on all trains.  He said he was looking at hanging bicycles on the walls of the cars.  Even bicycles on peak trains is under review, although he thought that the rule against bicycles on peak trains probably wouldn’t change.  He thought there might be more of an acceptance of bicycles on off-peak trains.  He noted that folding bikes are now treated as baggage and not bikes. 

 

Mr. Cameron said that the Rail Council favors bicycles on trains only when all passengers have seats.  He thought the Governor was wrong in insisting on bicycles on trains.  Commissioner Marie said that the State had to meet competing needs.  He said that there was great interest in the State in bicycles, and that buses already carry many bicycles. 

 

Mr. Maron then spoke of the 3 opposite 3 seating as a “fatal flaw”.  Mr. MacLagger then again there would be no change in the 3 opposite 3 seating and believed that such seating was working well on the Harlem and Hudson lines and Long Island Rail Road.  Commissioner Marie said that all over the country, the 3 opposite 3 is standard. 

 

MAIN LINE ISSUES

 

Mr. Cameron raised the question of a car opening its doors off the platform in Grand Central Terminal.  Joe Kanell said that there is no answer yet as to why that happened, although he noted that no one was hurt. 

 

Mr. Cameron spoke of the complaint from a commuter from the New Haven direction who goes to Stamford in the morning and transfers to a New Canaan branch train to go to Springdale.  The commuter said that when the train from New Haven is late into Stamford, he misses his train to Springdale.  Mr. Cameron said that the website shows a connection.  Mr. Kanell said that traffic is tight on the New Canaan branch and that it is impossible to hold New Canaan line trains to connect with trains coming from New Haven.  Mr. MacLagger said the same thing.  There was some suggestion that telling the conductor on the train from New Haven that one wanted to connect to the New Canaan line train might help.

 

Ms. Cronin once again complained of crime at the South Norwalk station and said that there had been vagrants living underneath the Station.  Mr. Kanell said the railroad is making a big effort to deal with the crime at South Norwalk and will be sure that the issue is taken care of. 

 

BRANCH LINE ISSUES

 

There was discussion of surveys being done on the Waterbury and Danbury branches.  In answer to a question, Mr. Colonese said that he would get copies of the survey data to Ms. Prosi and also to Waterbury line riders who come to our meetings. 

 

There was general discussion of parking at Waterbury station and comments that the parking lot was almost full.  There was a question about whether surveillance cameras are in the right places.  There was a complaint that there was no ticket station on the Waterbury branch.  There was a request for another evening train to Waterbury between 5:30 and 10:30 and there was a further discussion of the fact that local buses in Waterbury do not connect to the railroad station. 

 

Connor Murphy said that for the Wilton Station on the Danbury branch, there is a long gap in the evening schedule.

 

With respect to Shore Line East, Bob Jelley spoke of the unreliability of the diesel engines, resulting in delayed and canceled trains.  He noted that for July and August, on-time performance on the New Haven line and its branches was about 96%, whereas it was only about 90% on Shore Line East.  He said that was because of the unreliable locomotives.  Mr. Colonese agreed and said that the State was seriously working on doing something to get more and better locomotives for Shore Line East. 

 

Mr. Cameron asked that the Monthly Operations Report give ridership for the New Canaan, Danbury, and Waterbury branches.  

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

Mr. Colonese spoke of the new Metro North timetable, effective October 5.  He mentioned there was a new roundtrip train on the Danbury branch and that Waterbury will have five weekend round trip trains as opposed to four.  He also mentioned additional trains have been added on the main line and that the main line will have ½ hour service over the Christmas and New Years holidays.

 

Mr. Cronin spoke of the plans for trains to and from Yankee Stadium, and asked for information about proposed schedules for those trains. 

 

There was a question about the MTA’s budget cuts and the effect of that on New Haven line service.  Commissioner Marie said that there are no plans for service cuts on the New Haven line. 

 

In answer to a question, Commissioner Marie said that some new M-8 cars would be in revenue service on the New Haven line in early 2010. 

 

Mr. McGee spoke of the DOT budget and said that the DOT needs far more money for the railroad.  Commissioner Marie said there is talk about railroad budgets all over the country. 

 

Commissioner Marie said that the new rail maintenance facility in New Haven was absolutely essential.  He said he was looking forward to receiving the report the Governor commissioned on how to cut the cost of that facility.

 

There was discussion of the meeting schedule for 2008-2009. 

 

Mr. Cameron was elected Chairman of the Commission for the 2008-2009 year.  He appointed Jeff Steele and Ms. Cronin as Vice Chairs and Mr. Jelley as Secretary.

 

The meeting ended at 9:00 pm.

 

The next meeting will take place at the Metro North Office Building on Madison Avenue on Wednesday, October 15, at 6:00 pm.

 

Bob Jelley

Secretary

Phone:  (203) 498-4306

e-mail :  rjelley@wiggin.com