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 OCTOBER 19, 2011
SWRPA
STAMFORD, CT
Present were: Jim Cameron, Chairman, Bob Jelley, Rodney Chabot, Mitch Fuchs, John Hartwell, Roger Cirella, and Tim Beeble, members of the Council; Senator Toni Boucher; Gene Colonese, DOT; Sue Doering and Michael Donnarumma, Metro North; Martin Cassidy, Stamford Advocate; John Austin, Member of the Public.
The Minutes of the September meeting were approved.
Jim Cameron noted the attendance requirement for members of the Council: unexcused missing of three meetings in a row is considered resignation from the Council.
Mr. Cameron spoke of his recent trip to Switzerland and the pleasure and effectiveness of trains there.
M-8s
Gene Colonese said that there were presently 42 M-8s on the New Haven line, of which 36 had been accepted. He said that there were 4 M-8 trains in regular use. He said that the railroad was receiving 10 cars per month and expected 8 M-8 trains to be in regular use by January 1.
Bob Jelley mentioned that a friend who lives about 100 feet from Milford station complained that the outside speakers on M-8 cars were particularly noisy and bothersome at night. Mr. Jelley said that he had spoken to John Longobardi about the problem.
Rodney Chabot asked if there was any difference between the cars that had been manufactured in Japan and those that were being manufactured in Nebraska. Mr. Colonese said that there was no difference.
MONTHLY REPORT
In answer to a question, Mr. Colonese said that the on-time percentage shown on the monthly report does not include trains that were planned not to run, as, for example, during Hurricane Irene.
Mr. Cameron raised a question about the planned 15% fare increase. He noted that Jim Redecker’s letter spoke about bringing the fare returns up to their historic level. Mr. Cameron questioned why the New Haven historic level was 71%, as opposed to lower levels on LIRR and New Jersey Transit.
In answer to a question, Mr. Colonese and Sue Doering said that they knew of nothing startling on the labor front, but neither knew when the present labor contracts are due to expire.
Mitch Fuchs commented that he thought the fare increase was a slap at people who take the train rather than driving.
MAIN LINE ISSUES
Mr. Cameron asked about the problem at GCT on the evening of October 6, when trains and their platforms were not announced until shortly before departure time, and there were then stampedes by the waiting passengers. Michael Donnarumma said that two train sets had failed that evening, requiring a very short turnaround time on trains. Mr. Cameron said that there had been no email alerts.
There was a question about the day the Norwalk railroad bridge was stuck open, requiring passengers to be bused between South Norwalk and East Norwalk stations. Mr. Donnarumma said that the bridge teeth had become unaligned and had to be jacked into place. He admitted that there were only four buses to begin with and that the bridge was stuck for about 3 hours. Amtrak trains were also stuck, but there was no busing arrangement for them. Mr. Colonese said that there was a plan for rehabilitation of the bridge and that indeed it was intended to rehabilitate a lot of the major bridges on the railroad. Mr. Fuchs asked why, when railroad bridges over roadways were replaced, the roads were not widened at the same time. Mr. Colonese said that there is a plan for doing that with the railroad bridges over roadways in Stamford.
Senator Boucher asked whether the DOT looks at the height of road bridges over railroad tracks to see if there is enough clearance for freight trains under the bridges. Mr. Colonese said that for new bridges over railroad tracks, they try to make the clearance high enough to permit double-stacked freight cars.
There was discussion of the power problem in the Park Avenue tunnel following the Columbus Day weekend. Mr. Donnarumma said that a feeder cable was being replaced over the weekend and that the work was supposed to be done by Monday. However, the work took longer than anticipated and that required limiting the number of trains in the tunnel for a couple of days.
There was discussion of the 3:01 pm train from Fairfield on Tuesday, October 18. There were only four cars open on the six car train. Mr. Longobardi received a message about the problem, radioed the crew to tell them to open all six cars and then arranged to have the conductor reprimanded.
John Austin spoke of a regular panhandler at GCT who tries to get money from passengers before a train leaves. Ms. Doering suggested that one should report such activity to the conductor.
BRANCH LINES
Mr. Chabot asked about the signal project on the Danbury line. Mr. Colonese said that the project was moving right along and they were still hoping to have it finished in 2012.
Senator Boucher said that she understood that the Georgetown development on the Danbury line was now moving forward again, but said she didn’t know if a rail station was still a part of the project.
In answer to a question, Mr. Donnarumma said that an engine breakdown on the Waterbury branch had made if necessary to provide buses for a time. Roger Cirella asked why Waterbury branch trains go all the way to Bridgeport, and suggested that they could provide more frequent service if they went only to Stratford. Mr. Colonese said that it was a problem with absence of switches and turning around at Stratford and that is why it is necessary for the trains to go to Bridgeport.
In answer to a question about proposed quiet cars for the Danbury branch, Mr. Colonese said that there would not be quiet cars on the Danbury branch but might be on the main line beginning with the November timetable changes.
PASSENGER BILL OF RIGHTS
In answer to a question from Mr. Cameron, Mr. Colonese said that the DOT agrees that it is a good idea to have a passenger bill of rights. He said that Senator Schumer had proposed a Long Island Railroad bill of rights and the MTA was looking at a draft for both railroads. Mr. Cameron said that Bill Henderson said that the Long Island Railroad Council had done very little so far on the bill of rights and that the New York Metro North Council had done nothing. Mr. Colonese said that the paragraph 6 “refund issue” was a real problem. Mr. Jelley suggested that the refund issue was really not a bill of rights issue but was instead a fare issue. Senator Bouché suggested that maybe it was correct that the refund issue should not be in the bill of rights.
Ms. Doering said that a draft bill of rights had been circulated among officials of Long Island Railroad, Metro North and the MTA. She said that she did not know if the draft would be given to the Connecticut Rail Council to comment upon. Senator Boucher criticized the lack of cooperation from the railroads and the MTA with the Connecticut Rail Council. Mr. Cameron asked if the two New York Councils were going to be consulted about the draft bill of rights and Ms. Doering said she did not know.
The meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm. The next meeting will be held at Union Station, New Haven, at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, November 16, 2011.
Bob Jelley
Secretary
Phone: (203) 498-4306
E-mail: rjelley@wiggin.com
