MINUTES

March 15, 2000  -  SACIA, Stamford CT

 

 

 CORRECTIONS:

 

1.  Re: the minutes of the February Meeting, at the request of Vice Chairman

Jim Cameron, minutes were corrected to show that his motion, approved at the

meeting, asked that Metro North provide accurate arrival time records of New

Haven Line trains in Grand Central Terminal, discounting the 5:59 minute

leeway Metro North grants in establishing whether trains are on time.

 

At the request of Council Member Lee Carlson, the February minutes were also

corrected to show that his report at the February meeting covered the 8:18

p.m. (not a.m.) Shore Line East train from New Haven to Madison.  Its

departure was advanced to 7:48 p.m., thereby creating an un-acceptable 1

hour, 49 minute gap between evening trains.  With these corrections, minutes

of the December, 1999, and February, 2000, meetings were approved.

 

OLD BUSINESS

 

2.  In response to Mr. Cameron’s resolution regarding New Haven Line on-time

performance, Mr. Okvat indicated that Metro North was unable to provide this

data, as stripped of the 5:59 minute grace period. This grace period, he

said, was standard operating procedures for New York area rail operations.

This produced a discussion of where Metro North’s record of train arrival

times is actually made.  The location, suggested as "Circuit B," is seemingly

when trains leave the Park Avenue tunnel and enter the terminal yard.  Mr.

Chabot noted that trains often halt for various reasons between the tunnel

and their arrival platforms.  Metro North promised further review of this

issue. 

 

3.  Harry Harris reported that CDOT’s negotiations to take over management of

the Stamford station are progressing, and that he anticipates a takeover

sometime this spring.  He shied from promising an April 1 transfer date. 

Members noted that escalators continue to operate sporadically, and that

station maintenance still lags.

 

4.  Mr. Harris noted that the Stamford platform construction project

continues to move forward, and that the new southbound (inbound) platform

should be in operation in October of this year.  The Gateway project, with

its lower level access to the station from under I-95, is nearing completion

and incorporates some advances in wall décor which may be adopted for other

sections of the terminal.  The surfacing is low maintenance and totally

graffiti resistant.            

 

5.  In response to complaints about inadequate platform space in Stratford,

Mr. Harris said that a comprehensive study of long-term station and parking

needs is now underway.  As a first step to improvements, Jack Reidy added,

new shelters will be added on the platform this summer.

 

6.  Mr. Okvat said that a new ticket agent has been hired for the Noroton

Heights station, and is now being trained.  Pending the completion of this

training, a temporary agent will be on duty to handle commutation ticket

sales at the beginning of next month.

 

7.  Chairman Chabot asked the status of the promised cleanup of track and

ties along the New Canaan branch, as long sought by First Selectman Richard

Bond.  Mr. Okvat said this had been completed, but when challenged that the

debris was still there, promised to review what had been done.  He said some

track is kept for emergencies between the New Canaan Station and Richmond

Hill Road, but Mr. Chabot indicated that further debris was still present. 

Mr. Okvat will check on this.

 

8.  Measures being taken to offset the impact of the proposed gasoline tax

cut of seven cents on CDOT funding were reviewed by Mr. Harris.  Transfers

from Department of Motor Vehicles fund surpluses will help, he said, foreseeing

no immediate concern over CDOT’s funding or reserves.

 

9.  Waterbury Line rider Dee Wilcox said that service has improved this

month, with no resort to buses, and trains running on schedule.  The

previously troubled train, powered by an FL-9 #2018, was on schedule this

week, and a new loudspeaker has been installed at the Naugatuck station to

replace the one out of service.

 

10. The scheduled overhaul of 242 M2 rail cars, which are now 29 years old,

will begin as planned this summer, Mr. Harris said.    The updating is

intended to keep the M2’s running for up to ten more years, by which time

CDOT will have made needed decisions on future equipment.  Successors to the

M2, which cost about $2 million each, would now run up to $5 million, due to

technical advances, mandated additional equipment and the impact of

inflation, Mr. Harris said.  Mr. Chabot recommended that CDOT follow the

trend to electric push/pull trains now prevailing in Europe, as these are far

less costly with their non-powered coaches.

 

OTHER:  

 

Jim Cameron recommended that the Council stage a "Meet the Commuter" Day

in Stamford in April.  His suggestion was amended in favor of a New Haven site,

as it was decided that the status of the Stamford station and its environs would

make the event difficult to stage.  The New Haven station date is Tuesday, April 25.

 

NEW BUSINESS;

 

1.  As requested last month, Mr. Harris provided an outline of a 20-year

capital plan for CDOT, which he briefly outlined and suggested that Council

members review at their leisure.  He suggested, too, that changing needs will

inevitably necessitate the transfer or re-allocation of many of the monies as

foreseen now.  Similarly, he explained, sources of CDOT funding may well

change over the next two decades, which make this outline only a projection

of future resources and expenditures as they appear today.  His lengthy

summary will require close study by Council members.

 

2.  Mr. Harris deferred until the April meeting his scheduled report on a

March 7 Meeting in New York City on the Long Island Railroad’s proposed East

Side Access to Grand Central Terminal.

 

OTHER   Under new pressure for improvements at the Stratford station, Mr.

Harris explained that CDOT is already bound to fulfill its commitment to

station rehabilitations in Milford and Darien at the cost of $4.2 in the

Year 2001, and that this cannot be changed.  Mr. Chabot asked if the work in

Milford would restore the fourth track which has been removed in that area. 

As restoration would cost $1 million a mile, Mr. Harris said CDOT feels this

is unnecessary.  (Rail sidings, which once justified a fourth track all the

way to New Haven, have to a large extent been removed or are in most cases

now unused.)

 

 Council Member Allan Sarn of Wilton presented the results of an in-depth

survey he had undertaken on the Danbury branch line, in the wake of what

most riders regard as deteriorating service.    Trains made to slow down due

to the absence of a two-way signal system are a constant irritation, he said. 

Trains run habitually late, and by his survey estimate, up to 300 commuters from

Wilton alone now drive to Rowayton, Darien and Stamford to catch their trains to

New York.  To further adversely impact the train ride, he noted, all but one

Danbury through train makes numerous mainline stops, and the lights on

outbound Danbury evening trains keep going off and on between Grand Central

Terminal and 125th Street.  Messrs. Chabot and Cameron profusely thanked Mr.

Sarn for his informative and comprehensive study.        

                                             

            Ed Zimmerman

Secretary

 

In Attendance:

 

Rodney Chabot, Chairman            

Jim Cameron, Vice Chairman         

Lee Carlson, Council Member

Stephanie Harwood, Council Member  

Edward Zimmerman, Secretary        

Allan Sarn, Council Member 

Harry Harris, CDOT             

Jim Mohs, Council Member   

Jack Reidy, CDOT                  

Dee Willcox, Waterbury Line Commuter

Ted Bowen, Metro North            

Jerry Carney, Concession operator

George Okvat, Metro North         

Susan Elan, The Advocate