Minutes

CT Metro-North Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council

 

Meeting of May 17, 2000

Westport Station

 

In Attendance

 

Rodney Chabot,  Chairman

Edward Zimmerman,  Secretary

Carl Leaman,  Council Member

Allan Sam,  Council Member

Ben Thompson,  Council Member

Jeff Maron,  Council Member

Harry Harris,  CDOT

Jack Reidy,  CDOT

Ted Bowen,  Metro North

Bob Hammersley,  Governor’s Office

State Rep. Alex Knopp,  Norwalk

Aaron Leo,  The Hour

Tom McFeeley,  The Advocate & Greenwich Time

Rita Papazian,  Connecticut Post

Channel 12,  Cable Television

Bonnie Olier,  Amtrak/SLE Trainmaster

Jeffrey M. Smith,  Stamford commuter

Ann Lakhdir,  Westport commuter

Kitty Reed,  Westport commuter

J. D. Witlcox,  Waterbury Commuter

Kristen Fountain,  Tn-State Transporta­tion Campaign/Mobilizing the Region

 

1.       The minutes of the April Meeting were approved.

 

OLD BUSINESS

 

2.       Harry Harris reported on the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s takeover of the Stamford Station from the City of Stamford a month ago. Since that time, through the Unico management firm, which also operates the Bridgeport Station, CDOT has invested 500 man hours in improvements. Station and elevator lighting has been improved, walls have been washed, floor tiling cleaned, and water fountains re­paired. Escalators are now being repaired after neglect, and some will ultimately have to be replaced, he stated.

 

Scheduled ahead, he continued, are the Installation of 31 security cameras, the delivery of new waiting room seating, repair of broken bathroom fixtures, more paint­ing (including the ceiling) and the development of new wall decor in the Gateway area running from the lower station to an entrance below 1-95. To accommodate the new escalators from island platforms, some upstairs concessions will be moved to the Gateway area, he Indicated, in response to a question from commuter Jeffrey Smith.

 

3.       Stamford station platform and track realignment is progressing, Messrs. Har­ris and Jack Reidy stated. The new Track 3 platform will be completed in early fall, they said, and work will then begin on Track 4. Ultimate completion is due in 2002.

 

4.       Mr. Harris said he was arranging through George Walker a final clean-up of the trackside litter on the New Canaan branch line, and Mr. Chabot promised that the Council would longer involve itself in this issue.

 

5.       Waterbury commuter J. D. Willcox attested that service on the Waterbury line has improved, with trains running on or close to schedule, and the substitution of buses greatly diminished; the problem with the buses, he explained, has three dimen­sions: (1) they obviously delay commuters; (2) they aren’t ordered until after trains have been annulled, and (3) there are sometimes more passengers than one bus can accommodate. Mr. Harris reported that a new shelter is now in place in Derby, along with an information kiosk, and Mr. Reidy said that efforts are progressing to put the Naugatuck platform and shelter in a better location.

 

6.       Reporting on plans to rehabilitate the aging fleet of 244 M-2 cars for up to 10 years of further service, Mr. Harris indicated that three firms have voiced interest h bidding on the project, but that the work might be done in Metro-North facilities, probably those in New Haven. Twenty-four cars will be rejuvenated each year, he said, noting that from 50 to 60 of the division’s cars are now out of service each day. M-2 repairs will address the components which break down most frequently; also included will be the ten bar cars, which need overhaul, including flooring, he asserted, and may be transformed into café cars, with added seating over the present contour.

 

With replacements for the M-2’s now likely to cost up to $5 million each, Mr. Harris added, the ultimate solution may be the use of “push-pull electric locomotives” with less costly, unpowered coaches.

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

1.       State Representative Alex A. Knopp of Norwalk reported on a new law he play­ed a part in passing which requires the Commissioner of Transportation (1) to ex­pand mass transportation via trains and buses where he deems appropriate, and (2) to evaluate the state’s operating agreement with Metro North and recommend ways in which Connecticut may better exercise its legal rights under the contract. Mr. Knopp said he has discussed the law with Commissioner Sullivan, who endorsed the idea and recognizes that some provisions of the Metro North contract unfairly penal­ize Connecticut. Mr. Harris said that, without seeking to raise undue expectations, he has been severely disturbed for many years with some contract provisions. A report on the CDOT analysis is to be made to the Legislature in February, 2001. Mr. Knopp suggested that Mr. Harris share with the Council some of the overheads he has used in discussing the contract with legislators.

 

2.       Council Member Carl Leaman, a Westport selectman, and Mr. Harris discussed plans for bringing the Westport station into compliance with the Americans with Dis­abilities Act, and for upgrading it. Mr. Leaman noted that It was once regarded as a top station on the line, but is now in decay. The town, which is now working on improvements at the Greens Farms station, is awaiting the completion of CDOTs work before addressing the Westport station upgrade, which will also be affected by plans to replace the aging Saugatuck River bridge. Biggest component of the ADA project, Mr. Harris said, is a new passenger tunnel which those with disabilities can use. To be located at the other end of the station platform, the new tunnel will employ techniques developed in the costly new underground Boston 1-93 route.

 

3.       Mr. Harris said that, although he had attended a recent meeting on the subject, there was little new to report regarding the proposed Long Island Railroad access t o Grand Central Terminal. He said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority regards the project as “a done deal” -- despite recent stories in The New York Times which have held that planned financing was faulty and that major fare increases would result from the multi-billion dollar expenditure. Mr. Leaman noted that the MTA’s contention that tracks and platforms assigned to Metro North would be unaffected was untrue, because currently used Tracks 114, 115 and 116 would be turned over to the URR. There’s no assurance, he said, that growing Fairfield, New Haven, Westchester, Put­nam, Duchess County passenger volume won’t require use of these tracks.

 

4.       Delays and congestion caused by the use of bridge plates in Noroton Heights were blamed on the fact that only two bridges were available and that trains crews failed to pre-announce the cars from which debarking Noroton Heights passengers could leave the train. Ted Bowen of Metro North said on-train announcements were supposed to be made, but that some crews had failed to follow this rule, which was now being re-emphasized to them. Several Council members questioned how passen­gers with heavy luggage could get through the moving train to the departure points, unless the debarkation cars were pointed out to them as they boarded the train.

 

5.       Mr. Harris cited CDOT’s plans for utilizing the Legislature’s $35 million budget allocation for new equipment to offset gas tax reductions. Four new dual mode die­sel/electric engines will be purchased, he said, and CDOT will seek to add its order for up to ten new cars to another carrier’s existing order with a manufacturer. Because diesel engines accelerate more slowly, Mr. Chabot challenged the plan to use additional diesel power in the New Haven’s often tight schedules.

 

6.       Mr. Chabot reported a complaint by Council member Lee Carlson that Shore Line East trains aren’t being held for departure from New Haven for the arrival of city buses when these arrive late. Bonnie Oiler, the SLE trainmaster, noted that commu­nications systems had made it impossible to know when late buses were going t o arrive, and that the lead time between departing SLE trains is only 30 minutes. Due to that short time, she said, it’s unfair to hold other passengers for more than ten minutes for the benefit of the small number whose bus arrives late.

 

OTHER NEW BUSINESS

 

Mr. Bowen was asked about the poor showing of the New Haven Division on the recent passenger service evaluation. While the division finished last, he said, its ranking for on-time performance was best, and its overall standing against other divisions was only fractionally lower. He noted that passengers answering surveys are often influenced by the performance of the train they happen to be riding that day. Mr. Reidy said that CDOT was attempting to address the criticisms leveled against its trains and service.

 

Kristen Fountain, representing a New York City group seeking better public transportation, said that new cars and equipment are fine, but that greater train frequency is what’s most needed. Mr. Harris explained that expanded service costs money, and that CDOT is carrying huge monetary burdens with catenary replacement, the installation of concrete ties, the New Haven yard upgrade, new parking garages ~ Stamford and New Haven, and other expansions of parking facilities.

 

A question was raised as to why commuters can’t use credit cards in paying for monthly tickets. Mr. Bowen said new ticketing machines being introduced in 130T will accept credit cards, and that the many commuters using the tickets by mail sys­tem until now had obviated the need for credit card purchases. Ann Lakhdir of West­port, a commuter departing from Westport before the meeting asked Mr. Chabot why senior tickets were not valid for travel before 9:30 a.m. He explained that such tickets were designed for off-peak travel and that their intent was to help those trav­eling after the morning rush hour.

 

 

Ed Zimmerman

Secretary