MINUTES: November 18th 1999 -
Danbury RR Station
1. Chairman Rodney Chabot called the meeting to
order at 7:40 p.m. Minutes
of
the October meeting were approved.
OLD BUSINESS
2. Mr. Chabot reported on a New York City
meeting at which the proposed Long
Island
Rail Road access to Grand Central Terminal was discussed. The complex
construction
plan under which tracks would be tunneled under East 63rd Street
and
under the existing Park Avenue tunnel has been amended, he noted, and a
new
"deep bore" procedure is now planned. It will dig a tunnel through solid
rock
70 feet below street level, Mr. Chabot explained, thus avoiding damage
to
building foundations and the existing Park Avenue trackage.
Carl
Leaman worried that Lower Level platforms 113 through 117, which
would
accommodate the expansion of Metro North service, would now be taken
over
by the LIRR. George Walker of Metro
North contended that LIRR access to
the
terminal is mandated by the fact that Penn Station space, now handling
Amtrak,
LIRR and NJ Transit trains, simply cannot accept further growth in
passenger
rail traffic.
Mr.
Chabot argued that Grand Central Terminal, too, is unsuited to further
expansion
of passenger volume. He cited
perilously crowded Lexington Avenue
subway
entrances, and stressed that the Second Avenue subway should be built
before
the LIRR access plan is implemented.
3. Mr. Chabot said that, despite his many
previous contacts with Mayor
Malloy
of Stamford, the deterioration of Stamford station facilities
continues. On his most recent visit, four station
escalators were
inoperative. He called the station’s condition "a
disgrace,’ and asked Harry
Harris
about the status of CDOT’s plan to take over operation of the station
from
the city.
While
not complete, Mr. Harris said, plans for the takeover are
progressing. He cautioned, however, that Stamford’s
deferral of needed
maintenance
and existing conditions in the station will not be remedied
either
quickly or at limited cost. It will
take time, he warned; the
escalator
problem, for example, has no simple or economical solution.
4. Jack Reidy was pleased to announce that the
station reconstruction
project
and the realignment of platforms remains on schedule, and is due for
completion
in early 2002. However, Mr. Harris
said, community input on
esthetic
and other aspects of the expansion of the parking garage have pushed
back
the completion date for as much as a year.
From 1,100 to 1,200 added
spaces
are to be provided, and are needed now.
Along with the pre-planning
of
budget allocations, he stressed, parking remains one of CDOT’s top
problems
5. Harry Harris will respond to an inquiry from
Council member John Anglace,
who
was not at the meeting, asking why a new station in Fairfield seems to
have
priority over expansion of the short, four-coach platform in Stratford.
The
platform is inadequate for present passenger traffic, Mr. Anglace says,
as
documented recently by a telecast. One
complication, Mr. Harris
explained,
is that the Stratford platform is on the outside of a curve, which
impairs
the ability of trainmen to see all train doors on a long platform.
Mr.
Harris also said that, in quest of adequate station parking, CDOT is eager
to
work with developers willing to share parking areas surrounding
businesses
and other structures with railroad passengers in consideration of
the
benefits a station brings in added business volume. CDOT, he indicated,
would
contribute to the cost of such parking areas.
6. Council member Allan G. Sarn and Southwest
Regional Planning Association
member
John Hickey, both of Wilton, deplored the CDOT delays in getting the
long
planned CTC signal system for the Danbury Line underway. Mr. Reidy
indicated
that budget priorities affect the timing of the project.
OTHER OLD BUSINESS.
Mr.
Hickey complained that on a recent train trip odors in
in
one of the train’s restrooms were especially pernicious, and wondered if a
solution
to this problem existed. He suggested
that a new procedure for
reducing
odors has been developed. Mr. Harris
said that any such deodorizing
system
must also disinfect, and Mr. Hickey was uncertain that the new
approach
did.
NEW BUSINESS.
1. Mr. Chabot welcomed Mr. Sarn as a new
Council member, and invited him to
raise
issues involving the Danbury branch line.
Mr. Sarn said that this
branch
line’s riders are the victims of CDOT neglect.
He declared that
trains
operate on the line at limited speed, unnecessarily protracting the
New
York commute; lights on coaches go off and on, not even functioning
between
125th Street and Grand Central Terminal; fares are unduly high for
the
service rendered, and train frequency is wholly inadequate to the needs
of
local residents. He was joined in this
position by Mr. Hickey and David
Hannon,
deputy director of the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected
Officials. A particular annoyance, Mr. Sarn said, is
the fact that engineers
must
stop for several minutes for a written note of authority before taking
trains
up or down the branch line.
Mr.
Harris explained that the absence of a signal system limits the
frequency
with which trains can be operated on the line, and that lighting
outages
on existing equipment cannot be avoided where there are gaps in
third
rail continuity.
"Let’s
not lose the Year 2000 as a time to begin remedying problems," Mr.
Hickey
said, and Mr. Sarn urged an end to CDOT’s "negative attitude" in
dealing
with Danbury line issues. Mr. Chabot
voiced hopes that
re-electrifiication
of the line would be considered when CTC signal system
poles
are put in place, and that South Norwalk be made the only main line
stop
for morning and evening through trains to and from Danbury.
Mr.
Harris indicated that the budget outlook precluded a $22 million
expenditure
for restoring electrification to the line in the immediate
future. However, the signal system, costing $16
million, will allow headway
between
trains to be cut from the present 15 or 20 minutes to three minutes,
he
said, and four existing sidings can be used for operating trains in both
directions
on the line.
2. Messrs. Boice and Dinallo were not present
for their scheduled
presentation
on behalf of the Station Amenities Committee.
Mr. Harris said
CDOT
is working to standardize station design and amenities. Although varying
designs
will be used for stations, he explained, according to their passenger
volume,
there will be basic uniformity in their appearances. The coming
re-do
of the Darien station, for example, will generally follow the format
used
in New Canaan, but the two stations will still look slightly different, he
said.
3. The recent accident in which a City of Milford
garbage truck struck the
railroad
overpass in Milford was discussed.
Severe damage moved trackage out
of
line, Mr. Reidy noted, and service was limited to one track, but there
were
no major delays for rail passengers.
The repair cost will be billed to
Milford,
he indicated.
4. Thanksgiving holiday Metro North service
will accommodate Connecticut
residents
going to New York City for shopping and the parade, Mr. Reidy
indicated,
although Mr. Harris stressed the dilemma involved in taking riders
out
of state from Connecticut retailing.
OTHER NEW BUSINESS.
Stephanie
Harwood asked for an inquiry regarding a recent one-hour delay
on
Train 6529, the 12:45 p.m. Saturday train from Darien, during which
inadequate
information was imparted to waiting passengers. The train
was
apparently annulled. She also asked Mr.
Walker to establish why
there
has been no morning ticket agent in Noroton Heights for two weeks.
She
noted, too, recent issues raised in the media regarding the
proposed
reconfiguration of the Westport station area.
An issue was raised
regarding
the lack of station announcements on Danbury branch line evening
through
trains. Lee Carlson of Madison, from
the Shore Line East Riders
Association,
asked if Metro North trains would run to the new State Street
station
in New Haven when it is put in operation.
Mr. Harris said that this
is
under consideration, but that in all likelihood all Metro North trains
wouldn’t
continue to the new station.
Meeting
adjourned. Next meeting Wed. December
17th , SACIA, Stamford.
