Minutes 

February 19, 2003    -    SACIA Offices - Stamford

      

1).  Minutes of the January Meeting were approved. As noted the first sentence of the last paragraph should read signed instead of sign.

 OLD BUSINESS:

 1). In Mr. Harris’ absence, the review of the Governors proposed budget was tabled until the next Council meeting. 

 2). CDOT reported that the average daily ridership on Shore Line East for January was 492, a 22% increase over the prior year. In addition, CDOT reported that the On Time Performance for January had decreased 24% to 74.7% due to tunnel work. The tunnel work in New Haven is expected to be completed by the end of February 2003.

Addressing SLE equipment issues, CDOT noted that the engine sent out for its 3 year servicing was back in the NH shop, and extra SLE equipment was used on the New Haven mainline during January. In addition it was reported that the public address system at the State Street Station was working.

The Council was told that the snow had built up on the octagonal roof of the State Street Station to the extent that it was causing a dangerous situation. The snow on 1/8 of the roof had fallen almost hitting riders. Metro North indicated that they would look into it.

The #3640 train on February 18^th was annulled. Metro North indicated that they would look in to the reasons for the annulment.

CDOT reported that the commuter feeder-bus changes previously discussed (State Street/Union Station) would start on March 10, 2003.

In response to questions regarding the SLE stations, CDOT reported that all new station construction on SLE would be one sided, citing plans for a third passing track at some stations.

3). CDOT reported that there were 3 bus substitutions on the Waterbury Branch Line during January.

4).  CDOT reported that there were no bus substitutions on the Danbury Branch Line during January.  In addition, CDOT indicated that the CTC bids would be going out in June 2003.  Engineers walked the line and discovered that the rock ledge adjacent to the right-of-way would cause significant problems with running the lines underground.

5).  Metro-North reported that the PA systems at the Stamford Station are operative. Additionally, effective March 3, 2003, there will be a designated person who will read the monitors and make announcements on a real time basis, seven days a week.

CDOT reported that Stamford garage is still on track for a May 2003 opening. The garage structure has been erected and mechanical and electrical work is underway. Additionally, some of the temperature sensitive work is being postponed until spring. The new garage will provide an additional net 500 parking spots compared to the older garage which will then be shut for rehab work.

Metro-North reported that they would be advising passengers who park at Stamford of the changes by seat drops starting at the end of February.

CDOT reported that all concourse escalators and elevators at Stamford station were in service and operational.

 6). CDOT reported that there are currently approximately 70 cars in the shop backlog. CDOT cited the extremely cold weather and lack of repair facilities for the increase in backlogged equipment.

7). The Council’s sub committee on Bar Cars reported that the drafts of proposed renovations to the Bar Car appeared to be acceptable to most passengers. Metro North agreed to look into the possibility of putting diagrams of the proposed changes in the bar cars, and inviting commuter comments.

 8).  Robert Hammersley the Manager of the Transportation Strategy Board provided brief TSB update. He indicated that he was in contact with the legislators and the bills being drafted included the TSB recommendations. He further indicated that he had no knowledge of any cuts in rail service rumored to be planned as part of the Governor’s proposed budget.

The council expressed concern that the TSB did not endorse the expansion of I-95, and that CDOT is reportedly planning to use the breakdown lanes as a fourth lane. Council member McGee agreed to draft a letter, for council review, to the Governor regarding the expansion of I-95.  

9). CDOT reported that the New Haven shuttle bus to the parking lot at Temple Street was still running in 4 to 5 minute increments. There have been no major complaints and there is nothing new to report on the new, New Haven Garage.

10). Metro-North reported again that the MNRR labor contracts are still being negotiated, adding that no resolution date has been set and no strike is impending.

 11).  Metro-North reported that the new restrooms are being constructed on the west end of the lower level are on schedule. These restrooms should be completed by late summer 2003.

 12). In other old business, the council discussed at great length the last storm and the repetitive problems encountered with the heavy snow. Citing the lessons learned from the winter of 1995/96, Metro-North indicated that to preserve the fleet, the electric equipment was moved to the Park Avenue Tunnel and the railroad went to diesel powered equipment on a reduced schedule. Metro-North added, that by taking these actions, all trains kept moving and damage to the equipment was limited to a few pairs of cars but no complete train-sets.

Concerned with storm related lack of communication as well as the mis-communication regarding the service reductions, Vice Chairman Cameron, sent a questionnaire to the council’s e-mail subscribers soliciting their comments, now published on the Council’s website. The unfavorable responses where also communicated to Metro North in writing.

Noting that the information the media was reporting was inconsistent, the Council questioned why there was no scheduling information on the Metro North web site and why there was no e-mail alert system to reach commuters directly. Based on the Metro- North response the following motion was made by Council member Jeff Maron:

Moved:

     That the Council communicate with Metro-North and CDOT urging the MTA to create an e-mail alert system to notify riders of any changes in rail service in the event of weather or other emergencies.

The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.                

Chairman Chabot and Vice Chairman Cameron agreed to contact the MTA and share the Council’s recommendation as approved in the motion.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

1).  Mr. Ted Bowen from the Metro-North Customer Relations Department presented the Council with an abstract of the 2002 Customer Satisfaction Survey. The abstract showed a comparison of the New Haven Line to the total Metro-North operation, including the Harlem and Hudson divisions. The results show that the New Haven Line ranks lower than any other line, however the results don’t appear to be statistically significant. Leading the customer concerns are the conditions of the windows and bathrooms.

2).  Metro-North Police reported that they have checked security at the Waterbury Station and have found very few problems, adding that both the MTA and Waterbury Police have noted the lack of telephones on the platforms. The MTA Police have recommended additional signage and an emergency phone box at the station.

Commenting on the recent delays caused by the police taking tracks out of service after suicide deaths, the MTA Police reported that for safety reasons tracks are taken out of service, but they are returned as soon as possible. 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.      

 Respectfully submitted,

 

James N. Mohs

Secretary

 

 

In Attendance: 

Rodney Chabot, Chairman	Fred Chidester, Metro North
Jim Cameron, Vice Chairman	James Fox, CDOT
Jim Mohs, Secretary	Mike Donnaruma, CDOT
Peter Myers, Council Member	Gary Gilbert, Amtrak
Bob Jelly, Council Member	Bob Hammersley, TSB
Peter Millard, Council Member	Sgt. J Mullin, MTA Police
Joe McGee, Council Member	Scott Crosby, rail passenger
Peter Marcuse, Council Member	Jerry Carney, Concessions
Jeff Maron, Council Member	Jonathan Lucas, Stamford Advocate
Ted Bowen, Metro North	News Channel 12