METRO NORTH NEW HAVEN RAIL COMMUTER COUNCIL
(Established in 1985 under Connecticut Public Act 85-239, now Sections 13b-212b and -212c
of the Connecticut General Statutes)
MINUTES OF APRIL 20, 2005 MEETING
AT UNION STATION
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
The meeting began at 6:30 p.m.
Present were: Chairman Rodney Chabot, Vice Chairman Jim Cameron, Bob Jelley, Carl Leaman, Peter Marcuse and Peter Myers, Members of the Council; Gene Colonese, Jeff Watson, and Phil Wilhelmy, Metro North Railroad; Carmine Trotta, Carl Bard and Peter Richter, Connecticut DOT; Mark Hogan, MTA Police; Sue Prosi, SWRPA; and Griff Thow, members of the public.
The Minutes of the February meeting were approved. (There was no March meeting because it was canceled on account of snow.)
MARCH MONTHLY REPORT
Gene Colonese passed out copies of the March Monthly Report, and said that it should be noted that some of the figures in the “Year-to-Date” column were February 2005 figures.
CDOT PLANNING
Carmine Trotta said that the Department was reviewing the final report about New Haven, Hartford-Springfield rail service, and that the final report would be issued in May. He said that the capital cost was expected to be about $300 million.
He reported that the Department is working on the Connecticut Rail Governance Report, which deals with stations and parking.
Mr. Trotta further reported that with respect to the Danbury branch re-electrification study, more work needs to be done in Phase I to determine four or five alternatives for a detailed study in Phase II. He went on to say that the Department was putting together a package for a branch line study. He also reported that the Department is doing a study of railroad freight movement in the New England corridor.
Carl Bard reported that at a railroad meeting the previous week among the six New England States, Vermont had expressed interest in New York, New Haven, Hartford-Springfield, Vermont service for recreational purposes. All of the attendees found that an interesting proposal.
MAIN LINE AND BRANCH LINES
Peter Richter reported that with the Amtrak Acelas out of service, Amtrak had been successfully handling the demand. Metro North had assisted after the Acelas were taken out of service by carrying some of the Acela passengers.
With respect to the Danbury Brach, Jim Cameron reported that the Governor’s budget eliminates the shuttle bus service from Danbury to the Harlem line of Metro North. Mr. Colonese said that he would look into that. Carl Leaman distributed a news article dealing with the elimination of the shuttle buses.
Mr. Richter reported that the TSB Budget no longer contains Section 16 (“Money”) for the two morning and two evening Shore Line East thru trains to and from Stamford. He said that the DOT would have to see where money could come from as of June 1st.
With respect to the Waterbury branch, Peter Marcuse spoke of a school bus substitution for a train in the previous week that missed connections in Bridgeport.
Phil Wilhelmy of Metro North explained that the locomotive for that train had to be taken out of service early in the morning, thus allowing little time to get a substitute bus. Bob Jelley reminded the council that DOT’s contracts with bus companies merely provide the pricing for emergency bus substitutions, but do not obligate the bus companies to supply buses.
With respect to the New Canaan branch, Rodney Chabot raised the question of the need for a later night train to New Canaan, and Mr. Colonese said that the railroad’s Cost Benefit Analysis did not justify such a train. Bob Jelley raised the chicken vs. egg issue, saying that there was no easy way to determine the need for additional service, when people in New Canaan had gotten accustomed to driving to Stamford if they expected to come home late.
STAMFORD STATION
Peter Richter said that at the May meeting, he would give information on how the old parking garage is to be repaired. He also announced that DOT is going out for bids on a new contract to operate Stamford and Bridgeport stations.
Mr. Chabot said that there were no signs at the Stamford station to indicate where the waiting room was. Susan Prosi said that she would forward a copy of the Intermodel study.
FLEET REPLACEMENT FUNDING
Mr. Richter said that the DOT was reasonably confident that this session of the legislature would provide funding for replacement of rail cars. Carl Bard said that he wanted to get designs started immediately. He want specifications done and put out for bid within a year. In answer to a question, he said that it is still not clear whether the configuration will be two M-7s and one
M-8 car.
Mr. Richter, in answer to a question, said that ten Virginia cars were now in service and sixteen others had been repaired.
EARLIER WEEKDAY MORNING TRAIN TO NEW HAVEN
Bob Jelley raised the question of the need for an earlier train, probably from Stamford to New Haven. The first morning train coming from the west gets to New Haven at 7:47 a.m., whereas there are four Shore Line East trains from the east that get to New Haven before 7:47 a.m. Mr. Colonese said that he would look at that question.
NEW LOCOMOTIVES
Mr. Richter said that in the next week or two, DOT expected to lease eight used locomotives from Amtrak. Mr. Chabot asked where they would be used, and Mr. Richter responded that two would go to Shoreline East and six would be used for the Danbury/Waterbury branches. That would permit two Genesis locomotives to be taken from the branches which, together with Bombardier cars from Shore Line East (which have been replaced by Virginia cars) would permit additional trains to Grand Central Terminal.
Mr. Richter went on to say that Metro North had done a good job this winter in protecting trains during winter snowstorms. He said that this past winter was the third winter in a row with more than 40 inches of snow.
NEW NEW HAVEN REPAIR SHOP
Mr. Bard reported the DOT was trying to accelerate the construction of a new repair shop. He said that DOT had purchased piles in advance of funding, because piles would have to be driven to support the repair shop. He expects to have plans by May and bidding within a month thereafter. He said that he expected the shell of a new shop, together with heat and power, to be completed by December 2005.
SEAT FOR CONNECTICUT ON MTA BOARD
Jim Cameron raised the issue of the Governor having said that she would seek a seat on the MTA Board for Connecticut. Mr. Bard said that he had looked into the matter and believed that a seat on the Metro North Board would be more effective for Connecticut. He also raised the question of whether the Rail Council should have a seat on the Metro North Board.
SAFETY OF PUSH-PULL OPERATIONS
Mr. Cameron raised the question of the safety of push-pull operations, in view of the train accident between San Diego and Los Angeles recently. He reported that that railroad now does not permit passengers in the first half of the cab car during push operations. Mr. Colonese said that he would look into the matter and report back.
NEW BUSINESS
Dragging Accident at South Norwalk Station. Mr. Chabot raised the question of the accident a month or two ago where a passengers with an arm and foot in a closed door was dragged along the platform at South Norwalk. Metro North representatives said that they were not prepared to discuss the matter in view of the threat of litigation. They went on to say, however, that at a station stop, one conductor is supposed to be out on the platform and the second is to be at the window closing doors.
WESTPORT STATION
Mr. Leaman said that the station reconstruction was ten months behind schedule and Mr. Richter agreed.
EASTSIDE ACCESS
Mr. Leaman raised the question of eastside access to Grand Central terminal for the Long Island Railroad. Mr. Richter said that the DOT expects no bad affects from eastside access.
CONTRACT WITH AMTRAK FOR OPERATION OF SHORE LINE EAST
Mr. Chabot inquired about the Amtrak Shore Line East contract, which ends on July 1. Mr. Bard said that they are working on a six-month extension and for all practical purposes, Amtrak will continue to operation Shore Line East until January. He went on to say that it was not clear who would operate Shore Line East after January 1, 2006.
The meeting ended at 8:30 p.m.
The next meeting will be in Stamford, at the SACIA officers on May 18, 2005.
Bob Jelley
Secretary
Attachment: Monthly Report for Connecticut Metro North/New Haven Rail
\88888888\1005\531413.1
MONTHLY REPORT For:
CONNECTICUT METRO-NORTH NEW HAVEN RAIL
COMMUTER COUNCIL
March 2005
|
MONTHLY REPORT - New Haven Line Mainline |
||
|
Category |
March |
Year-to-Date |
|
Ridership |
2,940,378 (+4.4%) |
7,926,802 (+4.4%) |
|
On-Time Performance |
97.7% |
95.9% |
|
Cars Out of Service (Weekday AM average) (Current Month and Previous Month) |
71
|
75 (Feb. 2005) |
|
Consist Compliance (AM and PM Peaks) Current Month and Previous Month |
71.3% |
70.8% (Feb. 2005) |
|
MDBF - Mean Distance Between Failures - M2 2005 Goal-75,903; 12 mo. Avg.- 50,893 - M4 2005 Goal-82,470; 12 mo. Avg.- 38,977 - M6 2005 Goal-96,486; 12 mo. Avg.- 58,097 - Genesis 2005 Goal-31,282; 12 mo. Avg.- 22,473 |
69,499 42,423 43,505
18,541 |
42,232 27,194 34,836
16,873 |
|
CSR - Cars completing rehabilitation (Current Month and Program Total) |
4 |
72 (Program Total) |
|
Locomotives required daily (Psgr. Service) |
9 |
N/A |
|
Incidents of Note - Train #1527 terminated at Stamford on 3/31 due to cab signal apparatus (pick-up coil) torn off and extensive damage to track (signal) receiver. |
||
|
MONTHLY REPORT - Branch Lines |
||||
|
Category
|
New Canaan |
Danbury |
Waterbury |
Shore Line East |
|
On-Time Performance |
99.1% |
97.8% |
96.2% |
96.1% |
|
Bus Substitutions |
0 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
|
# VRE Cars in Service |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
|
Incidents of Note - Structure fire adjacent to Danbury track on 3/16/05 caused 5 bus substitutions in evening. |
||||
· SLE ridership (March) - 35,994 (down 1%)
