Minutes: May 2012

Minutes

Wednesday May 16, 2012 - 6:00 PM

SWRPA Offices – Greybar Building, New York City

Members in Attendance: Chairman Jim Cameron, Terri Cronin, Sue Prosi, Tim Beeble, Rodney Chabot, John Davis, Luke Schnirring

Guests: Eugene Colonese - DOT, Sue Doering - MNR, Tim McCarthy – MNR, John Longobardi – MNR, Doris Miller – MNR, Daniel Howell – MNR, Mike Doyle – MNR, John Austin Sr. – Consumer Advocate, Martin Cassidy – The Stamford Advocate.

Chairman Cameron opened the meeting at 6:35 PM and welcomed John Davis as the newly appointed member of the Council.

Minutes: Approval of the minutes of the March 21, 2012 meeting: Motion by Rodney Chabot; seconded by John Davis, unanimously approved. Note: the April meeting of the Council was cancelled.

MNR Staff Response to Council Questions and Comments:

Rodney Chabot reported that the M-8s exteriors are not clean.

Regarding M-8s, there are 5 sets departing Stamford and 5 sets departing New Haven headed in-bound every AM peak.

Regarding the M-8 stock, there are 104 accepted for service and 110 on-site. MNR continues to receive 10 M-8s per month.

MNR is monitoring the high volume of passengers in order to adjust train set sizing.

MNR is trying to identify/resolve the source of the banging noise on the M-8s.

MNR is working with LIRR to implement Wifi; an RFP has been issued.

The Platform LED displays are tied to the PA System, which until replaced, cannot support more than a few canned messages. MNR hopes to replace the PA system in the Fall to allow real-time service messages, including 1-3 lines of “next train” info.

MNR is working with LIRR and MTA to initiate a pilot of iPhone ticket purchasing next year. Conductors will use bar code technology to scan iPhone tickets. The conductors’ current hand held ticket machines cannot accept credit cards.

Sue Doering reported that the Quiet cars are operating well. Passenger awareness is growing. MNR is still working on communication of the Quiet Car location and policy. Conductors are making on-board announcements. The M-8 LED displays are not easily adapted to single car messages – identical messages appear on the screens in all cars in a train set.

MNR is working with towns regarding trash that is accumulating outside of the MNR Right of Way.

CDOT is looking into a smoking prohibition on train platforms, but this requires legislation.

CDOT is planning to retrofit some M-8s to be bar cars.

MNR will conduct a passenger survey during the second week of June. This will be a sample of in-bound & out-bound mainline and branch lines; both peak and off-peak.

MNR are testing M-8s east of New Haven, but has no plans to use the new cars east of New Haven until later in the delivery of the full order of M-8s.

Main Line: Service disruptions were caused by a squirrel found in a beaker. There was a fire in the tunnel which was a Con Ed problem that resulted in a shut-down of the tunnel. A catenary failure last night interrupted PM peak service.

M-8s have some nuisance problems, such as toilet seats won’t stay up. MNR is not keeping spare M-8s. MNR is on target for having a record year in ridership. There was a 7% increase in Feb 2012 vs 2011, and a 5% increase in March 2012 vs 2011.

The Bridgeport Service Yard improvements are nearly complete.

Branch Lines: New Canaan; A TVM was rotated to reduce glare on the LCD screen. Waterbury; no report. Danbury; no issue with the Quiet Cars on the three car sets. The signalization improvements are proceeding.

RFQ Stamford Garage: The RFQ did not include an on-site parking preference. CDOT is reviewing qualifications and conceptual plans. There was discussion among Council members who felt that the subsequent RFP needs to include the on-site parking priority.

Other: Tim Beeble and Sue Prosi will attend the 5/31 Planning Session with stakeholders regarding the proposed East Side Train Station. Tim and Sue reported on the public information session on the proposed skyway over Washington Blvd bridging from the southern end of Platform 4. The fare increases for 2013 were not rescinded by the legislature.

Adjourned at 7:50 PM

Respectfully submitted by:

Tim Beeble

Secretary