METRO NORTH NEW HAVEN RAIL COMMUTER COUNCIL
(Established in 1985 under Connecticut Public Act 85-239, now Sections 13b-212b and
13b -212c of the Connecticut General Statutes)
MINUTES OF MAY 20, 2009
OLD NAUGATUCK RAILROAD STATION
NAUGATUCK, CT
Present were: Jim Cameron, Chairman; Rodney Chabot, Sue Prosi, Joe McGee, Roger Cirella, and Bob Jelley, members of the Council; Gene Colonese and Jim Redecker, CDOT; Jeff Watson and Phil Wilhelmy, MNR; Jim McKenna, MTA Police; Matt Schenkman, Christine Chausse, Dawn Applegate, Mildred McNight, Danielle Watson, Sandra Wells, Cherrie Bagley, Gail Lavielle, Keesha Davis, Ruby Hyde, Donna Tamburrino, Lisa Slinsky, Laurie Hines, Phil Cundiff, Paul Roy, Sharon Haylette, Katharine Zatkowski, Pam Tgildeen, MaryEllen Fernandez Peter Dumais, Anita Gualtieri, Val Lott, Dr. Tom Wood, Pat Scully, John Kristoff, Andrew Larson, Ron Marino, David Boudreau, Donna Humphries, John Stelman, Val Lott, Sandra Dinola, Peter Marcuse, Kristan Tulp and Kevin Tulp, members of the Public.
The meeting began at 7:00 pm.
Jim Cameron announced that the meeting would be primarily devoted to comments and questions from Waterbury branch commuters.
Matt Schenckman of Naugatuck asked if there were any sidings on the Waterbury branch to permit trains to pass. He also said that there ought to be a Waterbury bound train between the 5:20 pm and the 7:30 pm from Bridgeport. Gene Colonese said that there were no sidings for passing. He also said that there were no signals on the Waterbury branch. He said that it was not possible to have any more trains on the existing line. He pointed out that there is an ongoing study of the Waterbury branch and possible improvements, and the study will be completed at the end of 2009.
Mr. Schenckman also asked about the shutdown of the Waterbury branch from mid July to mid August this summer, with buses substituting for trains. He asked if there would be enough buses. Mr. Colonese said there would be enough buses. Mr. Redecker said there will be local and express service. In answer to a question from Mr. Cameron, Mr. Redecker said that it was hoped that the buses would not be school buses. Peter Marcuse, a former Council member, pointed out that neither school buses nor City buses easily permit luggage, baby carriages, etc.
Mr. Cameron asked about the ability of bus drivers to communicate with Metro North in the event they were going to be late for a connection. Mr. Redecker said that the buses would communicate through their bus dispatcher to the train dispatcher.
Kristan Tulp asked about ticket collection. Phil Wilhelmy said that there would be train conductors on the buses to collect tickets. Mr. Wilhelmy said that the agreement between DOT and Metro North permits MTA to have first shot at supplying buses. Mr. Cameron guessed that the MTA would not provide buses and that CDOT would end up hiring buses.
There was a question of whether the entire Waterbury line would be shut down for the full 31 days and Mr. Colonese said that it would be. He went on to say that even though the primary track work is between Derby and Waterbury, there will also be work between Derby and Bridgeport.
There was a question of whether some arrangement could not be made in Waterbury so that local buses better served the Waterbury Railroad Station. Mr. Redecker said that the problem was that Waterbury was serviced by a private bus company. A member of the public pointed out that former Governor Rowland is in charge of economic development in Waterbury. Someone else pointed out that he was the person who was able to get things done in Waterbury and that he could be perhaps helpful with the bus situation.
There was a question about security of automobiles in the Waterbury parking lot. Capt. Jim McKenna said that the MTA Police regularly patrol the parking lot. Mr. Redecker said that the DOT was clearing the parking area of overgrown plants so that there would be line of sight visibility from the street. It was announced that the Waterbury Police have made arrests in connection with auto break-ins in the parking lot; it was also reported that intensive policing had only begun in the parking lot in the last month.
In answer to a question, Mr. Colonese said that the Railroad had adequate rail cars for the Waterbury branch. There was a complaint about the cars in use on the Waterbury branch, particularly that the bathrooms always smell. Another member of the public said that only the Shore Line East Virginia cars, which are used midday on the Waterbury branch, are properly cleaned. Another commuter said that he can find the same messes and stains on the same seats two or three days in a row. Mr. Wilhelmy said that the floors of the Metro North cars are scrubbed every night. Bob Jelley asked about the SLE Virginia cars and who cleaned them. The answer was that the SLE Virginia cars are cleaned by Amtrak, whereas the regular cars on the Waterbury branch are cleaned by Metro North.
There was a question of why the Danbury branch, which also has a single track, can have five peak trains whereas Waterbury has only two peak trains. Mr. Colonese said that the greater amount of yard area in Danbury made the difference.
Another commuter who works in Bridgeport said that the inflexibility of Waterbury branch schedules keeps people from riding the train. He said that if one thought one might have to work late, one really had to drive. Mr. Redecker said that he’d like to add more trains to the Waterbury branch if the budget permitted.
There was a complaint that many of the public address systems on the Waterbury line cannot be heard.
Sue Prosi announced that the DOT will hold a lot of hearings about the Waterbury branch in June and that the dates and places are on the DOT website.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm. The next meeting is scheduled for June 17, 2009 at SWRPA.
Bob Jelley
Secretary
Phone: (203) 498-4306
e-mail : rjelley@wiggin.com
