Minutes

September 19, 2001
SACIA, Stamford

       
       
1.  Minutes of the June Meeting were approved.  Chairman Rodney Chabot
welcomed Dr. Marcuse of Waterbury, a professor of urban planning at Columbia
University, as a new Council member, appointed by The Governor.

OLD BUSINESS

1.  The Solari boards in the New Haven station tunnel are working with one or
two exceptions, Jon Foster reported.  These problems will be corrected, he
pledged, so that all boards will be in working order by next month.     

2.  Shore Line East service achieved a 96.85 percent on-time level in August,
Mr. Foster reported.  But a complaint was registered that the 6:27 a.m. bus
from Clinton had on several occasions missed its Metro North connection in
New Haven, a fact of which Mr. Foster was unaware.  To the complaint that
there is no SLE train service from Clinton between 5:59 a.m. and 6:59 a.m.,
CDOT's explanation was that there is no equipment available for an interim
train, and thus a bus is used. 

Harry Harris reported that the awarding of contracts for the construction of
five new SLE stations was delayed as part of state efforts to consolidate the
$30 mil-lion construction project with a single contractor, and because CDOT
wants to assure that adequate parking exists around the station sites. 
Amtrak owns some of the potential parking areas, he said, and these may be
available through purchase, thus minimizing a resort to eminent domain to
acquire privately owned property.

The issue was raised of a siding needed in Guilford to permit smoother joint
Amtrak and SLE use of mainline trackage.  Mr. Harris said that Amtrak
contends that it does not have a current budget for the siding.  In response
to a question regarding the adequacy of the proposed siding, he explained
that it will be more than a mile in length to accommodate not just SLE trains
but also freight traffic.

3.  On the Waterbury branch line, buses were substituted for trains on 17
occasions during August.  In most cases, the need was created by engine
breakdowns.  In view of the age and condition of FL-9 and F10 engines used on
the line, Mr. Chabot recommended that dual engines be used to assure that
trains reach their destinations.  In response to an inquiry as to why a
parking lot at the Waterbury station was closed, CDOT explained that the lot
was found to be too dangerous, and hence was condemned for further use.

4.  Installation of the CTC system on the Danbury branch line has been
further delayed, Mr. Harris reported, because cost estimates based on the
burial of wiring exceeded the budget allocated by CDOT.  While an alternate
approach is being evaluated, he said, there is concern that, in view of
other budget imperatives facing the department, this project may not warrant
the priority assigned to it.

5.      Discussion of the New Canaan branch line focused on the two-month
closing of Grove Street for re-grading and installation of crossing gates. 
Mr. Chabot questioned why Metro North found it necessary to use weekday buses
for three weeks in order to cut back trees and brush.  This work has to be
done from the roadbed, it was explained, as there is no other way to remove
the debris.
   
6.      The Stamford station repair is still two years away from completion,
Mr. Harris and Gene Colonese reported.  The second center island will be
finished in far less time than the first, but after completion of the new
parking garage with its 1200 spaces, much of the old garage will have to be
shut down to permit repair and consolidation of the two facilities.  Mr.
Chabot again pointed out the importance of curbside monitors to keep
passengers from having to go up into the station for train information, and
he complained that platform canopies, as now planned, are inadequate to keep
passengers from getting wet in accessing or exiting trains.

7.  The station kiosk project remains stalled pending the completion of
station upgrades in Darien and Milford, where they will presumably be
introduced.  Jim Cameron cited information signage in England's stations as
being what CDOT should strive for in Connecticut.

8.  Vice Chairman Mr. Cameron reported that the quiet car issue, intended to
give passengers recourse from noisy cellphone users, is still alive as riders
continue to register on the website their enthusiasm for the quiet car
proposal.

9.  Mr. Cameron reported on his participation in the Coastal Corrior Transportation

Investment Area group, created under the Transportation Strategy Board at
which participants set broad objectives for rail travel expansion, including:
 (1) the purchase of new railroad cars to meet expanding needs, (2)
expediting of the catenary replacement schedule, (3) state control of
station parking requirements and facilities, (4) expansion of service on SLE,
and (5) the extension of commuter rail service to Penn Station and Hartford. 
The Transportation Strategy Board will hold an organizational meeting
October 1, and will receive initial presentations November 1 and 2.

NEW BUSINESS

1.  The role bicycle transportation plays in rail commuting was discussed. 
Council members favored the installation of safe bicycle parking racks in
proximity to stations.  No consensus was reached on the fact that, unlike
many European railroads, Metro North provides no facilities for carrying
passengers' bicycles.  

2.  The complaint that a woman passenger had been left aboard a train when it
was berthed in the New Haven yard was discussed.  Mr. Colonese stressed that
train-men are supposed to check emptied cars thoroughly at the end of each
run, and that the conductor in this case had not done so.  The fulfillment of
this function has been forcefully mandated since this episode, he said.

3.  Mr. Chabot announced the Council's meeting schedule for 2001-2002.  The
hope is that the October 17 meeting can be held in a business car attached to
an SLE run during the evening commuter schedule.  Time of the meeting will be
announced contingent upon this possibility.  Other meeting dates and times
are:

        Wed., Nov. 14*      7:30 p.m.       Danbury Station
*(This meeting will be held on the 2nd Wednesday due to the Thanksgiving
holiday.)
        Wed., Dec. 19       7:30 p.m.       SACIA, Stamford
        Wed., Jan. 16       7 p.m.          New Haven Station
        Wed., Feb. 20       7:30 p.m.       SACIA, Stamford
        Wed., March 20      7 p.m.          New Haven Station
        Wed., April 17      7:30 p.m.       SACIA, Stamford
        Wed., May 15        7 p.m.          New Haven Station
        Wed., June 19       7:30 p.m.       SACIA, Stamford


4.  Mr. Chabot and Raymond Cox reported on a meeting held in Rowayton
regarding the addition of 46 new parking spaces on railroad-owned land at
that station via a plot not previously used.  There was strong opposition
from neighbors, who said they feared the noise, the excess lighting and the
misuse of the lot for drag racing.  CDOT will make every effort to control
these circumstances, Mr. Harris said, but the need for the facilities is
clear and demanding.

OTHER NEW BUSINESS

    Several Council members asked about the outlook for Amtrak, which is
facing the withdrawal of federal funding if it does not become
self-sustaining this year.  What impact would this have on Metro North and
SLE, they wondered.  The consensus of those in the know is that, especially
in the wake of the Sept. 11 attack, federal authorities will make certain
that Amtrak stays in business, especially where its services are heavily
used, as in the Northeast.

    Dr. Marcuse raised the issue of what the Council, Metro North and CDOT
are doing to encourage expansion of reverse commuting into and within
Connecticut.  He felt it incumbent on the Council to increase its emphasis on
this effort as good for the state and for the future of rail commuting.  Mr.
Harris noted that CDOT has ample parking for reverse commuters in its
Bridgeport and New Haven lots, and that is emphasizing the creation of new
parking facilities where those in place are now inadequate.

    It was noted that there were two catenary collapses during August.  Mr.
Harris said that in all likelihood these resulted from flaws in trains'
pantograph shoes, rather than catenary failure.  Nonetheless, he said, the
episodes have caused CDOT to re-think the timing of its eight-year catenary
replacement schedule.

                        Respectfully submitted,


                        Edward H. Zimmerman
                        Acting Secretary

In Attendance

Rodney Chabot, Chairman                          Eugene J. Colonese, Metro North
Jim Cameron, Vice Chairman                     Carl Leaman, Council Member      
Harry Harris, CDOT                                      Ed Zimmerman, Council member
Jon M. Foster, CDOT                                   Bob Jelley, Council Member
Raymond F, Cox, CDOT                              Dr. Peter Marcuse, Council Member
Joe Kanell, Metro North