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 SEPTEMBER 21, 2005 MEETING

AT SACIA OFFICES

STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT

 

 

The meeting began at 7:00 pm.

 

Present were:  Chairman Rodney Chabot, Vice Chairman Jim Cameron, Bob Jelley, Jeff Steele,  Joe McGee and Ed Zimmerman, Members of the Council; Gene Colonese, Fred Chidester and Jeff Watson, Metro North Railroad; Carl Bard and Peter Richter, Connecticut DOT; Shaun McLaughlin, MTA Police; Sue Prossi, SWERPA; Jerry Carney, Concession Operation; Larry Llydess and Greg Bartolo, Members of the Public. 

 

The minutes of the June 15, 2005 meeting were approved.

 

OPERATIONAL REPORT

 

Gene Colonese distributed copies of the June, July, and August Operational Reports.  There was a question about newspaper reports of ridership increases, presumably because of the rise in gasoline prices, and Mr. Colonese reported that ridership was up both within Connecticut and interstate to New York.  He said that reverse commuting from New York to Connecticut was flat, and it was assumed that that was because of the increase in fares resulting from making reverse commuting in the morning peak fare rather than off-peak fare.  In answer to another question, he said that the fewer car rehabilitation completed in July and August were caused by summer vacations. 

 

RAILROAD SECURITY

 

Shaun McLaughlin of the MTA Police reported about security.  He said that Metro North had been on high alert since the London underground bombings, but that the alert was being lowered on September 22.  He said that there was no perceptible threat to the MTA system.  He reported that the MTA has twenty-five bomb-sniffing dogs now, with ten more expected in six months.  He said that the plan to put one thousand surveillance videos on the system was some years away.  He said that the State of Connecticut was working on its funding for its portion of additional security.  He said that there were random bag checks in New York but not in Connecticut, and that the bag checks in New York averaged about two hundred per day.  He further reported that about twenty thousand items pass through the MTA’s Lost and Found Department each year. 

 

From the general discussion, it appeared that most of the additional security was centered in Grand Central Terminal and 125th Street Station.

 

Mr. Cameron asked why random bag checks were considered necessary in New York but none were conducted in Connecticut.  Mr. McLaughlin deferred answering and suggested the question be posed to CT State Police.  Mr. Cameron commented that a police presence on the trains alone (as was done in CT) was of little deterrent value, but random bag checks might possibly discourage terrorists who would fear discovery of their explosives in back-packs or luggage.

 

MAIN LINE ISSUES

 

Mr. Bard reported that DOT was working on additional parking at railroad stations, and was making an effort to get control of all station parking.  It was reported that thirteen of the M-4 triplets had had their windows replaced, and five more remain to be done.  Mr. Richter reported that the Noroton Heights overpass rehabilitation will be completed in mid October. 

 

DANBURY LINE

 

Mr. Richter reported that the final design of a signal system for the Danbury line is scheduled for completion in February, 2006.  The system will also be able to carry the catenary if the line is re-electrified.  Mr. Richter also reported that because the main line catenary replacement project will move soon to track 3 in South Norwalk, the location of discharge of Danbury line passengers will be affected. 

 

NEW CANAAN BRANCH

 

Rodney Chabot raised the issue of the problem of the parking lot at Talmadge Hill Station.  He said that the issue of using one of the parking lots for school bus parking had gone away, but now the Town of New Canaan is refusing to pave the extra land that the Town owns at the station so that it can be used for commuter parking.  He asked whether DOT can press the Town on this issue, and Mr. Richter said he would look into it.   

 

SHORE LINE EAST

 

Carl Bard reported that he was meeting with Amtrak the following week to discuss many issues, including putting a fifth train made up of cars purchased from Virginia in service on Shore Line East.  Peter Richter reported that there are plans for adding a fourth car to the two morning and two evening thru trains between Old Saybrook and Stamford.  He also said that all ten of the locomotives leased from Amtrak were now in New Haven.  On July 11, the first locomotive was put in service on the Waterbury branch.  In answer to a question from Bob Jelley, Mr. Richter said that the design of a new station for Westbrook is scheduled to be completed next May, and he said that the Madison station construction was out to bid. 

 

FLEET REPLACEMENT

 

Mr. Richter said that the design of new M-8 cars was proceeding, and that DOT was cooperating with Metro North.  He also said that they were going out with requests for proposals to pre-qualify prospective car suppliers.  Mr. Chabot suggested that Alstom should not be permitted to be a bidder.  He said that they had done bad work in the past for both Amtrak and the MTA. 

 

Joe McGee raised the question of M-7 power consumption on the Harlem and Hudson lines.  He said that it was his understanding that Peter Cannito wanted the same electric motors used on the M-8s, as are presently in use on the new M-7s.  Mr. McGee went on to say that he thought the DOT should get heavily involved in this issue and not let Metro North make the decision on its own.  Mr. Chabot reported that it was his understanding that additional substations were required on the Hudson and Harlem lines because of the power consumption of the new M-7s.  Mr. Colonese said that when the upper Hudson and Harlem lines were electrified 17 years ago, Metro North couldn’t afford the number of substations required, and therefore, the new substations were merely completion of the work not done 17 years ago. 

 

NEW HAVEN REPAIR SHOP

 

Mr. Richter reported that the new repair shop will be fully enclosed by the end of 2005, so that it will permit indoor car repair work this winter.  However, this initial phase of the project will not be fully complete until mid 2006. 

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

Mr. Colonese reported on the new timetable with increased late night service.  Mr. Bard reported the DOT was considering more service between New Haven and Hartford and even beyond the borders of Connecticut.  Bob Jelley raised the question of Sunday westbound service on Shore Line East for weekenders wanting to return to New York City on Sunday afternoon or evening. 

 

Mr. Bard reported that Connecticut’s agreement with Amtrak for access to the Amtrak tracks for Shore Line East service had been extended again to July 2, 2006.  He said that negotiations with Amtrak on the access fee were moving slowly.  He also said that Connecticut was planning no major highway improvements other than adding a third lane on I-95 from Branford to the Rhode Island border and on I-84 from Waterbury to Danbury. 

 

Mr. Colonese reported that Metro North had reached a settlement on wages with some of the railroad unions, and was still negotiating on others.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 pm.

 

The next meeting will be held at 6:00 pm at Union Station in New Haven on Wednesday, October 19, 2005.

 

Bob Jelley

Secretary

 

 

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