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)
www.trainweb.org/ct
MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 17, 2004 MEETING
AT UNION STATION, NEW HAVEN
The meeting began at 6:00 p.m., with a viewing of the new Virginia rail cars on the station platform. Thereafter, the meeting commenced at 6:30 p.m. in DOT offices.
Present were: Chairman Rodney Chabot, Vice Chairman Jim Cameron, Bob Jelley, Lee Carlson, Joe McGee and Jeff Maron, Members of the Council; Gene Colonese and Joe Kanell, Metro North Railroad; Carl F. Bard, Peter Richter and Jim Boice, CDOT; Sue Prosi, SWRPA; Scott Howland, Amtrak; Mike Piscitelli, City of New Haven; Deborah Heinrich, State Representative, 101st District; Ronnie Olinsky, Mel Olinsky, Larry Uydess, Jim Kesly, Jerry Carney, David Kenny and Rob Varnon, Members of the Public; and Mark Ginocchio, Stamford Advocate.
The minutes of the October 20, 2004 meeting were approved.
Rodney Chabot introduced Carl Bard, Jim Boice, and Peter Richter from Connecticut DOT, who were attending their first rail council meeting in their new positions.
SHORE LINE EAST
Lee Carlson introduced Ronnie and Mel Olinsky. Mel Olinsky said that he and his wife had been regular Shore Line East commuters since the establishment of the service. He complained of the replacement of some trains with buses during the week of November 8th, and said that they were not properly scheduled so that on several occasions he arrived in New Haven after his connecting train had left. The problem was that the bus schedulers did not take into consideration the distance off the turnpike of particular stations. Ronnie Olinsky said that on Columbus Day and on Friday, November 12th there were no announcements at State Street of canceled trains. Lee Carlson went on to report that he had tried to call the Amtrak information number from State Street, and there was no answer. Peter Richter said that they recognized that there had been a problem, and that they were working with Rideworks to better coordinate information to commuters. Bob Jelley expressed the view that Rideworks is ineffective in notifying commuters of problems, particularly since their work day begins after most of the Shore Line East trains in the morning and ends before most of the Shore Line East trains in the late afternoon and evening. In commenting on the Shore Line East problem, one lady mentioned that the last time the catenary wires were down in New Rochelle, the Metro North people at Stamford station had no information about train operations. Scott Howland of Amtrak said that he recognized that there had been Shore Line East problems during the week of November 8th.
NEW CDOT REPRESENTATIVES
Carl Bard, who is Deputy Commissioner, reviewed his background in engineering. He spoke of the need to reestablish confidence in the public transport bureau. He said that there was a recognition that good public education and good transportation facilities were cornerstones of the State’s ability to continue to be successful.
Deputy Commissioner Bard spoke of the Virginia cars on Shore Line East. Peter Richter said that four cab cars and eleven other cars had been received, and six more were coming shortly. Mr. Bard said that he was looking at using some of the Virginia cars on the main line on some trains. He also said that he recognized the need for more locomotives for Shore Line East, and said that he was looking at some mothballed Amtrak locomotives, and considering leasing them with the option to buy. In answer to a question, he said that these locomotives would not go into Grand Central Terminal. He also said that the Department was working on specifications for new diesel locomotives with third-rail capability.
MAIN LINE
Gene Colonese reported that in October, only 70-75% of the trains had the full number of cars each day but that Metro North had tried to limit the shortage to one car per train, by using triplets in place of two pairs. Jim Cameron said that he had the impression that short trains and late trains are worse this October than previously. Colonese said that there was 96% on-time performance in October.
Jeff Maron raised the question of closed cars on trains. Bob Jelley expressed the view that except on quite empty trains there should be no closed cars, so that people can spread out as compensation for crowded trains at other times. Mr. Colonese and Joe Kanell said that they always tell conductors to open cars.
Sue Prosi raised the question of conductors not collecting tickets from people who board at Stamford on eastbound trains. She said that the failure to use seat checks made if difficult for conductors to distinguish new passengers.
BRANCH LINES
It was reported that there had been a number of canceled trains on the Waterbury line. Peter Richter said that the Waterbury line gets the dregs of the locomotives, and two had failed. He said the situation was helped by borrowing locomotives midday from Shore Line East. He went on to say that Shore Line East was still short one locomotive.
Jim Cameron raised a problem of bus replacements for canceled trains on the Waterbury line, and spoke of passengers being squeezed like sardines on buses. DOT reported that even though it has contracts with bus companies to supply buses, there is no obligation on the part of the bus companies to provide buses.
Rodney Chabot raised again, the problem of the Danbury and Bethel stations on the Danbury line being permanently locked. It was reported that both of those stations are leased to the towns, and in theory the Danbury station is open from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., weekdays, and the Bethel station is open from 6:00 a.m. to noon and from 2:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The DOT said that it is reviewing all station leases. Jim Cameron raised the question of whether the leases are strict enough.
There was general discussion of the need for a signal system for the Danbury branch. Sue Prosi spoke of the importance of the Danbury branch to lower Fairfield County, because many people who work in the Stamford area live in the Danbury area and use the train to commute. There was also discussion of whether or not it was counterproductive to bus people from the Danbury branch to Katonah on the Harlem line.
With respect to the New Canaan branch, there was disagreement as to whether the clean up that had been discussed at previous meetings had occurred, and a meeting among Rodney Chabot, Jim Cameron and Fred Chidester was arranged.
FLEET REPLACEMENT AND FUNDING
Carl Bard said that he was working on trying to put together a comprehensive analysis of costs and revenues associated with the purchase of 350 new cars. He said that it was perfectly clear that among the three major transportation arteries in Fairfield County, the Merritt Parkway, I-95, and the railroad, only the railroad has the ability to expand its capacity. Joe McGee said that in his view, the DOT has never wanted to add to its budget, and that if Mr. Bard indeed is prepared to come up with a funding plan for new cars, it will be easy to find public support.
JANUARY FARE INCREASE
Jim Cameron reported that at the hearing the previous night in Fairfield, commuters were angry about the proposed fare increases, given the problems last winter and the continuing short trains. Rodney Chabot said that there should not be a fare increase when trains continue to be short.
Jim Cameron raised the question of whether it is appropriate to convert just morning reverse commuting trains from Grand Central Terminal to peak fares, or whether reverse commuting trains back to Grand Central in the afternoon should also be peak.
Gene Colonese reported that the penalty for buying tickets on the train had resulted in an 80% reduction of onboard fare collections. There was much discussion in opposition to the proposed raising of the onboard fare penalty.
FALL LEAF PROBLEMS
It was reported that the changes in the sanding of locomotives had worked well in Stamford and Grand Central Terminal. It was further reported that busing at Cannondale on the Danbury line, which has been a continuing problem during the fall season, only was required one day this fall.
TRANSFER OF NEW HAVEN SHOP FROM AMTRAK TO METRO NORTH
Carl Bard reported that the planned transfer had not taken place and was under review, along with consideration of alternatives. He said that CDOT was looking at its agreements with the railroads to see if it is able to make the transfer. If it happens, the transfer will not happen this winter. He promised more information at the December meeting.
STAMFORD STATION
Jeff Maron raised a number of questions about the station and the new garage. He said that with the change in the taxi set up at Stamford, taxis have now started lining up all the way down Railroad Place and interfering with traffic flow. He suggested that perhaps the starter should put more taxis in the Queue lot.
Mr. Maron also said that the pedestrian bridge from the new garage was partially blocked by cleaning supplies that are left there by cleaners rather than returning them to appropriate cleaning closets.
Mr. Maron also questioned whether any rehabilitation of the old garage is going to be done, as had earlier been reported. Mr. Bard said that a consultant was studying the old garage.
OTHER OLD BUSINESS
Jim Boice raised the question of advisory committees on new projects and wondered if members of the rail council ought to be on such committees.
A question was raised about when the Westport station rehabilitation would be completed, but the DOT people did not know.
With respect to the M-2 rehabilitation project, it was reported that 30 pairs are completed, that the project is a little behind, but that it is a five-year project, which was begun 17 months ago.
MEETING AMONG RODNEY CHABOT, JIM CAMERON AND PHIL DUKES OF THE GOVERNOR’S STAFF
Rodney Chabot reported on a quite satisfactory meeting with Phil Dukes, in which he and Jim Cameron had raised a number of the issue that have been discussed by the council in recent months.
WRIGHT TECH STUDENTS ON TRAINS
Bob Jelley reported on an e-mail received by the Council from an employee at Wiggin and Dana’s Stamford office, with whom he had spoken. She reported that the trains ridden in the morning and afternoon by Wright Tech students between Bridgeport and Stamford and back again, were frequently noisy and disruptive. Metro North representatives said that they recognized the problem, and that there were two Metro North police on those trains everyday. Bob Jelley reminded them that the same issue had been raised at the November 2001 Rail Council meeting. There has been no satisfactory solution to the problem. The railroad people raised the fact that it was not just Wright Tech students but also other groups of high school students on other trains, and Bob Jelley agreed that this was so.
OTHER NEW BUSINESS
Jim Cameron said that one of the Metro North proposals for cost cutting involved cutting facilities, like the 47th – 48th Street entrance to Grand Central Terminal on weekends. He expressed the view that cutting existing facilities was a mistake.
The meeting ended at about 8:45 p.m., the next meeting will be December 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the SACIA offices in Stamford.
Bob Jelley, Secretary
rjelley@wiggin.com
\88888888\1005\502356.1
