Minutes

Minutes

Meeting of September 13, 2000

SACIA, Stamford

1. Chairman Chabot brought the meeting to order promptly at 7:30 PM, and the minutes

of the June Meeting were approved without corrections or objections.

OLD BUSINESS

2. Harry Harris reported that a contract has now been let and funded for a centralized traffic control system (CTC) to be installed on the Danbury Branch. The project, which is slated to begin in October, is expected to take two years. In addition, Congressman Maloney has secured two million dollars in funding for a general study of the Danbury Branch, which will include among other areas of review, a look into the possibility of re-electrification. Although Mr. Harris was not optimistic that Congressman Maloney would be able to secure the significant funding that would be necessary to re-electrify the Danbury Branch, he noted that he had not thought that the two million dollars now designated for the study could possibly be secured. While a full scope for work on the Danbury Branch has not been finalized, Connecticut is working with the Federal Transportation Administration's (FTA) New York office to firm up specific plans and funding. All such rail projects are handled through the New York FTA office.

3. Gene Colonese of Metro-North was asked if significant New Haven Line schedule changes were in the works for October 29. He responded that while no dramatic reconfiguration of the schedule would be taking place, New Haven Line customers would have additional intra-state express service, providing more frequent direct service between New Haven, Bridgeport and Stamford. They would also have some additional express service to and from Grand Central Terminal.

4. Harry Harris reported that OP SAIL was a resounding success, with ridership much greater than anticipated. Shoreline East carried 13,700 people for a total of 27,400 passenger trips. The weather in the region was a deluge of rain with the exception of one oasis of sun in New London. Better regional weather would have probably resulted in even higher ridership. The first morning’s ridership threatened to overwhelm the system, but cooperation from both Amtrak and Metro-North in loaning extra equipment helped ensure smooth sailing. Mr. Harris thanked Amtrak and Metro-North for their assistance.

5. Mr. Harris, asked if there had been a jump in Shore Line East ridership in the wake of OP SAIL, said that because of problems during the electrification project ridership had dipped, but is now going through a slow build-back.

6. In regard to the MU fleet and bar car rehabilitation, Harry Harris said that the dates noted in the June minutes still applied. Metro-North is finalizing the specifications

for bids and will be going to the MTA Board for approval. They expect to be able to accept bids in October, after which a two-month bid-review period will follow. Connecticut and Metro-North are readying the car shop in New Haven in case the contractor with the lowest bid wants to do the work on railroad property. Pit linings and appropriate power sources are being put in place and should be ready in March. If the car shop in New Haven is not used for the project, the upgraded facility will be put to good use for running repairs.

7. With 35 million dollars approved by the legislature for equipment procurement, CDOT has ordered four (4) new Genesis engines. Last week, CDOT and the State agreed to order ten (10) new center-door Bombardier coaches. It was decided that ordering Jersey Comet cars would not be a good idea because they are slightly too big for the Park Avenue Tunnel and compatibility issues could probably not be worked out by the September 2002 deadline. However, as Harry Harris noted, that was what some parties said about the M6 cars. Delivery of center-door Bombardier coaches is expected in September or October 2002. The Genesis engines should be delivered in May 2001. In the interim it is essential that the 50-60 cars shopped on an average day get fixed and back in service. Metro-North is looking to add maintenance shifts towards this goal.

8. A discussion ensued regarding the fire that occurred on train 1575 on September 12, when there was an extensive New Haven Line service disruption. Chairman Chabot and Vice Chairman Cameron both expressed concern that such incidents were happening with greater frequency and asked Metro-North to address the situation. Mr. Kiniry let the Council know that an aggressive investigation of recent M2 car under-carriage fires had successfully identified the mechanical source of the problem. Metro-North is designing for manufacture a shield/shroud that will ensure safety and help avoid service disruptions by isolating such fires and preventing them from spreading up into electrical conduits. On a lighter note, Vice Chairman Cameron commented that the cup-holders had been removed from the poles of several bar cars he had been in recently. Mr. Kiniry said that he would look into the situation.

9. Jack Reidy said that the center-island platform at Stamford was still on schedule to open on September 24. However, with two escalators out of service on the New Haven bound side, customers will have to use stairs or elevators to cross from track 4 to tracks 3/5. The New Canaan connection is now following the express onto track 4. New seating will be installed at the station during the week of September 18. Lighting throughout the station is in the process of being completely revamped and upgraded. The installation of floor tiles is complete. Panels to cover the stained concrete should all be in place by May. The rehabilitation of the parking garage will begin in October. The roof of the Gateway tunnel has now been repaired. Thirty (30) new parking spaces will be created west of the tunnel.

10. In regard to announcements at stations and on trains during service disruptions, Ted Bowen confirmed that providing timely and accurate service status information is a responsibility of the highest priority to Metro-North. At this time, it is a

reality that the timeliness of an announcement at a given station is a function of several factors: A: How many stations/trains are affected. B; Whether the announcement language necessary is already programmed into the automated public address system. C: Whether manual announcements must be made at individual stations. Train crews are responsible for relaying information to customers on their trains as they receive it. Towards resolving these dilemmas, Metro-North is expanding its Station Communications Network (SCN) which will get information to employees at outlying locations in real time. The system is in place at a small number of test locations but will ultimately be expanded for full system coverage.

11. The legislature has deemed that the language in the Metro-North contract is too vague and ambiguous and has requested a review. An outside consultant has been engaged to conduct the review. The contract must be presented by February 2001.

12. The State Street Station project has been allotted 5 million dollars and the construction phase is underway. Twenty million has been designated for the construction of five more new Shore Line East stations, but vocal NIMBY issues are afoot. The station design phases are 60% complete.

13. Mr. Bowen, referring to a letter from Ms. Lamartine, said that complaints received by Metro-North regarding on-train cleanliness are down significantly from 1999 and the findings of our Customer Service Inspectors also show a major improvement. While there is no unified agreement regarding the most effective public relations strategy, everyone agrees that a more aggressive approach is needed and Metro-North is actively developing several options. While trash receptacles on trains might provide some relief, they would take up needed seating and might possibly discourage recycling.

14. The proposal that a station be built to accommodate Sikorski employees has been deemed impractical because the facilities that would be required would be prohibitively expensive. A very long escalator would be necessary to bring customers to and from the highway level. The best option is for the discontinued shuttle bus service to be reactivated.

15. Mr. Kiniry provided the council with a synopsis of the causes of the catenary wire problems that occurred on August 5 and 6 and explained the limited service recovery options that were available to the railroad on those days.

16. Mr. Chabot discussed the schedule of upcoming Council meetings, asking if the 3^rd or 2^nd Wednesday of each month would be better for most attendees. Schedule will be maintained on Council website.

17. Jim Cameron expressed concern that the Transportation Summit scheduled for September 28 would not be able to accomplish much in a single day. Harry Harris responded that the purpose of the Summit was to collect ideas for possible presentation to the legislature. Mr. Cameron noted that Connecticut spent 32.2 million dollars recently to create a new access to I-95's Exit 8. Mr. Cameron hoped that the Summit would not have a distinctly pro-car bias, and that key issues like the need for commuter rail to and from Hartford would be addressed.

18. Clarification was provided on commuter parking at Bridgeport. While the free lot is now full a new garage is available with parking costing approximately $1 a day.

19. Chairman Chabot noted his objection to what he firmly believed to be the unnecessary idling of locomotives at Danbury. Mr. Kiniry said that he would review the specific circumstances cited.

20. Mr. Cameron and Mr. Bowen discussed the MTA policy of not responding to email from customers. Mr. Bowen noted that this is an MTA policy that applies to all of its agencies, and that Metro-North has absolutely no option but to abide by it. However, he assured the Council that Metro-North does in fact review all customer concerns received and takes appropriate action in regard to all issues communications.

IN ATTENDANCE: