Expanding rail service on Shore Line East”¬¶making train stations cleaner and safer”¬¶increasing bike access to Metro North trains”¬¶were all on the agenda of the Rail Commuter Council as it met on the fourth floor of Union Station Wednesday night. (Pictured is Jim Cameron, council chairman.) Oh, and a possible fare increase.
The governor has proposed expanding Shore Line East runs in three phases from the current peak-only service on weekdays to seven-day service throughout the day, going in both directions between New Haven and New London. The price tag would be $140 million in operating and capital costs. The total number of trains per week would increase from 121 to 200.
Paul Hammer (pictured), of the Connecticut Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition, suggested restoring the train station that once existed in Stony Creek. That prompted Gene Colonese, currently the rail administrator for the state Department of Transportation, to recall his days as a conductor years ago when the train stopped at Stony Creek, as well as two other even smaller villages in the area. He said he’d look into it.
Another speaker proposed extending the commuter rail line as far as Providence. In answer to a question about whether that would compete directly with Amtrak service, Cameron said the Connecticut shoreline is one of the last pieces of the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston that does not have a commuter rail service in addition to Amtrak.
The expansion proposal was presented to the Connecticut General Assembly in January. It fits into the state’s transportation strategy of getting as many cars as possible off the highways.
Wednesday’s meeting included scary stories of commuters stuck in elevators or on train platforms with no train coming. Colonese said the elevator at the station in Guilford would stick shut because a heater was overheating a room, which set off the fire alarm and automatically shut down the elevator. He said a new heater is due to be installed in March.
Cameron mentioned that towns are supposed to share the income generated by train commuter parking lots with Metro North in order to take care of station maintenance, but that doesn’t always happen. Stations, therefore, are sometimes dirty and lacking in amenities.
Several members of Elm City Cycling (like David Streever, left, and Bill Kurtz) spoke in favor of creating more space for bikes on the new train cars, which are supposed to be delivered in 2009. They also want bikes allowed on the trains at all hours, not just off-peak.
Colonese responded that staffers are looking into pedestrian walkways, bike racks, lockers “” “the bicycle-train interface.”¬ù
Cameron said the council is on record supporting more access for bicycles, once the passengers themselves are accommodated. “The problem is we don’t have seats for paying passengers on trains,”¬ù he said, “and bikes take up space.”¬ù
Another issue that came up: a proposed $1 surcharge on tickets between all stations, to go into effect in 2008. That would amount to an extra $40 a month for daily commuters “” whether the commute is from New Haven to Milford or from New Haven to Grand Central Terminal in New York. Several council members spoke against it. Since there was not a quorum, Cameron said he would email the absent members and try to get a sense of whether the council could go on record opposing it. He said since the council has “zero budget,”¬ù it would have to depend on the news media to warn commuters of this impending increase in time to take action to try to stop it.
Consider yourselves warned.