CONNECTICUT'S TRANSPORTATION "THINK TANK"

UConn is best known for its basketball team, maybe even its academics.  But did you know there’s a think-tank on campus doing interesting research on transportation?

Now celebrating its 50^th anniversary, the Connecticut Transportation Institute’s mission is to innovate on hardware and software to make our travels faster, safer and cheaper.

CTI’s Executive Director Eric Jackson says “we have access to a huge network of experts from all disciplines on campus”, though most of their $7.5 million annual budget comes from CDOT and federal agencies involved with highways.

But this “think tank” does more than just “think”.  They also train, offering dozens of courses for public works staffers doing everything from snow plowing to highway maintenance.

CTI’s pavement lab is designing better road surfacing that will grip your car’s wheels without wearing out the pavement.  Highways that don’t wear out as fast means a saving on your taxes.

More recently they’ve demonstrated a truck equipped with reflectometers measuring how well the lines on the highways are visible at night.  By prioritizing repainting the line marking that don’t adequately reflect headlights, there’s more tax savings. That high-tech truck will inspect every state road in Connecticut by mid-2025.

In anticipation of self-driving vehicles, CTI is opening a testing ground on UConn’s Depot campus to test the electronics that will let driverless vehicles talk to each other.  They’ve already partnered with the Feds and CDOT to soon test driverless buses on the CTfastrak busway from New Britain to Hartford.

Some of the Institute’s most important work is number crunching.  They log 110,000 police reports each year on vehicle crashes by location and time, looking for patterns.  Too many incidents at one intersection may suggest a roadway redesign, hopefully saving lives.  CTI can even work with local police crash investigators to gain access to newer cars’ black boxes, which record speed and braking before a crash, seeing if it’s the road or the driver that may be at fault.

“We’re also testing ‘wrong way rumble strips’ at highway on-ramps to prevent cars from entering the roads in the wrong direction,” says Jackson.  But he admits that if drivers are impaired, the bumpy road may not even be noticed. “Those drivers would probably drive head-on into a police cruiser with its lights flashing.”

To prevent drunk driving, CTI is working with CDOT in testing passive alcohol sensors built into the vehicle.  Not a blow test like a breathalyzer but some new tech that would measure alcohol in your sweat when your thumb hits the start button.

And to keep us all safe from over-tired truckers, the Institute is developing an app to show the long-haul drivers where they can legally and safely pull over for the night when they’ve reached their maximum time on the road.  At night you’ve probably seen dozens of trucks parked on interstate shoulders, so this might keep them (and the rest of us) safe while drivers catch badly needed rest.

All of this work engages CTI staff as well as Civil Engineering students, some of whom may chose careers at CDOT after graduation.

 

 

THE UNGLAMOROUS LIFE OF A LONG HAUL TRUCKER

Why do most motorists hate truck drivers?  Is it because their big rigs are so intimidating?  Or do we think they’re all red-neck cowboys living the life on the range, and we’re secretly jealous?

 

I respect truckers and think, for the most part, that they are much better drivers than the rest of us.  They have stiffer licensing requirements, better safety monitoring and have much more experience behind the wheel.  And unlike most of us driving solo in our cars, they are driving truly “high occupancy (cargo) vehicles”… 22 tons when fully loaded.

 

For an inside look at the unglamorous life of a trucker, I can highly recommend the 2018 national best-seller “Long Haul” by Greenwich native Finn Murphy who’d been driving since he was 18 for the Joyce Moving Company, based in Oxford CT.

 

Murphy is what truckers call a “bed-bugger” because he specialized in high-end corporate relocations.  He was at the top of the trucker food chain, both in income and prestige, far ahead of car haulers (nicknamed “parking lot attendants”), animal haulers (“chicken chokers”) and even hazmat haulers (“suicide jockeys”).

 

While Murphy says a lot of long haul truckers do the job because they can’t find any other work, his career choice was an educated decision. He left Colby College before graduation, realizing he could easily make $100,000 packing, moving and unpacking executives’ prized possessions without his BA.

 

Since the start of COVID, millions of Americans have moved their homes and from this author’s perspective they all have too much stuff.  They covet their capitalist consumption of furniture and junk (what movers call chowder).  And it ain’t cheap to move it, averaging about $20,000 for a long distance relocation.   But as Murphy sees it, he’s more in the “lifestyle transition” business than simply hauling and he must be sensitive to clients’ emotional state.

 

Murphy’s African American boss nicknamed him “The Great White Mover” as, at age 62, he was one of the last few white drivers.  Most of the industry is now handled by people of color, especially the local crews that do the packing and unpacking. 

 

When self-driving trucks eventually hit the road, thousands of minority drivers are going to be out of luck.  Robots already do most of the loading and unloading of trucked merchandise bound for big-box stores.

 

As an independent operator, Murphy incurred all of his expenses.  His tractor (the detachable engine part of the truck) cost $125,000.  That’s not counting the $3500 he paid to register it or $10,000 to insure it.  A new tire (his rig had 18) costs $400 at a truck stop and maybe double that if he’s stranded on some interstate.

The average rig isn’t just a tractor hauling an empty trailer.  Even before loading, that trailer has hundreds of pads (each of which must be neatly folded), plywood planks, dollies, tools, ramps and hundreds of rubber straps for tying things down.  Loading his truck is like solving a giant Tetris 3D puzzle.

 

Murphy’s driving hours were regulated and carefully logged, then checked at every state truck inspection station.  But he thought nothing of driving 700 miles per day, usually parking at a truck stop and sleeping in his on-board bunkbed equipped with a high-end stereo and 600-count Egyptian cotton sheets.

 

On the road he listened to audio books and NPR, which is probably how he learned to write so well (the book is not ghost written).  Finn Murphy wasn’t the brawniest of movers, but he’s easily among the smartest and most articulate. 

 

After decades on the road Murphy retired and moved to Colorado, transitioning to a new career in the cannabis business… going $300,000 into debt but writing another book, “Rocky Mountain High: A Tale of Boom and Bust in the New Wild West”.

 

Even if you have no aspirations of life on the open road, Murphy’s well-written book may give you a new appreciation of truckers and may even change your stereotypes.

 

TRAIN BATHROOMS

Let’s give Metro-North our kudos for some innovative tech to improve passenger comfort:  a new QR code in each train bathroom to allow customers to report any problems.

Bathroom dirty?  Too stinky?  No soap or paper towels?  Just open your smartphone, access that bathroom’s unique QR code and send in your report.  You can even add pictures.  Knowing exactly which bathroom (by train car number) needs attention, a cleaning crew can be swiftly dispatched to make things right.

In the first week of the program Metro-North says they got 34 reports on bathrooms, 16 of them positive.  The complaints were “addressed quickly” says the railroad.

Mind you, the newish M8 cars on the mainline seem to have many fewer bathroom problems than on the older cars where you’d need a hazmat suit to “go”. 

You might even remember the story from 20+ years ago of the commuter who said he lost his cellphone down the John and, when he tried to retrieve it, got his arm stuck up to the elbow.  Trains were delayed and it took the jaws of life to set him free.  But no phone was ever found… not that you’d want to put that up to your face after it took that dunk.

 

In other good news… service on Shore Line East (the rail line that runs from New Haven to New London) is slowly returning, as is ridership.  With the new fall timetables now in effect, four new trains have been added including through-service to Stamford without a change of trains.

Susan Feaster of the Shore Line East Riders’ Advocacy Group credits the new service to her group’s lobbying of local politicians who fought hard for more funding and scored an additional $5 million in the last session.  Still, even with the new trains, this railroad is only at 50% of the service offered pre-COVID.

“Ours is not a ‘seasonal train’ as CDOT Commissioner Eucalitto recently claimed,” she told me.  “Shore Line communities deserve full train service and we’re ready to fight for it in the next legislative session.”

Speaking of organized transit lobbying…

We’re in the home stretch of the November election campaigning so now is the time to keep transportation funding top of mind for candidates.  As you attend your local League of Women Voters debates, ask questions of those who’d represent you.  Get them on the record on how to get mass transit the money it deserves.

Don’t know what to ask?  Try one of these questions:

Whatever happened to Governor Lamont’s promise to speed up the trains, offering 60 min run-times from New Haven to Grand Central?

Why does Metro-North refuse to restore the popular Quiet Cars?

Why is there still no Wi-Fi on Metro-North despite $23 million in special funding to CDOT to make it happen?

And when you ask the candidates, listen for specific answers, not platitudes.  And then vote accordingly.

 

HIGH SPEED RAIL TURNS 60

Happy 60^th birthday to high speed rail.  It was on October 1^st in 1964 that the Shinkansen, Japan’s revolutionary super-fast train, made its debut. 

Known as the “bullet train” because of its aerodynamic shape, the Shinkansen (which translates as “new trunk line”) made the run from Tokyo to Osaka in 4 hours and 40 minutes compared to the conventional trains, which took two hours longer. 

Today, with the evolution of Japanese rail technology, the run now takes just 2 ½ hours, averaging about 200 mph.  In peak hours the trains leave every three to five minutes, each carrying up to 1300 passengers.

In contrast, Amtrak’s fastest train, Acela, runs once an hour carrying a maximum of 304 passengers at an average speed (including station stops) of about 80 mph.  By the way, Acela may be the fastest train in the US but it’s not true high speed rail (defined as 155 mph or faster and running on dedicated tracks).

How did Japan beat the world to this concept?  Out of necessity.

After World War II, Japan experienced rapid economic recovery and growth. Urbanization increased dramatically, and major cities like Tokyo and Osaka became densely populated. There was an obvious need for faster and more efficient transportation to connect these urban hubs, especially along the Tōkaidō corridor, which was Japan’s busiest route.

Before the Shinkansen, conventional rail lines in Japan were heavily congested, especially between Tokyo and Osaka. The existing trains were slow, operated on  narrow gauge tracks and couldn't meet the growing demand for travel, both for business and leisure. Building a high-speed rail system would relieve this congestion and shorten travel times.

Japan also wanted to demonstrate its technological innovation and engineering prowess to the world, especially in the lead-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The Shinkansen became a symbol of Japan’s post-war recovery, showcasing cutting-edge technology in transportation and helping to raise its profile on the global stage.

Today there are over 1800 miles of high speed rail in Japan annually carrying 353 million riders, and they are already building a $64 billion maglev version that can go 314 mph.  It should be ready by 2034.

Japan Rail (JR) had hoped to export its expertise to other countries but only Taiwan adopted the technology and only in a limited fashion.

France quickly followed with its TGV, la Train a Grande Vitesse (high speed train) introducing its first service in 1981 running between Paris and Lyon.  Today there are over 1700 miles of TGV service in France.

Italy, Germany, Spain, Russia and even Morocco operate high speed rail.  But it is China that has the most extensive network covering 28,000 miles of tracks. The line from Beijing to Hong Kong alone runs 1400 miles and, despite its speeds averaging 217 mph, takes 8.5 hours to complete its journey.  There’s even an overnight high speed train with sleeping cars.

In the US there’s a high speed rail project being built in California between LA and San Francisco and another line from LA to Las Vegas (Brightline West)… so we’re still playing catch-up.

 

A LONGSHOREMEN'S STRIKE IS COMING

There’s a storm brewing that may ruin your holidays.

On October 1^st some 45,000 dock workers at 36 different US East & Gulf Coast ports are expected to go on strike, shutting down almost half of all US imports by sea.  The effect of such a strike has been predicted to be “cataclysmic”, disrupting the global supply chain.

Remember post-COVID when store shelves were empty, construction delayed, pharmaceuticals in short supply and auto production disrupted?  Online orders were delayed and prices soared.

That could happen again, affecting not only you but the rest of the world.  The economic effects would measure in the billions of dollars a day.  Even a one day strike would take five days to recover from.  If a strike lasts a week, the cleanup would last until mid-November.  If it drags on for a month, well, we don’t even want to contemplate that.

Though West Coast ports would remain open if there’s a strike (different unions), there’s no way they could handle ships diverted from the East.  They just don’t have the capacity.

What kind of imports will be affected?  Think food, crude oil, electronics, clothing and, yes, holiday gifts. 

Anticipating this strike, shippers have been in a mad dash to boost shipments in recent months.  Imports are up almost 13% recently as companies try to build inventories before the ports are closed down.  That’s led to a huge backlog of empty shipping containers at US ports which, if they don’t get back to their homes, will mean further delays even after a settlement.

The principles in this standoff are the International Longshoremen’s Assoc (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX).  The union hasn’t had a new contract in six years and is seeking a 78% wage boost.  But their bigger concern is automation. Understandably, the ILA is worried about its members losing their jobs.

In advanced ports like Rotterdam, Singapore and Qingdao (China) the loading and offloading of containers and their transfer within the port is handled by computers.  The US unions claim that isn’t safe.

ILA members make good money:  $39 an hour, or just over $81,000 annually.  But with benefits and overtime, some NY dockworkers can make $200,000, often working 100+ hours a week.

Port Elizabeth NJ

The ports’ management, USMX, is made up of port operators and the world’s biggest shipping companies.  Their interests are in lowering costs and speeding up the operations.

The problem is, we’re about a week away from the strike deadline and the ILA and USMX aren’t talking.  They haven’t even met for negotiations in months.

The White House has so far refused to intervene.  If the strike is found to endanger national health or safety, the President could invoke the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act and impose an 80-day cooling off period.  But the pro-union Biden White House says that won’t happen.  Instead they urge both sides to negotiate.

In election years pundits always say “watch for an October surprise”, some unexpected event that changes everything.  A dock workers strike on October 1^st could be exactly that, though it won’t be much of a surprise.

 

 

TAKING THE TRAIN TO VERMONT

Like so many people, I absolutely love Vermont. But the journey to get there? Well, it’s not my favorite part.

From Fairfield County CT to Burlington, VT, it’s about 300 miles. Driving takes around five hours and costs roughly $35 in gas one-way. Flying might sound faster, but once you factor in the time to get to and from the airport, it’s not much quicker—and it’ll cost you at least $228 one-way.

But, there’s a fun, scenic alternative to ride north: Amtrak!

There are a couple of different trains that will take you to (or at least close to) Vermont?  Here’s a breakdown of each:

THE VERMONTER
This one’s your best bet! Running daily from Washington, DC, to St. Albans, VT (right next to Burlington), The Vermonter passes through Stamford around noon each day. It also makes stops in Bridgeport and New Haven before heading up the beautiful Connecticut River Valley, with Vermont stops in places like Brattleboro, Montpelier, Waterbury (for Stowe), and Essex Junction (for Burlington), just to name a few.

It’s not the fastest option (Stamford to Burlington takes around 8 1/2 hours), but it’s incredibly scenic and peaceful. Plus, with recent track upgrades, the ride is now an hour shorter!  Increased ridership recently added a fifth Amfleet coach to the train.

The newly refurbished Amfleet seats are super comfy, and for a bit extra, you can treat yourself to business class. The Amfood is much improved, the crew is always friendly, there’s a Quiet Car and yes—there’s free Wi-Fi! The train even hits 80 mph on smooth tracks, and the fall foliage views are unbeatable.

And here’s the real perk: Amtrak runs in all kinds of weather. So, if you’re planning a winter ski trip and a snowstorm hits, Amtrak will still get you there when highways and airports are shut down!

THE ETHAN ALLEN EXPRESS
Heading to the western side of Vermont, like Rutland or Burlington? The Ethan Allen Express is your train! It departs from Penn Station in New York City in the mid-afternoon and arrives at its final destination of Burlington around 10 p.m., stopping at places like Saratoga Springs, Glens Falls, and Castleton, VT. There’s even a bus connection to Killington for ski lovers.

Now terminating in downtown Burlington, you’re in the heart of that vibrant city’s action, just steps from hotels and restaurants.  Rental cars also available nearby.

For those of us in Connecticut, the easiest way to hop on this train is from Croton-Harmon in Westchester County, where there’s plenty of long-term parking. Exciting news: there’s discussion about extending the Ethan Allen all the way to Montreal sometime in the future!

THE ADIRONDACK
While this train doesn’t go through Vermont, it used to be a fun option for those willing to take a ferry.  You could hop off its 12 hr. daily run from New York’s Penn Station to Montreal on the western shore of Lake Champlain and see Burlington across the lake.  But alas, the old ferry from Port Kent NY to Burlington is no more, having been scrapped during the pandemic.

 

So, if you’re dreaming of a trip to Vermont, why not make the journey part of the fun by letting Amtrak take the wheel?  It’s the "green" way to travel to the “Green Mountain State”.

LET THEM EAT... PIZZA?

When Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France before the revolution, was asked how to quell her starving peasant subjects, she is alleged to have said “Let them eat cake”.

And as history so often repeats itself, Governor Ned Lamont seems to be taking the same tact with grumbling Connecticut residents angry over utility pricing.  While he still refuses to call a special session of the legislature to address the issue, last week he presided over the unveiling of a new campaign to make Nutmeggers feel better about their lot.

Four signs were erected on the interstate entrances to our state, welcoming travelers by reminding them that Connecticut is “The Foodie / Submarine  / Basketball / Pizza Capital” of New England / The US / The World.  Don’t you just feel the pride?  Or is it more like confusion?

These braggadocio claims were produced by our state’s new Chief Marketing Officer Anthony Anthony (yes, that’s his real name) who reminded us that “Connecticut is a drive-to state, not a drive-through state”. 

Contemplate that the next time you’re in bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-95 or I-91.

The reaction was swift and predictable, with the governors of New Jersey and Massachusetts picking a fight over the claims. Sure, Groton is the submarine capital, but everyone knows that the Basketball Hall of Fame is in Springfield MA and good food can be found throughout New England.  But “Pizza Capital of the United States”?  Really?  That’s the best you could do?

How could Connecticut music teacher Mrs. Fitzgerald cover all our state’s highlights in this two-minute ditty by Carmino Ravosa and our state’s CMO so misses the mark?

Because this was all intentional.

In an earlier life I was a News Director at NBC News.  Later I became a communications consultant and even wrote about it in my book “Off The Record: Confessions of a Media Consultant”.  I know how the media works.  And so does the Governor and his staff.

Don’t want to make the hard decisions about electric rates?  Just distract everyone with a phony debate about who has the best pizza. 

This quartet of signs cost CDOT all of $90,000 to produce, most of it paid for by the Feds.  Hoist the signs and then just stand back and watch social media spread the anger and confusion.  It’s all a brilliant distraction technique and we are gobbling it up.

Twitter memes like this seemed inevitable…

Who needs a special legislative session to solve utility costs when we’re instead talking about pizza?  We all have the attention span of a goldfish and the Governor and his media minions know it.

Notably missing from this conversation was another set of recently erected highway signs… the ones proclaiming how many people have died on CT roadways this year.  It’s a running tally… 224 year to date, and climbing. Those sobering reminders were the brainchild of the CDOT, which deserves kudos.

But hey… enjoy that pizza, peasants.

 

WHY DON'T POLS RIDE MASS TRANSIT?

This week’s column is an update on something I wrote last year.  Alas, little has changed since then…

On this Labor Day weekend, here’s a question and a challenge:  Do the folks in state government know what it’s like to be a commuter?

When’s the last time that Governor Ned Lamont took a train… not for a photo op, but for real?  He does have a home in Greenwich so he could be enjoying the great service on The Hartford Line and Metro-North.  But it seems he’s always driving around in that big (chauffeured) SUV which, by the way, is not electric (despite his calls for Connecticut to “go green” and all-electric by 2035!)

C’mon Governor:  walk the talk!

Does the Governor know what it’s like to ride on standing-room-only Metro-North trains at rush hour?  Or has he tried to take Shore Line East to New London with its two hour gaps in service from New Haven? 

Is the train too slow?  Welcome to our commuting realities, Governor.

Or how about our lawmakers?  When the legislature is in session, why aren’t they on the train also?  And yeah,  I know they work weird hours.  But so do their constituents and they too have trouble catching mass transit outside of the normal nine-to-five work day.  I mean, wouldn’t we all feel safer if lawmakers were on a train or bus after a late night session instead of careening down I-91 or the Wilbur Cross Parkway at 70 mph?

And why do State Representatives and State Senators all have special license plates for their cars?  Does that give them special parking privileges or an exemption from law enforcement?

Admittedly, if the people we send to Hartford to represent us are all driving, at least they know how challenging the roads are… not that they’ve done much to improve on that gridlock.  But if they actually rode our trains and buses I’m guessing maybe they’d fix what’s wrong there, pronto.

Or consider our state’s bus system:  how many elected officials, even local ones, have ridden the buses their constituents rely on every day?  If they haven’t, how can they empathize with what it’s like, let alone fix it?

And then there’s the CDOT.  Their beautiful headquarters in Newington on Berlin Turnpike is serviced by four CT Transit bus routes, including one from Hartford’s Union (train) Station.  But I wonder how many staffers opt to ride the very mass transit system their agency funds as their headquarters’ giant parking lot always seems full.

Before Michael Bloomberg was elected Mayor of New York City, and quite often while he was in office, he rode on the subways to get to work.  His successors did not.  In Boston, then-Governor Michael Dukakis regularly rode “The T”.

These days the pols probably claim it’s “security” that prevents them from riding mass transit, but that sounds like more of an excuse than explanation.  Heaven forbid that they’d actually have to rub shoulders with their constituents!

 

REBUILDING

You’ve seen the pictures:  washed out rail tracks, crumbled roadways, debris and flood damage everywhere.  The 1000-year storm that hit the Naugatuck Valley last week caused destruction of biblical proportions.  And the reconstruction will take weeks, possibly months.

Waterbury Branch of MNRR

First off the CDOT must secure the damaged areas, remove the debris and inspect for structural damage.  Where appropriate they’ll replace damaged bridges with temporary spans, pulled from an inventory of such bridges stored for such occasions. Some such temporary bridges may be weight restricted.  Meantime, expect delays and slow driving through an obstacle course of cones and repair crews.

Above all, we will need patience.  Though the damage from the storm happened in minutes it will take awhile to get things back to normal.

The good news (if there is any) is that disaster reconstruction will be mostly paid with Federal dollars and can be done faster without environmental studies and competitive bidding.  As one CDOT veteran says, “It’ll a great time for contractors”.

As we enjoy the last week of summer, don’t let the nice weather fool you.  Storms can happen anytime… and will hit us again. The question is, how to rebuild better, anticipating future deluges.

While existing bridges and culverts were mostly built to handle 50-year storms, there’s no way to rebuild them to handle a 1000-year storm like we saw last week.  It’s just not practical or affordable… even though such storms are certainly happening more frequently.

You can follow this rebuilding progress and its potential delays.  Best resource is CDOT’s website CTRoads.com, useful even in good weather to anticipate traffic and delays.  Doubtless the CDOT’s own website will monitor progress in the rebuild as that agency has done a much better job in recent years at improving the transparency of their operation.   Kudos to CDOT Commissioner Eucalitto and his crews for their efforts so far and their frequent updates.

But when bad weather returns… and it will… where will you turn for advisories?  How will you know if its safe to drive, and where?  

Sure there are websites and social media, but nothing beats local radio… the folks who know your community best.  But will they be there to help?  Do your even know your local stations frequency?  And do they even have a working news department?

The demise this week of all-news juggernaut WCBS 880 in New York City is indicative of a dangerous trend.  While some of my old radio friends, like Connecticut residents Paul Murnane and Joe Connolly, have lost their jobs, we have lost an incredible information resource.

In its almost 57 years of all-news coverage, WCBS got us through 9/11, Sandy, and countless blizzards.  Theirs was a dependable, go-to resource available 24x7 in our cars and homes (even without electricity, if we’d prepared).  They will be missed terribly.

Don’t let what happened to them happen in your community.  Support your local media, print and broadcast.  Listen, subscribe and patronize their advertisers.  Keep them in business so they are there when we need them most.

 

EV CHARGERS, TWEED AIRPORT, T.O.D. IN THE EAST BRONX

It may be the dog days of summer, but there’s still news on the transportation front…

WHO WANTS AN EV?:     According to a recent AAA New England survey more than half of respondents said they would never buy an electric vehicle.

SO WHY ANOTHER ELECTRIC RATE INCREASE?:           Yes, PURA just voted another rate increase… about $3 a month for all electric customers… to pay for EV charging stations.  But why are we paying for gear we may never use?  Why don’t the utilities pick up the cost?  After all, gas stations don’t make non-drivers pay for their gas pumps, do they?

NYC SUBWAY SAFETY:      The Feds have come down hard on the MTA, parent of the city subway system.  An audit shows 38 “near miss events” where subway workers could have been struck, injured or killed (one was killed last November).   And there were 228 other close calls where customers could have been injured. 

The Federal Transit Administration warns the MTA that they risk losing some federal funding if they don’t comply with new safety guidelines.  A separate investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board continues.

T.O.D. ON STEROIDS:      As Metro-North develops four new train stations in the east Bronx for the planned 2027 service to NYC’s Penn Station (and Connecticut), the city has announced plans for 7000 new apartments nearby, 25% of them affordable.

This is huge news for Connecticut,  which may be able to harvest residents for jobs in our state as we still struggle with our own housing problems.

TWEED AIRPORT:     Following on the massive success of discount airline Avelo, another recent startup airline, Breeze, is adding flights from the New Haven airport.  Despite short runways, an over-crowded terminal and maxed-out parking, 

Breeze is adding flights to Florida and points south this winter with fares starting at $69.  Locals are still upset with the noise and traffic at what used to be a quiet little airport.

WHITE PLAINS AIRPORT:          Greenwich and neighboring towns are working to renew a cap on traffic at this Westchester County airport, limiting passengers to 240 boardings and unloadings every half hour. The neighborhood airport is a favorite of folks in Fairfield County but local officials don’t want it to turn into another LaGuardia… or Tweed.

UBER ADS:            In addition to your fare for taking an Uber or Lyft, expect to pay more with your eyeballs.  Just as NYC’s 13,500 licensed taxis have small TV’s in their backseat showing ads, now the city’s 83,000 ride sharing vehicles will also be running ads enroute to your destination.  But in this case, 25% of the revenue from ads will go to the driver.  Now where’s that mute button?

LIGHTS OUT:         Has anyone else noticed how many of the 25,000 street lights on our state’s interstate highways are not working?  The CDOT says some of the dark spots may be tied to replacement of the old orange-colored high pressure sodium lights with brighter, more energy efficient LEDs.  But if you see lights that aren’t working, they encourage you to report them to the agency’s Customer Care Center.  Or just send an email to DOT.CustomerCare@ct.gov

CAN METRO-NORTH "GO WEST"?

As the largest commuter railroads in the US, Metro-North (and its sister railroad the Long Island RR) are victims of geography.  They both serve large portions of the NYC metro area, but not all of it.  Something is standing in the way: the Hudson River.

If you want to go to, say, Newark Airport or Princeton NJ, your only non-driving mass transit option is Amtrak with pricey and infrequent service.  Want to visit family and friends in Rockland County?  You have to drive.

All of NYC’s commuter lines run on a hub-and-spoke model with trains running into and out of the city’s two stations, Grand Central and Penn Station.  But what if Metro-North could conquer the Hudson and offer “through service”? 

World class cities like Paris and Tokyo have commuter trains that run through their metro areas.  Why can’t NYC?

Imagine being able to grab a train in Bridgeport and, without changing trains, end up in NJ.  That one-seat ride would open up a world of possibilities of new jobs, college attendance and recreation.

But how to get across the Hudson?  Well, there are a couple of options… one that’s been engineered for the future and the other which could be implemented much quicker.  But they both present serious challenges.

UP AND OVER THE HUDSON:   You may not realize it, but the new Tappan Zee (Mario Cuomo) Bridge from Tarrytown to Nyack was designed to eventually be able to carry commuter trains.  The trains would run in the bridge’s median, between north and southbound auto and truck traffic.  That space is still available, but there is no rail service (yet) for a couple of reasons.

First, to climb from the near water-level height of the Metro-North Hudson line up to the bridge would mean ascending almost 140 feet.  Trains can’t climb hills with more than a 2% grade, so that embankment would have to start 1.33 miles before the bridge.  That would chew into a lot of expensive river-view real estate, be very expensive and take a long time to build.  So, no trains on the TZ… for now.

On the other hand, if Metro-North ever built an east-west spur along Route 287 connecting Rye to Tarrytown, that height difference wouldn’t be a problem.  But that’s another pipedream… for now.

UNDER THE RIVER:         Metro-North trains from Connecticut will soon be able to take the Amtrak route across the Hells Gate Bridge and into Penn Station.  From there they could travel under the Hudson and on into New Jersey.  But this plan also has problems.

First, Amtrak and NJTransit have plans to expand service at Penn, pretty much maxing out its capacity even after expansion of that station.

Even if there was room, Metro-North’s trains run on different voltage (12 kV AC 25 Hz) than the Northeast Corridor line in NJ.  In 2009 when NJTransit ran experimental trains from CT to Giants Stadium, their dual-mode locomotives ran electric in NJ and then diesel in NY and CT.

The bottom line:  through-running makes sense, but like so many good ideas it would be really hard (and expensive) to make happen.

 

OUR AC-DC RAILROAD

As I continue my summer vacation, I’ve updated a column I wrote 14 years ago…

Metro-North’s train service in Connecticut is challenging because of a technological quirk of fate: ours is the only commuter railroad in the U.S. that operates on three modes of power… AC, DC and diesel.

On a typical run from, say, New Haven to Grand Central, the first part of the journey is done “under the wire”, the trains being powered by 13,000 volt AC overhead wires, or catenaries.  Around Pelham, in Westchester County, the pantographs are lowered and the conversion is made to 660 volt DC third-rail power for the rest of the trip into New York City.  Even diesel engines must convert to third-rail, as their smoky exhaust is banned in the Park Avenue tunnels.

Third Rail "Shoe"

And there’s the rub: Connecticut trains need both AC and DC, overhead and third-rail, power pick-ups and processors. That means a lot more electronics, and added cost, for each car.  While the DC-only M7 cars running in Westchester cost about $2 million each, the dual-mode M8 car designed for Connecticut cost considerably more.

So, some folks are asking… “Why not just use one power source? Just replace the overhead wires with third-rail and we can buy cheaper cars.”  Simple, yes. Smart, no.  And here’s why.

DC-powered third rail is less efficient. Trains accelerate much faster using overhead AC voltage, the power source used by the fastest trains in the world… the TGV, Shinkansen, etc.  On third-rail speeds are limited to 75 miles an hour vs. 90 mph under the wire. That means, mile for mile, commute time is longer using third rail.

There’s not enough space to lay a third-rail along each of the four tracks in the railroad’s right of way.  All four existing tracks would have to be ripped out and the space between them widened.  Every bridge and tunnel would have to be widened, platforms moved and land acquired. Cost? Probably hundreds of millions of dollars, years of construction and service disruptions.

Even with third-rail, the CDOT would still be required to provide overhead power lines for Amtrak’s catenary-only electric trains. That would mean maintaining two power systems.  

Third-rail AC power requires power substations every few miles, meaning further construction and real estate. The environmental lawsuits alone would kill this idea.

Third-rail ices up in bad weather and can get buried in snow, causing short circuits. Overhead wires have problems sometimes, but they are never buried in a blizzard.

Third-rail is dangerous to pedestrians and track workers.  The idea of conversion to third-rail was studied in the 1980’s by consultants to CDOT.  They concluded that, while cumbersome and costly, the current dual-power system is, in the long run, cheaper and more efficient than installing third-rail. The engineers at CDOT got it right.

Doubtless, we’ll have further “wires down” problems on Metro-North in the years to come. Ironically, Metro-North’s 97% on-time record has made us come to expect good service, despite our ancient infrastructure. But in the long run, service will be faster and even more reliable by sticking with our dual-mode system.