HOW CT COMMUTERS SUBSIDIZE NYC'S MTA

Heading to New York City?  Take the train, because driving is going to become even more expensive:  the NY plan for “congestion pricing” is back!

As everyone predicted last June when NY Governor Kathy Hochul suspended plans for a $15 toll for driving into midtown Manhattan, she has now reversed her decision.  She is now proposing a $9 charge for passenger cars ($2.25 off-peak, and $14.40 for small trucks).

It seems ironic that New York City doesn’t control its own mass transit system, but that responsibility is left to the state.  While Governor Hochul claimed just months ago that her decision to suspend the toll was a win for commuters (who drive), now she’s added a new twist.

By lowering the toll to just $9 she now claims she will be saving drivers $1500 a year.  That’s an amazing spin, no?

While the MTA is notorious for wasting money on multi-billion projects, there’s no doubt that the funding is badly needed to keep mass transit running.  But that agency’s $15 billion plans were dependent on the higher tolls, not the new reduced tolls to go into effect in January 2025.

New York Governor Hochul says this has nothing to do with President-elect Trump’s plan to kill the congestion pricing scheme, but her timing says otherwise.  Once initiated, these tolls may be difficult to overturn. Difficult but not impossible.

But these are not the only ways that Connecticut residents help subsidize the city’s mass transit.

Most Connecticut residents working in New York City contribute to the Payroll Mobility Tax, which is a significant source of funding for the MTA.  In 2020, this tax was expected to generate $1.1 billion annually for the MTA.

This makes perfect sense, as most Connecticut commuters depend on Metro-North and the city’s subways to get to their destinations. And those who chose to drive to Manhattan should clearly pay for privilege.

While New Jersey Governor Murphy is suing the MTA over its toll plan, Governor Lamont has been only mildly supportive of congestion pricing, but adds "it's a good thing for all if more people took the train".  According to the MTA, 3100 Connecticut drivers travel to the city’s central business district each workday.

Connecticut is dependent on Metro-North for running “our” trains and maintaining the infrastructure: we own the tracks between Greenwich and New Haven but it’s Metro-North that fixes them.  If / when we order new railcars (which also run in New York state), Connecticut pays two-thirds of the cost and New York picks up the rest. 

Meantime, we are enjoying a flood of federal money for our rails as part of President Biden’s infrastructure law… $291 million to be spent on our tracks and power system, bridge replacements, double-tracking of the Hartford Line and relocating Hartford’s Union Station.

Clearly, the rush is on to get as much money as possible invested in mass transit before the Trump team returns to power.  The President-elect seems determined to cut federal spending and prioritize road repairs over transit, pedestrians and cyclists calling the Hochul plan for congestion pricing “a regressive tax”.

NEW LOCOMOTIVES FOR METRO-NORTH

Finally, there’s some good news for Metro-North riders, especially those who take the Danbury, Waterbury and Hartford lines:  new locomotives are coming… eventually.

Meet the Siemens Charger model SC-42DM, the first of its kind in the US.

Being built in Sacramento CA, these new engines are the latest innovation in the long history of this German manufacturer.  It was Siemens that built the first electric tram in the late 1800’s.  They even partnered to build one of the first commercial maglev trains, in Shanghai.

The Charger is a great machine and there are hundreds already in use in the US and abroad, running on railroads ranging from Amtrak and Brightline to commuter lines in Maryland, California and many other states.  They’ve already accumulated 10 million miles of operation.

But our Charger locomotives will be different. 

The DM in their name means they are “dual mode”, operating under diesel power and third rail.  Unlike the older GE-built P32 Genesis locomotives, these new Chargers can “go electric” all the way from Pelham (in Westchester County) to Grand Central.

But they can’t run “under the wire” in Connecticut like our Kawasaki M8 cars (which are also dual-powered, equipped with pantographs and third rail shoes).  That means that when running in Connecticut, the Chargers be using diesel power.

The good news is that, even running diesel, these are some of the cleanest, least polluting fossil-fuel engines available. They are Tier 4 certified, meaning they reduce pollutants by 85%. They also accelerate faster.

Connecticut’s branch lines, especially the meandering Danbury line, will never match the speeds of the mainline.  But with so many stations, on a steep upward grade, if every departure can be quicker, there will be time savings.

The new Chargers are equipped with electronic monitoring and diagnostics to alert the crew to any problems. They’re even quieter, thanks to active noise cancellation technology.  

But all of this innovation comes with a hefty price tag: $15 million per locomotive.

Metro-North has 27 of the new Chargers on order and just received their first two.   If testing on the new Chargers goes well, the railroad has an option to buy dozens more.  CDOT is also buying six of the same model.

Siemens has also built dual-mode Chargers for Amtrak. But in that case they operate “under the wire” on the Northeast Corridor.  Realistically, the third-rail version makes much more sense for Metro-North which has over 100 miles of electrified track (on its Hudson and Harlem lines) where third-rail is the only power source.

The Metro-North locos were ordered in 2020, paid for in part by a grant from the Federal Transit Administration which is pumping $1.5 billion into new rolling stock for mass transit nationwide through 2026.

These first two new Chargers for Metro-North now have to undergo testing, first at the FRA test track in Pueblo CO, then running on Metro-North tracks. 

This first duo of the new model should be in service, they say, by 2025.

 

 

LIFE AS A VAN NOMAD

Lorrie Sarafin is a van nomad in the American Southwest, one of the estimated three million Americans who live on the road.

For three years she has been without a house, but not a home, not just surviving but thriving in the desert and mountains of Arizona and New Mexico, living in her van “LokiMotion”, named after her cat.  Now in her mid-60s, Lorrie is living off her Social Security checks.

Raised in central Connecticut she describes herself as a “small town girl, but not rich”.  Not loving the big city, she moved to Arizona in 1993 and reinvented herself as a self-taught musician and artist, recording two CD’s of native American flute music. She even took extension classes through Julliard.

In 2014 she discovered minimalist and van-lifestyle guru Bob Wells and she started thinking about different housing options.

Unlike the van nomads whose lives were so well documented in the 2021 Oscar winning movie “Nomadland”, Lorrie didn’t lose her job and house, but walked away from both, choosing instead to spend her retirement living on the road.

“I asked myself ‘why am I doing a job just to have money to pay rent?’”.  (Doubtless there are housing-squeezed folks around here who may be asking the same thing.)  “Now I don’t have to pay rent or utilities, just car insurance and van payments.” 

After working all through Covid (without vaccination or getting sick), in 2021 she fitted out her new van’s interior herself complete with a bed, cabinets, shelves, a small refrigerator, Sirius XM radio and lights.  It’s all powered by a 500 watt battery she charges with solar panels for about six hours each day.

Solar cells charge up her battery

She can’t cook in her van but has mastered campfire cuisine.  Her biggest worry is bears so she keeps her bear spray close by and is considering getting a gun.

In the winter she heads to the warm side of the state where overnight lows are in the mid 30’s and daytime highs in the mid 70’s.  In the brutal summer heat she abandons the desert for the mountains.  “Above 8000 feet it stays in the mid 80’s,” says Lorrie. “But when it’s cold and raining, it’s not a lot of fun (being cooped up in the van).”

She can camp for up to 14 days on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) or US Forest Service land, then has to move on.

Sanitation depends on buckets, her laundry being done at a laundromat.  She takes sponge baths in her van and says that daily showers are over-rated.  As for her health, “I haven’t seen a doctor in 20 years but take a lot of supplements and must have a great immune system.”  She swears by Wild Oregano Oil as a preventative.

While she prefers to camp alone or with her friend, she actually likes being out of cellphone range.  She visits a small town PO Box for her snail mail and uses her cellphone for internet and email.

Camping in the mountains

She describes her fellow van nomads as “really nice people” who share her love of being alone. 

“If you’re a curl-up-on-the-couch and watch Netflix kind of person, this life is not for you,” she warns.   “But for me, I just have so much freedom and am in love with nature.”

TRANSPORTATION ON THE BALLOT... BUT NOT IN CT

The polls are open for early voting in Connecticut.  And while the national and state races occupy most of voters’ attentions, there is one thing noticeably absent on their ballots:  transportation.

“Transportation in Connecticut is like the weather,” said one cynic.  “We all complain about it but don’t think there’s much we can do to change it.”

Mind you, Connecticut voters have had ballot questions focused on transportation issues in the past.  In 2018 they approved a Constitutional amendment to put a “lock box” on the Special Transportation Fund, hopefully guaranteeing that money raised through the gas tax is spent only on transportation, not treated as a petty cash box for legislators looking to balance the budget as it has been in the past.

That initiative was approved by an 88% margin.

But a September poll of Connecticut voters commissioned by CTMirror showed that the economy was top-most on their list of worries along with immigration, housing and the deficit.

Of course, fixing our transportation woes is really just a matter of money and how to raise it.  And with utility costs soaring (and the Governor apparently unmoved by 68,000 petition signatures gathered to protest that issue), the idea of doing something like raising taxes doesn’t seem to be on the table in the Nutmeg state.

Not so, elsewhere.  November’s ballot will see a number of such initiatives across the nation, totaling $50 billion in possible spending.

Take Nashville TN for example.  That burgeoning city has some of the worst commuting delays in the US.  While in 2018 a proposal to spend $5 billion on a transit system was defeated by a two to one margin, residents are reconsidering the idea this year. The new “Choose How You Move” plan would spend $3 billion on roads, traffic signals, pedestrian infrastructure and, yes, rails… using federal money and a half-cent sales tax.

Phoenix Light Rail

Similarly fast-growing and gridlocked Phoenix AZ has had a half-cent sales tax for transportation for 40 years, allowing construction of its ambitious light rail system covering 30 miles and 40 stations connecting Phoenix to Tempe and Mesa.  But that tax is set to expire next year if the upcoming November ballot question (to extend the tax another 20 years, raising $15 billion) doesn’t pass.  Recent polling says it will.

In Seattle that city voted to tax its residents for transportation spending in 2006, 2015 and they’re back again.  Seattle’s Proposition 1 would raise $1.55 billion over eight years through a property tax levy of about $44 a month for the typical home.  Polling looks like it, too, will be approved.

While some cities turn to sales or property taxes to fund transportation, not so in Connecticut where we depend on “user fees” (gasoline taxes).  But as more drivers convert to electric cars, a gas tax alone won’t cut it.  We will have to find other funding sources… if there is any appetite for anything that raises the cost of living in our beautiful, but road-clogged state.

Meantime, what the heck is going on with this October drought?!

 

 

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!