DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE

Don’t believe everything you read or see in the media.

Sage advice on any topic, but especially when it comes to coverage of transportation.  A couple of recent stories illustrate my point.

IMPROVED CELL SERVICE ON METRO-NORTH:

The Governor and CDOT’s Commissioner held a media event recently in Stamford to promote the fact that AT&T has improved its cell coverage along the New Haven line.  That telco spent $60 million installing 30 high-powered macro towers and small cell nodes, some of them on CDOT land, in a public-private partnership. Many are specifically aimed at dead-spots in service on the trains.

Small Cell Nodes - AT&T

This is good news… if you are an AT&T subscriber.  If you use Verizon or T-Mobile and find an area with no cell coverage on your commute, this won’t help you.  The AT&T enhancements are for its customers only.

There is no word from the other companies on how they might be filling holes in their service.  But… it’s a start.

However if you read the media coverage, you’d think every commuter’s cellphone coverage had been improved!  “Cellphone service to get upgrade on Metro-North rail line,” proclaimed the Hearst papers.  "Wireless service upgrades coming to New Haven line for CT commuters," said WSHU public radio.

Improved cell coverage is a crucial issue for commuters looking to be more productive during train-time.  But attention-grabbing headlines such as these may lead to a perception of better service.  The more you’re told “cell service is getting better” the more you’ll think it is.  Or so they hope. 

But… don’t believe the hype.

FASTER THAN ACELA?

In April another media event, this time at Grand Central, celebrated faster train service from New Haven:  three early morning (5 – 7 am) super-express trains, one of them cutting ten minutes off its old running time, making that single train “faster than Acela”.

Great news… if you’re a pre-dawn-commuter from New Haven.  Again, kudos to Metro-North for much needed signal and infrastructure improvements.  But has the average commute to Grand Central really improved?  Not really.  The exception is not the rule.

With limited stops these super-express trains still average only 52 mph.  Regular express trains get about 46 mph and locals run just 38 mph.  Remember: the M-8 cars on Metro-North are capable of 80 mph.

How did the media portray these improvements?

“New Metro-North schedule, with shorter trips on New Haven line, now in effect,” trumpeted the Hearst papers. “Metro-North Is Faster Than Acela,” promised Bloomberg (quoting MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber).

The “faster than Acela” claim is technically true… for one Metro-North train.  Keep in mind that New Haven to GCT is 73 miles but to Penn Station (on Amtrak) is 75 miles.  But not wanting to always sound like a grouch, I say good for Metro-North.

What worries me is the media coverage which over generalizes and lacks the caveats I’ve cited.  Telling commuters repeatedly that their trains are running faster, when they are not, may be persuasive but it is not accurate.

So, take media coverage of transportation with a grain of salt.  The headlines don’t always tell the full story.  And don’t believe the hype.

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I am proud to report that “Talking Transportation” recently won an award from CT-SPJ, the Society of Professional Journalists, first place in the General Column / Commentary category… just one of a dozen such awards to CTMirror.

ENJOYING THE VIEW

Commuting can be “Oh so boring”, especially if you’re driving.  But when you’re on the train, you’ve got plenty of time to do work, read a book, take a nap or just look out the window.

Enjoying the view from the train is one of the perks of being car-free, and some parts of the ride are especially beautiful.

Traveling along the coast, especially east of New Haven (on Shore Line East or Amtrak) the water views are spectacular.  Even on the wetlands side, there’s often wildlife to be seen… egrets, ospreys and such.

Walk Bridge - Norwalk CT

Crossing the soon-to-be-replaced, 125 year-old Walk Bridge in Norwalk, there’s a nice view out to the water or into downtown South Norwalk.  Westport’s Saugatuck River Bridge (known as Saga) is also a delight.  Same thing in Greenwich crossing the Mianus River where a glimpse to the north brings back memories of the collapse of the I-95 bridge in 1983 that took three lives.

But my favorite part of the ride into New York City on Metro-North is between Portchester and New Rochelle, that nine-mile straight section of track that engineers call “The Raceway”.  Running right alongside I-95, the trains used to have a speed limit of 80 mph, and they’d do it.

Is there anything more satisfying than whipping past drivers on that busy interstate, showing them that the train is a faster choice?  I’ve even been known to wave as we hurtle past.

Just south of Westchester County, as trains enter The Bronx (near Woodlawn), is where the New Haven and Harlem lines converge, complete with a soaring rail overpass.  Again, a great view for a railfan such as myself. 

Another favorite of mine is crossing the Harlem River into Manhattan as the trains traverse the Park Avenue Bridge.  There’s a great view of the city skyline and brief views down the avenues.

Some stations are also memorable, even when passed at high speed.  Just who was Greens Farms named after?  And just why doesn’t the stylish new Fairfield Metro station have a waiting room?  But special mention goes to Milford where the usual advertising posters on the platform have been replaced with huge photos of the beautiful town itself.  Nice promotion.

A nice as those views are, there’s much of the ride which is far less scenic.

The seemingly bombed out factories of Bridgeport hold such memories… and promise.  And Portchester’s old Lifesaver building, complete with its terracotta candies as ornamentation, remind us of the whimsy of architecture.

Railroads are built around business, and looking into the backside of industrial sites along the right of way ain’t exactly pretty.  Even in corporate office buildings, it’s funny how landlords spend so much adorning their street-facing façade but forget that thousands see only the backs of the building, covered with graffiti and neglect.

And much of the trackside, strewn with debris, old rail ties and rusting equipment, could also use some TLC.

What’s your favorite “view from the train”?  Share your thoughts at CommuterActionGroup@gmail.com

 

 

 

FIVE WORST IDEAS FOR SOLVING TRAFFIC CONGESTION

Everybody loves to complain about our traffic.  And for some, the solutions are simple, if impractical.  If there were easy answers to our woes, they’d have been implemented by now.  

Look… this is really a matter of supply and demand: too much demand (highway traffic) and not enough supply (space on those roads).   I think the solution is to manage the demand.  But others say it’s a “supply side” issue. 

So here are a few of the crazier ideas for fixing our traffic that I’ve seen proposed over the  years:

1)    DOUBLE-DECK I-95:        Seriously, this was once proposed by the Stamford Chamber of Commerce.  Can you imagine the decades of construction and billions in cost, with “upper level” roads having to soar hundreds of feet over existing bridges? 

Katy Freeway in Texas

2)    ALLOW TRUCKS ON THE MERRITT PARKWAY:       There are two words to explain why this can’t happen:  low bridges.

3)    BAN TRUCKS FROM OUR INTERSTATES:          This was once suggested to me by a Fairfield County First Selectman.  But as I reminded him… trucks are high-occupancy vehicles delivering goods to the stores where you drive your single-occupancy vehicle to shop.  No trucks, no goods, no shopping.

4)    DRIVE IN THE BREAK-DOWN LANE:      This was then-Governor Rowland’s idea in 2000 and he even wasted a million dollars studying it.  But if you think of that far right-hand lane instead as the “emergency rescue lane”, you’ll see why this doesn’t make sense.  This plan would also require re-striping the road to create narrower lanes, making driving even more dangerous.

5)    WIDENING I-95 TO FOUR LANES:       Again, billions in cost and decades of construction.  And if you build it, they will come.  The immutable law of “induced demand” means that traffic will expand to fill available space.  Then what, a fifth lane?

I-95 in Miami

There are better ways to manage congestion, some of them already being implemented:

OPERATIONAL LANES:     Adding a fourth lane from on-ramps to the next off-ramps gives traffic a better chance of merging on and off the highway without blocking the through-lanes.

WIDENING CHOKE-POINTS:      For example, the exit 14-15 bottleneck in Norwalk.  But this widening project (for less than one mile) cost $50 million and took three years.  The I-84 / Route 8 “Mixmaster” rebuild in Waterbury took six years and cost $253 million.  Both projects were funded mostly with Federal funds, but it’s anyone’s guess what will happen to that money pot under the new administration’s budget cutting.

ADD A ZIPPER LANE:      Sure, this may require highway widening, but just one lane that’s reversible depending on demand, a system that was used successfully on the Tappan Zee Bridge before its reconstruction.  By moving the extra lane, capacity can be added to the direction where there’s the most traffic.

CHANGE COMMUTING HOURS:  Does everyone really need to work 9 am – 5 pm?  How about starting earlier or later and spreading out the traffic?  Your employer should understand and you’ll be happier and more productive.

And the very best idea of all:  IMPROVE MASS TRANSIT TO ENCOURAGE DRIVERS to get off of the roads.

As I say, there are no simple solutions to highway congestion.  So when anyone says he or she has one, be skeptical.  It’s easy to identify the problems.  But fixing them will always be hard… and usually expensive.

 

AVELO AIRLINES: NEITHER WOKE NOR BROKE

Connecticut’s favorite local airline, Avelo, is in trouble for making a strategic business decision:  taking a long term contract with ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to fly deportation flights for the Department of Homeland Security.

Starting in May they’re dedicating three of their twenty 737 jets to fly from Mesa AZ to destinations both in the US and overseas (presumably flying over the “Gulf of America”), possibly even heading to El Salvador to deliver deportees to prisons there. 

The public reaction, while understandable, is misplaced.

Avelo has enjoyed amazing success flying out of New Haven’s Tweed airport, growing from 50,000 passengers in 2019 to a current 600,000 happy flyers.  They fly to 31 different destinations and have recently added flights from Bradley airport.

The convenience of flying from a local airport and the super low fares have made Avelo immensely popular, so the deal with ICE has some fans upset.  It’s almost as if Patagonia took a contract to design prison guard uniforms:  it’s way “off brand”.

But remember, Avelo is a common carrier airline.  Their business if flying planes, not passing judgement on passengers or destinations.

They’ve flown hundreds of charter flights for everything from sports teams to tour groups.  They’ve even flown deportation flights for ICE during the Biden administration… and nobody complained.

In fact, Avelo started as a charter airline, Casino Express (later renamed as Xtra Airlines), ferrying gamblers to Nevada.  They even provided charters for the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016.  This is their business: flying.

Avelo has been receiving financial support from the state in the form of a tax exemption on its aviation fuel. The City of New Haven has been fawning over them as a hometown success story (even though the airline is officially headquartered in Texas).  But all that has now changed.

Now there are calls for a passenger boycott and financial penalties.   But hey… isn’t this anger misplaced?

If you’re upset with ICE’s deportations, isn’t your anger better directed at them?  Where are the legal appeals?  Penalizing or boycotting Avelo won’t stop the deportations. 

There are many US-flagged airlines taking the ICE charter contracts, including the reinvented Eastern Airlines which converted a 767 used for The New England Patriots to handle deportations to Brazil and Venezuela.

Avelo says this deal with ICE was a business decision.  Though profitable, Avelo (like other no-frills airlines) pinches pennies.  They don’t fly everywhere, every day… only on the heavier travel days when they can pack their planes and make a buck.

Taking on the ICE charters, they say, is a way of subsidizing their low fares as we face an economic recession and keeping their employees on payroll.  In fact, they’re looking to hire new flight attendants for their Mesa AZ operations, paying $28 an hour.

If protesters would “read the room” they’d realize that many of Avelo’s passengers probably support the deportations.  After all, President Trump is only doing what he promised and what got him elected.

As I’ve said before, Americans deserve the government they elect.

  

BY NIGHT BOAT FROM HARTFORD TO NYC

Flashback 200 years.  You have to travel from Hartford to NYC.  How do you get there?  Not by train (it didn’t exist yet) and certainly not by road (2-3 days by stage coach on dirt roads).  No, the best option was by boat.

Long before the railroad stitched Hartford to New York City, the Connecticut River served as the city’s lifeline to the outside world. From the late 1700s through the mid-1800s, an evolving fleet of sail and later steam-powered vessels carried passengers and cargo between Hartford and Manhattan, offering a vital and—by the standards of the day—relatively comfortable mode of travel.

At one point, Hartford saw 2000 ship arrivals and departures each year departing from the State Street or Talcott Street wharfs in Hartford,

In the early 1800s, packet sloops and schooners plied the river, their sails filling with wind as they made their way downriver to Long Island Sound. But the trip could still take several days, depending on weather and tides. Passengers brought food and bedding, and travel was anything but posh. Yet it was the only practical way to move not only people but bulk goods like timber, livestock, tobacco, and farm produce between inland Connecticut and the growing metropolis to the south.

The revolution came in 1813, when Captain Samuel Ward, inspired by Robert Fulton, launched the Connecticut, the first steamboat to serve the river. By the 1820s and 1830s, steam travel had become a fixture, offering more predictable service regardless of wind or tide. Steamboats like the 273-foot-long City of Hartford and the Granite State could make the journey from Hartford to New York City in 14 to 18 hours, often departing in the evening and arriving the next morning—ushering in the age of the “night boat.”

Steamboat "City of Hartford"

Fares were remarkably affordable. A cabin ticket—which included sleeping quarters and meals—typically cost $1.50 to $2.00 one way (about $75 today). Budget-conscious travelers could ride “deck passage” for just $0.50 to $1.00, though they had to supply their own bedding and brave the weather.

Passengers boarded at steamboat docks in Hartford, stopping at Middletown, Essex, and other towns along the river before entering Long Island Sound for the final leg to Manhattan’s bustling piers.

This watery highway remained dominant until the 1850s, when the completion of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad (opened in segments in 1844) and its southern connection to New York created the first through-train service. The railroad made the trip in 5-6 hours offering swanky parlor cars. By 1872, rail mergers made seamless rail travel commonplace, gradually eclipsing river travel in speed and convenience. 

The last steam boat between the two cities ran in the 1930’s due to declining passenger demand and the Depression.

So the next time you’re enjoying the (up to) three hour drive to The Big Apple, think back to simpler times when the trip was longer, but certainly more scenic.

 

BIG BROTHER AT THE BORDER

Last week’s column on the “Real ID” deadline to allow drivers licenses to be used to clear TSA at the airport struck a nerve. 

Among the many comments received, was this from Jan van Eck, who wrote:

“It is not, and never was, the purpose of TSA inspectors to go check identification papers a la East Germany:  "papers, please."   Their function is to check for weapons being brought aboard an aircraft.  That's it.

When (your column) counsels the citizenry to go get a Real-ID driver's permit  (and fork out an extra $30 for it), you are subtly encouraging the erosion of personal liberties, including the liberty to travel freely without some government bureaucrat questioning you.”

Oh, but that fun is just beginning, Jan, as you’ll find the next time you return to the US from overseas.

There have been many reports lately of returning green card and visa holders getting seriously hassled, and in some cases detained and interrogated for several days, by CBP (US Customs & Border Patrol).  As you know, ICE is picking up immigrants and starting to deport them in big numbers.  The agency says they went after “the worst, first” but now there’s pressure from the White House to pick up the pace, including our border entry points.

Several countries have issued advisories to their citizens planning trips to the US.  And travel between Canada and the US seems to have dropped off a cliff: air travel down 13%, land crossings by 23%.

But even US citizens returning home face increased scrutiny.  Sure, they can ask you to open your luggage and root around in your unmentionables.  But that’s just the beginning.

Did you know that CBP can ask to see your cellphone… and ask you to unlock it for inspection?  You can refuse but your journey will be interrupted, possibly for hours, as they query you further.  And your phone can be detained for days while they try to break in.

What are they looking for?  Is it just incriminating photos, who you follow on Tik Tok and what you may have said about President Trump?

CBP can even download what’s on your phone… every photo, text message and email… as well as all your contact info.  Some media reports indicate all of this personal info is then stored in a Federal database.  Imagine what could happen to that data if it fell into the wrong hands.

What can you do to protect your privacy?

Well, you can wipe your phone before entering the US and retrieve your data from the cloud when safely home.  Or you could travel with a “burner phone”, a low-cost, prepaid mobile phone that you use temporarily and then discard or stop using.

It’s one thing to protect our country from immigrants, legal or otherwise.  But it’s quite another to invade our citizens’ privacy on a potential witch hunt for political dissent.

 

ARE YOU READY FOR REAL ID?

Quick.  Look at your Connecticut driver’s license!  If you don’t see a gold star in the upper right corner, you’ll soon be unable to use that as ID to fly.

By May 7, 2025, the familiar dance at airport security will change for Connecticut residents. That’s when the long-delayed Real ID requirement takes effect, and if you’re still flashing a standard driver’s license (without the gold star), you may find yourself grounded—literally. After years of extensions and bureaucratic back-and-forth, the Real ID Act is finally becoming reality, and now is the time to (finally) make sure you’re ready.

The Real ID Act isn’t new. It was passed by Congress in 2005, in the wake of 9/11, to establish more secure standards for state-issued identification. The goal? To prevent fraud and enhance national security by tightening documentation requirements for driver's licenses and ID cards used to board domestic flights or enter federal buildings. The intent was clear, but the rollout has been anything but swift. Many states pushed back, citing logistical challenges, and the federal government granted multiple extensions—COVID-19 being the most recent cause for delay. But those grace periods are ending.

The Connecticut DMV started offering the REAL ID verification way back in October 2011.  As of this January, the TSA said Connecticut had 70% of residents with REAL ID’s.  Compare that to Florida (98%) or Kentucky (32%).

If you plan to board a domestic flight or enter a federal building after May 7, 2025, you’ll need a Real ID-compliant license or an acceptable alternative like a passport. Fortunately, the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has made the process fairly straightforward—but it does require a bit of prep.

To upgrade to a Real ID, you’ll need to visit a DMV office in person. Bring with you: one form of identity (like a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate), proof of Social Security (such as a Social Security card or W-2), and two pieces of mail proving Connecticut residency (maybe a utility bill or bank statement). If your name has changed due to marriage or divorce, bring the legal documentation to prove that. These requirements may sound excessive, but that’s the point—this ID is meant to be ironclad.

Appointments are required, and they fill up fast, so don’t wait until the last minute. You can schedule your time online at ct.gov/dmv by selecting “Make an Appointment” under the Real ID section. Some AAA locations also offer Real ID services, which can be a less stressful alternative to the main DMV offices.  Call ahead.

If you have all the right paperwork, the whole process takes about 5 minutes and your new “gold star” license will arrive by mail in a few days.  Assuming your drivers license is still current, the Real ID update will cost $30.

Bottom line: May 2025 may feel far away, but in DMV time, it's tomorrow. The security line at your favorite airport will be moving with or without you—so make sure you’ve got the Real ID when the TSA agent asks for it.

 

THE HIGH COST OF FREE PARKING

As the housing debate rages statewide, one of the issues seldom addressed is that of “free parking”. 

It’s one thing to increase housing density to hopefully bring us more affordable domiciles, but we have to remember that parking must be part of the equation… properly managed and priced.

Critics argue that each parking space in a new development takes up about 325 sq feet.  That means 2 or 3 spaces could require as much land as a studio apartment or small store.  And the cost of parking just adds to construction costs:  as much as $10,000 per space on a surface lot, $50,000 on a parking structure and $100,000 in an underground lot.

Consider Bridgeport where as many as 200 homeless are living on the streets.  To encourage more housing development, in 2022 the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission eliminated minimum on-site parking for new developments.  That has many fearing street battles over limited curbside parking if empty lots turn into multi-family apartments without built-in, on-site parking.

On one site on East Main Street a NYC-based developer wants to construct 74 apartments (and street-level retail space) in a five story building with no parking.  On average that would mean 60 – 80 new cars in the neighborhood.

Of course, if developments were to be located near existing public transportation, residents wouldn’t need as many cars to get to school, work and shopping.  But that’s a siting and transit funding issue.

Donald Shoup of UCLA (who died recently at age 86) published that in Los Angeles including parking in housing construction increased apartment rents by $200–$500 per month due to added construction and financing costs.

As he wrote in his seminal book, The High Cost of Free Parking (2005), free parking is never really free.  Building more parking, like widening highways, just encourages more use of cars, adding to the problem.

In downtown Hartford it’s estimated that 22% of land is dedicated to parking.  And that’s just surface lots (costing drivers $100 per month), not parking structures ($200 per month) or street parking ($240 per month).  Compare those costs to a monthly bus pass on CTtransit ($63) or CTRail ($267 for unlimited rides from/to New Haven).

Parking lots in downtown Hartford

Look at your own town or city.  Being selfish, we all want parking right in front of our destination… as close as possible to the front door.  Ever notice when you go someplace new, like a theater or event space, their websites give driving directions but seldom show mass transit options?

None of the solutions to this parking problem will be popular:

PRICE PARKING AT MARKET RATES:           Let the demand (and limited supply) determine the actual cost of parking.  If the lot is always full (forcing people to drive around), it’s too cheap.

CHARGE FOR PARKING AT WORK / SCHOOL:       Rather than employers eating the cost, make their employee drivers pay a share.  That would right-size the true cost of driving vs taking mass transit.  Reward employees who don’t drive by subsidizing their transit costs, exactly like CDOT’s CTpass program does.

As I say… not popular, but worth thinking about.

 

 

 

RINALDI RETIRES AS MNRR PRESIDENT

“It's been the job of a lifetime,” says Catherine Rinaldi, Metro-North’s first female President, who is set to retire at the end of the month. “It's been just such an honor and a privilege to be able to lead this amazing organization… these heroes who performed the daily miracle (of running 700 trains) every day.” 

Miracle?  Hardly.  But with such an aging infrastructure and so many moving parts,  I’ve got to give Metro-North (and Ms. Rinaldi) credit for a job well done.

Rinaldi came to the railroad in 2003 as a lawyer and helped run Metro-North (and the LIRR for a while) through the dark days of COVID when more than 100  MTA workers died, as they kept service going while 90% of riders hunkered down in quarantine.

“The agency really rose to the occasion and continued to carry essential workers and continued to do what we needed to do to keep the region moving even during that very difficult, scary time.”

Asked what she thought were her greatest accomplishments during her tenure, she pointed to the railroad’s record high on-time performance and improved customer service ratings.

She did not mention the railroad’s huge improvements in communications… the TrainTime app, email and text notifications and vastly improved website.  Nor did she cite the Penn Station Access plan, the opening of Grand Central Madison, additional stations coming to the Bronx, infrastructure and accessibility improvements and new dual-mode locomotives on order.

But she did mention Metro-North’s finally installing PTC, Positive Train Control, hopefully eliminating human error tied to such incidents as the 2013 derailment at Spuyten Duyvil in the Bronx when four passengers died and 61 were injured. Despite this safety tech, our trains still run slower than decades ago, extending commute times.

She said the railroad is working with the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) to improve speeds, calling it a “continuing dialogue”.  And she did plug the railroad’s three “super-express” early morning rush-hour trains from New Haven which make the run to Grant Central in 99 minutes… not quite the 60 minute trip time Governor Lamont called for in 2019.

I also asked President Rinaldi “what went wrong with the Quiet Car concept”.  She said she knew this was long-time issue in my advocacy for passengers but said, with ridership coming back strong (now 81% of pre-COVID on weekdays) she needs to make every seat in every car available to all.

Launched in 2012, the Quiet Car concept mimicked Amtrak and other railroads but was never properly enforced by conductors (just like the railroad’s COVID mask mandate) and was dropped during the pandemic (just like the masks).

“The quiet car (idea) is not something that I was looking to bring back,” she said. 

Neither is she optimistic about the railroad ever introducing Wi-Fi on trains, instead encouraging cell providers to fill coverage gaps along their routes.

First proposed in 2006, the Wi-Fi idea was endorsed by Governor Lamont and kickstarted in Connecticut with our legislature’s $23 million special appropriation to CDOT, money which seems to have disappeared. That leaves Metro-North as one of the only commuter lines in the US lacking this passenger-attracting amenity.

Public records show Rinaldi’s 2022 salary was $372,639 but in the private sector her many years of experience could bring her much more.  She demurred when I asked if she’d become a consultant like many of her predecessors.  Though she’s probably eligible for a nice pension, don’t expect to see her sitting on some beach.  “I don't think I'm ready to be like retired retired,” she said with a chuckle.

 

NEW LOCOMOTIVES - BATTERIES INCLUDED

The “green movement” has made great strides in transportation:  electric cars and buses are already running in Connecticut, helping reduce pollution.  And soon electric locomotives will be added to the mix.

The old diesel locomotives we used for decades were really dirty, spewing carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas), nitrogen oxides (contributing to acid rain), sulfur dioxide (more acid rain) and soot (think: asthma).

The old FL9 loco at Danbury Railway Museum

Those FL9 diesels came into service in the 1950s and ran on third-rail electric power into Grand Central, but are now history. (You can still see a couple at the Danbury Railway Museum.)  The old locos were so unreliable that they’d be left running (and spewing) all night at the Danbury station just to be sure they’d start in the morning. 

But now the MTA is ordering 13 battery-electric locomotives from Siemens Mobility North America.  They will run “under the wire” on the all-electric main line but rely on batteries along the unelectrified Danbury and Waterbury branches and for entering NYC.  They will also be essential for Metro-North’s plans to extend service to Penn Station where (like at Grand Central) diesel trains are not allowed.

Years ago, Danbury trains from GCT pulled by the old FL9s were often unable to use their third-rail “shoes” to leave the station under electric power.  Just before departure they’d unplug from “shore power” at GCT, shut off their HVAC system and fire up their diesel engines for the ten-minute trip through the Park Avenue tunnel.

The resulting pollution was intense, which is why they turned off the air circulation onboard until reaching 125^th Street.  The practice, though not frequent (I experienced it myself!) was technically illegal, but the railroad did it anyway.  Now this won’t be an issue anymore.

The new battery equipped locomotives will cost about $24 million each and should start arriving in 2029.

In the rest of the world it’s often cheaper to go with batteries than to electrify the rail lines. In Europe and Japan all-electric, battery powered trains are often used on commuter runs of up to 75 miles, recharging at stations in as little as 20 minutes.  Though the batteries are heavy, they can last 10-15 years before needing replacements (up to $1 million per engine). Like electric cars, there are fewer moving parts so maintenance is much easier.

Best of all, they’re quieter, cleaner and accelerate a lot faster.  And operating costs are cheaper given the cost of diesel fuel.  While diesel trains’ fuel cost $1.50 - $2.50 per mile to operate, battery powered trains cost only ten to thirty cents a mile.

And like our current M8 electric trains, the new locos will use regenerative braking, using their brakes as mini-generators to give the batteries a boost when slowing down.

Of course, all of this “greening” of Metro-North may wither on the vine if the MTA’s congestion pricing toll plan gets killed by the White House. So, as we say, “stay tuned for further developments”.

 

PLOWING THROUGH WINTER

So, how have you been enjoying this winter so far?  We’ve already had eight inches of snow in Hartford, compounded by heavy winds, downed power lines and wind-chills in the single digits.  February is the cruelest of months.

But thanks to local and CDOT road crews, our highways get cleared and we can, though bundled up, get on with our business.

Before a storm hits local TV stations do the inevitable lame stories showing salt being loaded into trucks and road crews honing their plows.  But preparing for winter and snow removal is something that takes many months of planning. 

Take my little town of Darien, for example.

Since 2014 Ed Gentile has led a small but capable army of 22 DPW workers operating seven large trucks, seven “low boys” and five pick-ups all equipped with salt spreaders.  When conditions warrant, the town can also call in private contractors.

Gentile starts planning his snow budget more than a year before the first flakes fall. “I look back over the last five years for patterns.  But having lived my whole life in New England I know how unpredictable winter can be,” says Gentile.

He even admits to checking what the Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts, but tempers those prophesies with a private meteorological service as well as AccuWeather and Weather Underground apps.

At the first hint of snow in the forecast, Gentile choreographs his staff and equipment for maximum effect.

On weekdays his target is to clear streets by 6 am so commuters can get to the train and school buses can make their rounds.  “Go time” for his crews is usually around 3 am.

Salting of roads doesn’t happen until the first snow hits the ground.  Some steeper hills get treated with brine, a mix of salt and water, but DEEP doesn’t allow sand in this part of the state due to run-off into catch basins and Long Island Sound.

The town (population 20,000) buys 1000 to 1500 tons of salt each year, literally shipped to New Haven harbor.  Current salt prices are $78 a ton.

By 5 am the DPW Director is on the phone with the Superintendent of Schools confirming start time for classes or possible delays.  Though kids may be able to get to school, teachers and staff driving from upstate may not be as lucky.

When there’s an inch of snow on the ground, the plowing begins along eleven routes already familiar to drivers who practice in good weather with their full gear.  That helps minimize damage like ripped-up curbs, front lawns and chopped-off mailboxes.

The town is responsible for 81 miles of local streets while CDOT tends to state highways like Route 1, I-95 and the Merritt Parkway.  Gentile says the two armies work together seamlessly.

After a storm the DPW folks return to parking lots to load their plowed mountains of snow into trucks for removal to the town dump for eventual melting.  Though the town has two beaches, snow is not dumped there to avoid polluting the pristine waters of LI Sound.

February is almost done but winter can last for many more weeks, keeping road crews like Gentile’s busy across the state.  So, give them room to do their job keeping you safe.

THE GOOD, THE BAD... AND THE IMPRACTICAL

There’s so much news to cover this week on the transportation front!

THE GOOD:           Kudos to Governor Lamont’s budget team for promising to prioritize long-planned transportation construction in their proposed $55.2 billion two-year budget.  Despite President Trump’s promise to tie federal funding to states’ compliance with policies on masks, vaccines, tolls and immigration enforcement, the CDOT says their work will continue.

Planned Derby-Shelton Bus / Train Station

Congrats also to CDOT for their planned $32 million rebuild of the Derby-Shelton train and bus station on the Waterbury branch.  Ridership on that line is up significantly since more trains were added (a 47% increase) and there are several TOD (transit oriented development) projects underway in those two towns.  Ridership and development should expand even further when new locomotives and railcars arrive.  Much of the credit for these initiatives must go to local resident Jim Gildea, Chair of the CT Public Transportation Council, who has advocated tirelessly for Valley riders for more than a decade.

And remember last week’s column when I asked about possible competition for Amtrak in the northeast?  Well, AmeriStar Rail LLC has just written the White House, DOGE and the US DOT reminding them that the private group has $5 billion in private funding waiting to build new trains and “partner”, as opposed to compete, with Amtrak.  Let’s see if the new Trump-Musk team gets wind of this and can persuade Amtrak to cooperate, if not compete.  More trains should mean better service and lower fares.

THE BAD:    Our state’s lofty goals for EV adoption are crashing faster than a self-driving Tesla. The 2022 legislature’s ambitious target of 50% electric vehicles in the state’s fleet of 2400 cars and trucks by 2026 can’t possibly be met. To date the state has just 43 such vehicles. 

THE IMPRACTICAL:         Ah, the power of the purse!  Because the CDOT budget is controlled by our state lawmakers, the agency has to answer to some truly strange ideas packaged as proposed laws.

Consider State Rep Alex Bolinsky’s (R-Newtown) bill to study widening of I-84 between Waterbury and Danbury, a stretch of congested highway the lawmaker knows well from his regular drive to the Capitol. He wants to add a third lane as a solution to get traffic rolling smoother.

As I have written any number of times, the “adding one more lane should fix it” idea doesn’t work.  Adding capacity just increases demand, encouraging more traffic. 

While there is no existing rail line connecting Danbury and Hartford, a better solution for the traffic on I-84 might be to improve bus service (perhaps with a dedicated bus lane) or encourage car-pooling. Let’s not waste millions on another study or billions on construction that would soon prove obsolete.

Rep Bolinsky’s obviously no fan of other people driving on ‘his’ roads as he is also author of a bill that would stop apps like WAZE from directing people off the congested highways and on to local roads to avoid delays.  It’s a great piece of tech… until it affects your neighborhood.

Any lawmaker can submit a bill for consideration by the legislature and claim they’ve done something for their constituents.  (In all, 3329 bills have been submitted this session.)  Let’s see if the Transportation Committee is smart enough to leave these bills by the side of the road.

 

COMPETITION FOR AMTRAK?

As President upends the way things are done in DC, I thought I’d revisit an idea I wrote about two years ago that he might just consider.  Trump is big on privatizing government services (like the post office), so why not Amtrak, too?

Why does the US have only one serious passenger railroad?  And given its monopoly and high fares, wouldn’t a choice of rail carriers bring better service and lower prices?

Sure, Amtrak competes against the air shuttles (which are faster, but even more expensive), buses (much cheaper and slower) and, of course, cars (also slower).  But why does the would-be rail rider have only one choice of railroad… Amtrak?

Well, under Federal law Amtrak has the sole right to carry rail passengers interstate (not counting the commuter railroads), but that could change.  Maybe it’s time for a private company to offer an additional, alternative high-speed rail service.

Enter:  AmeriStarRail LLC.

Though they would not disclose who their financial backers are, AmeriStar claims to have $5.5 billion ready to spend on its own fleet of 160 mph high-speed trains built by the same company Amtrak is using for the next generation of Acela trainsets.

But unlike Amtrak’s Avelia Liberty trains which will have nine cars (just for business and first class seating) AmeriStar’s would have 12 cars and offer coach seating too.  That should mean lower fares and faster service than Amtrak’s 50+ year old Amfleet trains, the only coach-class trains between Boston and DC.

AmeriStar’s proposed offerings sound too good to be true: adults would be able to bring two kids under the age of 18 for free.  There’d be free Wi-Fi and compartment seating like on European trains.  Food service could be ordered and delivered to your seat.

And AmeriStar wouldn’t just run between Boston, NYC and DC.  They’d also compete on routes like Springfield MA to Harrisburg PA (via CT and NYC) and offer hourly non-stops from New Haven to Penn Station taking just 99 minutes. Between DC and NYC AmeriStar trains would run every 30 minutes at speeds up to 160 mph.

Amtrak Avelia - Still Undergoing Testing

AmeriStar plans for its trains to also run north from NYC to Albany and continue from Boston up to Bangor Maine.  South of Washington they’ll run as far as Richmond VA.  And some trains will even serve Long Island all the way to Ronkonkoma (something Amtrak is also now considering).

Is all of this possible?  Maybe. Rail experts, talking off the record, were skeptical.

They’re not sure there are enough “slots” to add more trains on the NE Corridor (which, by the way, is owned and run by Amtrak).  The commuter railroads who’d see new competition won’t be enthusiastic (or cooperative), they said.

When I asked Metro-North for their thoughts a couple of years ago they said they “declined to comment” and suggested I speak to Amtrak.  But, despite numerous attempts, Amtrak never responded.  Neither did officials at CDOT.  I wonder why.

But the pro-rider Rail Passengers Association said “AmeriStar makes a good point… high speed trains should be affordable to all Americans” and right now they’re not.

Maybe a little competition for Amtrak will be good for us all. And maybe, just maybe, this is something our new President might actually consider?