Wow. Time sure flies when you’re terrified. Can you believe it’s been half a decade since the terrorist attacks of 9/11? I can’t. But hardly a day passes without me thinking of that day and what happened because, like so many other Americans, I’m waiting for “act two”… the next attack.
Let me be blunt: I think we are no safer today than we were on 9/11, especially when it comes to travel. Here are the facts:
AIR TRAVEL: While passengers and their luggage endure endless searches… while we can no longer carry a bottle of water or a cigarette lighter on a commercial flight, thousands of daily flights carry tons of cargo in their bellies that goes unchecked. Even the TSA’s passenger screening misses dangerous objects in secret tests. Flying is still far from safe.
TRAINS: Amtrak and Metro-North are easy targets due to their lax security. While MTA Police conduct random bag checks in the NYC subway, Connecticut’s State Police has publicly announced that none will be done in our state, preferring instead to conduct “behavioral profiling” of passengers. But the CT State Troopers are so understaffed that the only time you’ll see them on the trains is when there’s a terrorist alert, and that’s mostly for PR value. Lacking personnel, Metro-North asks passengers to play cop with its “If you see something, say something” self-help approach to security.
If you make it to Grand Central, you’re still not safe. I no longer stroll thru the station, marveling at its glories, but move quickly to the street. What better target for a suicide bomber than a crowded waiting room at rush hour?
SHIPPING: See those trucks on I-95 carrying cargo shipping containers? Do you know what’s inside? Well neither does the driver or US Customs. Only a handful of the thousands of containers that arrive on ships at Port Elizabeth NJ each day are scanned or inspected. And the truck inspection station in Greenwich still remains closed more hours than it is opened. Feel safe?
CRUISE SHIPS: Yes, they scan your bags when you board. But they’re looking for smuggled bottles of wine that eat into ship-board profits more than anything else. Did you know that a cruise ship was attacked by pirates off the coast of Africa last year? Or that Al Qaeda actually has a fleet of merchant vessels sailing who knows where? If a suicide bomber could rip a hole in the USS Cole, why not the Queen Mary 2?
BUSSES: No bag inspections. No metal detectors. And the favorite target of terrorists in Israel.
PRIVATE CARS: I hate to admit it, but this is about the safest way to travel. Not the fastest or most economical, but maybe the safest.
So does all this mean I’m no longer riding Metro-North, that I’m driving to LA or forgoing the pleasures of a winter cruise in the Caribbean? Not hardly. I still use mass transit, but I’m still scared. Our government couldn’t prevent 9/11, even though they’d been warned it was coming. And I doubt they’ll prevent “act two”. So we all just play the long-shot odds that “it” won’t happen to us.
Since 9/11 we have spent $135 billion fighting in Iraq. That’s $177 million a day… $7.5 million in an hour (an average rush-hour commute). Be honest… has any of that spending made you feel safer here at home?
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JIM CAMERON has been a Darien resident, transit activist and commuter for 15 years. You can reach him at Cameron06820@gmail.com or www.trainweb.org/ct
September 11, 2006
August 28, 2006
"Crunch Time for Metro-North"
Fresh and rested from their summer vacations, commuters are in for a rude surprise when they board Metro-North trains this week: no seats, more over-crowding and problems with the AC.
Yes, better times are ahead. The new contract for the M8 cars has been signed and bonding money has been approved, but it won’t be until 2009 that even a prototype for the new cars is delivered for testing. So figure on 2010 before we commuters will actually ride in one.
Meantime, ridership on Metro-North continues to climb. It’s up 5% this year with no sign of it leveling off anytime soon. And those additional passengers are scrambling for seats on a dwindling number of rail cars. July saw only eight trains out of ten with enough cars, down from nine trains out of ten last summer.
Air conditioning has been spotty at best. At the Commuter Council meeting the other night, CDOT told us that 90+% of all trains have AC. However, Council members riding home after the meeting found there wasn’t a single car on their eight car train that had AC. So much for statistics.
As bad as service has been in some past winters, the summers are proving an increasing problem for the railroad. Ask why and you’ll hear logical explanations… the aging fleet, sagging overhead catenary (electric) wires in the summer heat, inadequate service facilities. Again, plans are underway to fix all of those situations, but it’ll take time. And we’re talking years, not months.
As for now, what’s a commuter to do? How can you cope with crowding on your favorite train or on cars without AC? A few suggestions from veteran riders:
1) ALTER YOUR SCHEDULE: You might find that by taking an earlier or later train there’s less crowding. A lot depends on where the train starts, so check the timetable to see if you’re among the first passengers to board, or the last, when it’s probably crowded.
2) TAKE TWO TRAINS, NOT ONE: If you board a train that’s full, see if you can switch to another train enroute. Often by stepping off a jammed train at Stamford and catching a new train which starts there, you can have your pick of seats and get into Grand Central only ten minutes later.
3) IF YOU MUST STAND, CHOSE WISELY: The best place for standees is the bar car where there’s room to spread out. The vestibule (door-way) on regular cars often has a little room for sitting, albeit on the floor. But by all means, try to not stand in the aisles. If you’re lucky, the train will be so crowded the conductor won’t even try to collect tickets.
4) IF YOU’RE IN A “HOT CAR”, REPORT IT: Odds are you’ll enjoy one of Metro-North’s “Sauna Cars” before the winter, but don’t assume “they” are working on the problem. The railroad counts on commuters (and crews) to report “hot cars”, so do your part. Make note of the car number (found at the rear and outside of each car), the train number (found in the timetable), date and time of the incident, and report it to 1-800-RAIL-HOT. That will start the repair wheels turning.
As I say, things will get better in the coming years, but we’ve got some rough track ahead on Metro-North. Together, we’ll make it through.
JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 15 years. You can reach him at cameron06820@gmail.com or www.trainweb.org/ct
Yes, better times are ahead. The new contract for the M8 cars has been signed and bonding money has been approved, but it won’t be until 2009 that even a prototype for the new cars is delivered for testing. So figure on 2010 before we commuters will actually ride in one.
Meantime, ridership on Metro-North continues to climb. It’s up 5% this year with no sign of it leveling off anytime soon. And those additional passengers are scrambling for seats on a dwindling number of rail cars. July saw only eight trains out of ten with enough cars, down from nine trains out of ten last summer.
Air conditioning has been spotty at best. At the Commuter Council meeting the other night, CDOT told us that 90+% of all trains have AC. However, Council members riding home after the meeting found there wasn’t a single car on their eight car train that had AC. So much for statistics.
As bad as service has been in some past winters, the summers are proving an increasing problem for the railroad. Ask why and you’ll hear logical explanations… the aging fleet, sagging overhead catenary (electric) wires in the summer heat, inadequate service facilities. Again, plans are underway to fix all of those situations, but it’ll take time. And we’re talking years, not months.
As for now, what’s a commuter to do? How can you cope with crowding on your favorite train or on cars without AC? A few suggestions from veteran riders:
1) ALTER YOUR SCHEDULE: You might find that by taking an earlier or later train there’s less crowding. A lot depends on where the train starts, so check the timetable to see if you’re among the first passengers to board, or the last, when it’s probably crowded.
2) TAKE TWO TRAINS, NOT ONE: If you board a train that’s full, see if you can switch to another train enroute. Often by stepping off a jammed train at Stamford and catching a new train which starts there, you can have your pick of seats and get into Grand Central only ten minutes later.
3) IF YOU MUST STAND, CHOSE WISELY: The best place for standees is the bar car where there’s room to spread out. The vestibule (door-way) on regular cars often has a little room for sitting, albeit on the floor. But by all means, try to not stand in the aisles. If you’re lucky, the train will be so crowded the conductor won’t even try to collect tickets.
4) IF YOU’RE IN A “HOT CAR”, REPORT IT: Odds are you’ll enjoy one of Metro-North’s “Sauna Cars” before the winter, but don’t assume “they” are working on the problem. The railroad counts on commuters (and crews) to report “hot cars”, so do your part. Make note of the car number (found at the rear and outside of each car), the train number (found in the timetable), date and time of the incident, and report it to 1-800-RAIL-HOT. That will start the repair wheels turning.
As I say, things will get better in the coming years, but we’ve got some rough track ahead on Metro-North. Together, we’ll make it through.
JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 15 years. You can reach him at cameron06820@gmail.com or www.trainweb.org/ct
August 15, 2006
"Fix My Station, Please!"
If we’re ever to encourage commuters to get out of their cars and onto the train, we first have to give them a parking space and a station they feel safe commuting from. I’ve recently written about the railroad station parking mess, so let’s talk now about the stations.
Is it too much to ask for a safe, well-lit shelter to call home while waiting for Metro-North? Probably not, but for the Connecticut Dept. of Transportation (which owns the stations and leases them to the towns), it’s a goal seldom achieved. For example…
After millions of dollars in renovations, the Darien station was fitted with indoor light fixtures, installed outdoors on the platform. The lights fill with rainwater and short out the electrical system, plunging the station into darkness. Despite years of appeals by town officials for repairs, it took Governor Rell to step in and order the CDOT to “fix it!”
Days later there were fresh complaints about the Stamford station’s parking garage and again the Governor micro-managed the matter, this time ordering CDOT to inspect all of the stations and get on with needed repairs.
But why another inspection when CDOT just paid $1.6 million to Urbitran, a consulting firm, for a three-year study and engineering analysis of all the stations? Those reports, dozens of pages thick for each station, were never acted upon. Why will things be any different this time?
The Commuter Council offered Governor Rell our help in inspecting the stations. After all, we ride from them every day and know what’s in disrepair. But the Governor’s people said “no thanks”.
So, we jumped into the matter anyhow, launching the “Fix My Station Photo Campaign”. We’re asking commuters to send us digital pictures of needed repairs at their stations. We’ll post them on the Commuter Council’s website (www.trainweb.org/ct) for all to see and, in a few weeks, will send a print-out to the Governor and CDOT.
Our hope is to jump-start the inspections by alerting CDOT staffers to some obvious priorities. But we’re also benchmarking the current situation so we can go back in six weeks, six months or a year from now and judge the progress, if any.
The response by commuters has been tremendous. Within days we’d received dozens of snapshots of broken stairs, rusted girders and peeling paint. In some places there were exposed electrical wires, in others, safety violations.
There’s still time to contribute your photos. Just send them to FixMyStation@camcomm.com and include your name and a description of where each photo was taken.
Governor Rell says this time things will get fixed. Time (and these photos) will tell.
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JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 15 years. He is Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at jim@camcomm.com or www.trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see http://www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com/
Is it too much to ask for a safe, well-lit shelter to call home while waiting for Metro-North? Probably not, but for the Connecticut Dept. of Transportation (which owns the stations and leases them to the towns), it’s a goal seldom achieved. For example…
After millions of dollars in renovations, the Darien station was fitted with indoor light fixtures, installed outdoors on the platform. The lights fill with rainwater and short out the electrical system, plunging the station into darkness. Despite years of appeals by town officials for repairs, it took Governor Rell to step in and order the CDOT to “fix it!”
Days later there were fresh complaints about the Stamford station’s parking garage and again the Governor micro-managed the matter, this time ordering CDOT to inspect all of the stations and get on with needed repairs.
But why another inspection when CDOT just paid $1.6 million to Urbitran, a consulting firm, for a three-year study and engineering analysis of all the stations? Those reports, dozens of pages thick for each station, were never acted upon. Why will things be any different this time?
The Commuter Council offered Governor Rell our help in inspecting the stations. After all, we ride from them every day and know what’s in disrepair. But the Governor’s people said “no thanks”.
So, we jumped into the matter anyhow, launching the “Fix My Station Photo Campaign”. We’re asking commuters to send us digital pictures of needed repairs at their stations. We’ll post them on the Commuter Council’s website (www.trainweb.org/ct) for all to see and, in a few weeks, will send a print-out to the Governor and CDOT.
Our hope is to jump-start the inspections by alerting CDOT staffers to some obvious priorities. But we’re also benchmarking the current situation so we can go back in six weeks, six months or a year from now and judge the progress, if any.
The response by commuters has been tremendous. Within days we’d received dozens of snapshots of broken stairs, rusted girders and peeling paint. In some places there were exposed electrical wires, in others, safety violations.
There’s still time to contribute your photos. Just send them to FixMyStation@camcomm.com and include your name and a description of where each photo was taken.
Governor Rell says this time things will get fixed. Time (and these photos) will tell.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 15 years. He is Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at jim@camcomm.com or www.trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see http://www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com/
July 24, 2006
"Online On The Train"
Imagine this: you settle into the comfortable seat in your new M8-equipped Metro-North express to Grand Central. But rather than read your paper, you fire up your laptop and log onto your company’s computer network. You are online, productive and “on the clock”, as you zoom at 90 miles an hour to your job in the city. Far fetched? Not really.
On many commuter railroads around the world, such Internet access is already happening… not just as a passenger amenity, but as a draw to attract more passengers.
The July issue of “Governing” magazine describes how Albuquerque is building wi-fi into its new commuter rail network, based on the overwhelming success of the offering on its bus routes. Closer to home, the “Hampton Jitney” (a bus) offers wireless connectivity on its run from Manhattan to Long Island.
Even the ferry boats that ply the waters off of Seattle offer passengers the chance to log-on during their passage to the mainland. In California’s Riverside County, the wiring of just three buses in its CommuterLink service saw a surge in ridership. Of the new riders, 43% were using the Internet service compared to 23% of the previous passengers.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, one study suggested that offering wireless Internet access on the region’s commuter trains could boost ridership by 60%.
Not that Metro-North needs to do anything to attract more passengers. But it would be nice if it gave us the chance to be more productive during our commute.
Key to the concept’s success, says the California study, is getting employers to recognize that an employee who’s logged-on is already on the job and should, effectively, be paid while commuting.
But isn’t that what many of us do already… work while we commute? Whether it’s going over papers, writing e-mails on a laptop or (heaven forbid!) talking on our cellphone with clients, aren’t we already working?
So if all this online access is good enough for the rest of the commuting world, why don’t we have it in Connecticut? Good question.
The answer is: it’s coming. Metro-North President Peter Cannito is a big believer in wi-fi and has made sure that our new rail cars will have it embedded in their electronics. The new M8 cars will also be able to “talk” with MTA headquarters, updating them on train diagnostics. And space is being set aside in each of the new cars for similar electronics to allow our laptops to access the ‘net.
The cost of the service and who’ll be the vendor have yet to be determined. Metro-North is a bit gun-shy about adopting the “latest and greatest” technology, only to see it get leap-frogged in a few months. Remember the idea of pay-cellphone booths on the trains?
Right now the railroad has bigger issues to contend with… like trying to keep enough of our old cars running, hopefully with AC in the summer, to handle increasing ridership. But mark my words… it won’t be too many years before you’ll be online, on the train.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 14 years. He is Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at jim@camcomm.com or www.trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com
On many commuter railroads around the world, such Internet access is already happening… not just as a passenger amenity, but as a draw to attract more passengers.
The July issue of “Governing” magazine describes how Albuquerque is building wi-fi into its new commuter rail network, based on the overwhelming success of the offering on its bus routes. Closer to home, the “Hampton Jitney” (a bus) offers wireless connectivity on its run from Manhattan to Long Island.
Even the ferry boats that ply the waters off of Seattle offer passengers the chance to log-on during their passage to the mainland. In California’s Riverside County, the wiring of just three buses in its CommuterLink service saw a surge in ridership. Of the new riders, 43% were using the Internet service compared to 23% of the previous passengers.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, one study suggested that offering wireless Internet access on the region’s commuter trains could boost ridership by 60%.
Not that Metro-North needs to do anything to attract more passengers. But it would be nice if it gave us the chance to be more productive during our commute.
Key to the concept’s success, says the California study, is getting employers to recognize that an employee who’s logged-on is already on the job and should, effectively, be paid while commuting.
But isn’t that what many of us do already… work while we commute? Whether it’s going over papers, writing e-mails on a laptop or (heaven forbid!) talking on our cellphone with clients, aren’t we already working?
So if all this online access is good enough for the rest of the commuting world, why don’t we have it in Connecticut? Good question.
The answer is: it’s coming. Metro-North President Peter Cannito is a big believer in wi-fi and has made sure that our new rail cars will have it embedded in their electronics. The new M8 cars will also be able to “talk” with MTA headquarters, updating them on train diagnostics. And space is being set aside in each of the new cars for similar electronics to allow our laptops to access the ‘net.
The cost of the service and who’ll be the vendor have yet to be determined. Metro-North is a bit gun-shy about adopting the “latest and greatest” technology, only to see it get leap-frogged in a few months. Remember the idea of pay-cellphone booths on the trains?
Right now the railroad has bigger issues to contend with… like trying to keep enough of our old cars running, hopefully with AC in the summer, to handle increasing ridership. But mark my words… it won’t be too many years before you’ll be online, on the train.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 14 years. He is Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at jim@camcomm.com or www.trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com
June 18, 2006
"The Metro-North Commuter Council"
Some people do much than just complain about their commute. They change it, by serving on the Metro-North Commuter Council.
In recent days I have been elected Chairman of the Council, a group on which I have served for 12 years, eleven of them as Vice Chairman. I thought this might be a good time to look back at the Council’s work and discuss some of my goals for its future.
The Council was established by the Connecticut legislature 20+ years ago and was given the job of being the eyes, ears and voice for the 120,000 daily riders on Metro-North (and Shore Line East) in the state. Our nine members are all commuters, appointed by various lawmakers to this volunteer job.
The Council meets monthly with senior executives of Metro-North, Connecticut Department of Transportation and other agencies to discuss all aspects of train operations. We also hold annual “Meet the Commuter Day” events at stations, bringing these agencies to meet their commuter constituents. Our next such event will be during morning rush hour on Wednesday June 28 at the Greenwich station.
Among the Council’s accomplishments to date: Persuading Metro-North to add more early morning trains… Increasing through trains from New Canaan to Grand Central… Postponing planned fare hikes…Fighting bus substitution for trains on the branch lines… Fixing up dilapidated rail stations and getting additional parking… and getting lawmakers to finally order new rail cars.
Though we have no authority to require the rail agencies to act, we are empowered to obtain from them any information we request. Often, those requests have unearthed what we thought were misplaced priorities and, using the power of the media to expose these, we have brought about needed change.
As Chairman I see our job as being advocates, not complainers. We are agents of change. And though we are collegial with the railroad folks, we are hardly quislings. In fact, there are times when we have asked the railroad why a condition is so bad, found they had perfectly reasonable answers, and then shared those facts with our fellow commuters. The growing problem of over-crowding on the trains is a case in point (see my last column “SRO on Metro-North” for example).
We also carry our advocacy for improved commuter rail to Washington, New York and Hartford, testifying before the lawmakers and meeting with the governor’s staff. We speak to community groups, attend meetings of similarly focused organizations and, yes, even write letters to the editor and columns such as this.
The past few years have been the darkest for commuter rail, but our best times are soon to come. The funding is finally there for long over-due investment in new equipment and expanded rail service is coming. But believe me when I pledge that the Commuter Rail Council will watchdog all of these improvements as diligently as we fought for them in years past.
Meantime, we need your help… not your money but your support. We have no budget but operate in the virtual world of the web and e-mail. I encourage you to visit our website ( www.trainweb.org/ct ), read our annual report, join our e-mail alert list for updates on our work on your behalf, and most importantly, consider seeking appointment to the Council as members.
We’re all commuters and together we can influence our collective future.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 15 years. He is Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at jim@camcomm.com or www.trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com
In recent days I have been elected Chairman of the Council, a group on which I have served for 12 years, eleven of them as Vice Chairman. I thought this might be a good time to look back at the Council’s work and discuss some of my goals for its future.
The Council was established by the Connecticut legislature 20+ years ago and was given the job of being the eyes, ears and voice for the 120,000 daily riders on Metro-North (and Shore Line East) in the state. Our nine members are all commuters, appointed by various lawmakers to this volunteer job.
The Council meets monthly with senior executives of Metro-North, Connecticut Department of Transportation and other agencies to discuss all aspects of train operations. We also hold annual “Meet the Commuter Day” events at stations, bringing these agencies to meet their commuter constituents. Our next such event will be during morning rush hour on Wednesday June 28 at the Greenwich station.
Among the Council’s accomplishments to date: Persuading Metro-North to add more early morning trains… Increasing through trains from New Canaan to Grand Central… Postponing planned fare hikes…Fighting bus substitution for trains on the branch lines… Fixing up dilapidated rail stations and getting additional parking… and getting lawmakers to finally order new rail cars.
Though we have no authority to require the rail agencies to act, we are empowered to obtain from them any information we request. Often, those requests have unearthed what we thought were misplaced priorities and, using the power of the media to expose these, we have brought about needed change.
As Chairman I see our job as being advocates, not complainers. We are agents of change. And though we are collegial with the railroad folks, we are hardly quislings. In fact, there are times when we have asked the railroad why a condition is so bad, found they had perfectly reasonable answers, and then shared those facts with our fellow commuters. The growing problem of over-crowding on the trains is a case in point (see my last column “SRO on Metro-North” for example).
We also carry our advocacy for improved commuter rail to Washington, New York and Hartford, testifying before the lawmakers and meeting with the governor’s staff. We speak to community groups, attend meetings of similarly focused organizations and, yes, even write letters to the editor and columns such as this.
The past few years have been the darkest for commuter rail, but our best times are soon to come. The funding is finally there for long over-due investment in new equipment and expanded rail service is coming. But believe me when I pledge that the Commuter Rail Council will watchdog all of these improvements as diligently as we fought for them in years past.
Meantime, we need your help… not your money but your support. We have no budget but operate in the virtual world of the web and e-mail. I encourage you to visit our website ( www.trainweb.org/ct ), read our annual report, join our e-mail alert list for updates on our work on your behalf, and most importantly, consider seeking appointment to the Council as members.
We’re all commuters and together we can influence our collective future.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 15 years. He is Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at jim@camcomm.com or www.trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com
June 16, 2006
"Quiet Cars Revisted"
One of the (few) joys of train travel is, as Metro-North used to say in its marketing, “train time is your own time”. You can read, nap or work on your laptop… unless the inconsiderate passengers around you are yapping on their cell phones.
Years ago, Amtrak offered passengers an alternative: “The Quiet Car” ®… a car which, as conductors remind passengers, offers a “library like atmosphere” free of loud conversations, especially on cell-phones. For several years the Commuter Council has been asking Metro-North for a similar offering, but has been refused.
Now I have nothing against cell-phones. I have one and use it often, but always in a way that tries not to intrude on other passengers’ kharmic “space”. I’m not proposing that cell-phone users be segregated in their own car, as we used to do with smokers. Instead, I’m suggesting a quiet car, free of such annoyances.
Metro-North says it doesn’t want to get involved by making its conductors have to enforce social regulations. But they have no trouble reminding us to keep our feet off the seats or to put our bags in the overhead racks, so how hard would it be to enforce a little silence and civility?
Let’s face it. We’re all basically selfish. In our cars we can turn up the radio, smoke a cigar, belch and carry-on as we wish. But when we have to share our transportation space with others, these behaviors aren’t appropriate.
You can only push commuters so far. Trains are so crowded there aren’t enough seats for all ticketed passengers. Then you make them all put up with some noisy blowhard who insists on yapping the entire trip in a voice loud enough to be heard several rows away?
One commuter tells me she witnessed the following example of “cell rage”: A passenger asked a cell caller to “keep it down”. He didn’t. He asked the conductor to instruct the passenger to be considerate. The conductor wouldn’t. So, this distraught vigilante grabbed the cellphone and threw it against a wall, smashing it to pieces. A quiet car would avoid such violence.
Amtrak says its “Quiet Cars” ® have been a marketing success, so much so they have trademarked the name. The service has attracted new passengers and brought much-needed revenue.
Metro-North, apparently feeling it owns the market of commuters, doesn’t try to compete by attracting passengers. It has more than it can handle. Instead it has undertaken a PR campaign asking passengers to be considerate and keep their calls brief and in a low volume.
Admittedly, this has helped. I see sometimes passengers get out of their seats and move to the vestibule for longer calls. Others cup their hands around the mouthpiece and speak in subdued tones. Blackberries and similar text messaging equipment have also reduced the drone. This is a good start.
But if Amtrak can enforce a separate car for those seeking a quiet journey, why can’t Metro-North. The Commuter Council has found other commuter lines that have been successful, so why not Metro-North.
We’ll keep pushing the idea. Meantime, in the words of Rodney King, “Can’t we all just try to get along?”
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JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 14 years. He is Vice Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at jim@camcomm.com or www.trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see http://www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com/
Years ago, Amtrak offered passengers an alternative: “The Quiet Car” ®… a car which, as conductors remind passengers, offers a “library like atmosphere” free of loud conversations, especially on cell-phones. For several years the Commuter Council has been asking Metro-North for a similar offering, but has been refused.
Now I have nothing against cell-phones. I have one and use it often, but always in a way that tries not to intrude on other passengers’ kharmic “space”. I’m not proposing that cell-phone users be segregated in their own car, as we used to do with smokers. Instead, I’m suggesting a quiet car, free of such annoyances.
Metro-North says it doesn’t want to get involved by making its conductors have to enforce social regulations. But they have no trouble reminding us to keep our feet off the seats or to put our bags in the overhead racks, so how hard would it be to enforce a little silence and civility?
Let’s face it. We’re all basically selfish. In our cars we can turn up the radio, smoke a cigar, belch and carry-on as we wish. But when we have to share our transportation space with others, these behaviors aren’t appropriate.
You can only push commuters so far. Trains are so crowded there aren’t enough seats for all ticketed passengers. Then you make them all put up with some noisy blowhard who insists on yapping the entire trip in a voice loud enough to be heard several rows away?
One commuter tells me she witnessed the following example of “cell rage”: A passenger asked a cell caller to “keep it down”. He didn’t. He asked the conductor to instruct the passenger to be considerate. The conductor wouldn’t. So, this distraught vigilante grabbed the cellphone and threw it against a wall, smashing it to pieces. A quiet car would avoid such violence.
Amtrak says its “Quiet Cars” ® have been a marketing success, so much so they have trademarked the name. The service has attracted new passengers and brought much-needed revenue.
Metro-North, apparently feeling it owns the market of commuters, doesn’t try to compete by attracting passengers. It has more than it can handle. Instead it has undertaken a PR campaign asking passengers to be considerate and keep their calls brief and in a low volume.
Admittedly, this has helped. I see sometimes passengers get out of their seats and move to the vestibule for longer calls. Others cup their hands around the mouthpiece and speak in subdued tones. Blackberries and similar text messaging equipment have also reduced the drone. This is a good start.
But if Amtrak can enforce a separate car for those seeking a quiet journey, why can’t Metro-North. The Commuter Council has found other commuter lines that have been successful, so why not Metro-North.
We’ll keep pushing the idea. Meantime, in the words of Rodney King, “Can’t we all just try to get along?”
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JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 14 years. He is Vice Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at jim@camcomm.com or www.trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see http://www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com/
May 22, 2006
"SRO On Metro-North"
On Broadway, SRO (Standing Room Only) is a good thing. On Metro-North, it’s not. While Broadway hasn’t had boffo box-office of late, mass transit has, and it’s affecting all riders.
With higher gas prices, rail ridership is up. But the number of available seats on the trains is not. That leads to over-crowding and on many trains, especially in rush hour, standees. The Commuter Council has received an increasing number of complaints about this issue and I’ve endured a few rides to Grand Central myself, standing the whole way in the vestibule along with other angry passengers.
Crowding is so bad that conductors are encouraging standees to switch trains in Stamford to catch “locals” with more seats but later arrivals.
Why is this happening? Why can’t they just add extra cars to crowded trains? Why are trains regularly “short” of their needed number of cars? The answers are simple, but discouraging.
Metro-North President Peter Cannito reminded the Commuter Council last week that as far back as 2002 he was warning of a car shortage. I reminded him that the Council made that call even earlier. The problem is, both our pleas fell on deaf ears in Hartford. The Rowland Administration said it supported the trains but constantly vetoed CDOT’s requests for investment in the fleet, and the legislature blindly followed along.
When Governor Jody Rell came to office, the tide turned and we’re now designing new rail cars, the M8’s, but they won’t be on the rails until 2009.
Meantime, our aging fleet is falling apart. Cars that were expected to last 25 years are now pushing 30. On a good day, 15% of the fleet is shopped for inspection or repairs. Our inadequate shops run 24 x 7 trying to keep up.
The New Haven line has only an 80% “consist compliance” meaning only four trains out of five have enough cars for their regular passenger load. Granted, that’s improved from a dismal 65% last spring, thanks to a mild winter, but in rush hour… where the greatest load is placed on the system… “consist compliance” is much lower.
New, earlier trains into GCT are being blamed by some for shorter trains later in the morning. But, like water seeking its own level, commuters will have to find the “best” train for them based on available seats and their need for a reasonable arrival time in NYC.
Last week Governor Rell toured the plant where the used Virginia rail cars we acquired in 2005 are being re-worked. She said the same thing then that she said over a year ago: “Let’s put them into service.” But that political photo-op didn’t explain why CDOT let those cars sit, gathering dust, for a full year when they are so desperately needed. As it is, the 33 VRE cars won’t be in service until 2007.
Meantime, ridership will continue to climb and the lack of seats will, undoubtedly, worsen. As I’ve been warning you for several years… conditions on Metro-North are going to get a lot worse before they get any better.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 14 years. He is Vice Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at jim@camcomm.com or www.trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com
With higher gas prices, rail ridership is up. But the number of available seats on the trains is not. That leads to over-crowding and on many trains, especially in rush hour, standees. The Commuter Council has received an increasing number of complaints about this issue and I’ve endured a few rides to Grand Central myself, standing the whole way in the vestibule along with other angry passengers.
Crowding is so bad that conductors are encouraging standees to switch trains in Stamford to catch “locals” with more seats but later arrivals.
Why is this happening? Why can’t they just add extra cars to crowded trains? Why are trains regularly “short” of their needed number of cars? The answers are simple, but discouraging.
Metro-North President Peter Cannito reminded the Commuter Council last week that as far back as 2002 he was warning of a car shortage. I reminded him that the Council made that call even earlier. The problem is, both our pleas fell on deaf ears in Hartford. The Rowland Administration said it supported the trains but constantly vetoed CDOT’s requests for investment in the fleet, and the legislature blindly followed along.
When Governor Jody Rell came to office, the tide turned and we’re now designing new rail cars, the M8’s, but they won’t be on the rails until 2009.
Meantime, our aging fleet is falling apart. Cars that were expected to last 25 years are now pushing 30. On a good day, 15% of the fleet is shopped for inspection or repairs. Our inadequate shops run 24 x 7 trying to keep up.
The New Haven line has only an 80% “consist compliance” meaning only four trains out of five have enough cars for their regular passenger load. Granted, that’s improved from a dismal 65% last spring, thanks to a mild winter, but in rush hour… where the greatest load is placed on the system… “consist compliance” is much lower.
New, earlier trains into GCT are being blamed by some for shorter trains later in the morning. But, like water seeking its own level, commuters will have to find the “best” train for them based on available seats and their need for a reasonable arrival time in NYC.
Last week Governor Rell toured the plant where the used Virginia rail cars we acquired in 2005 are being re-worked. She said the same thing then that she said over a year ago: “Let’s put them into service.” But that political photo-op didn’t explain why CDOT let those cars sit, gathering dust, for a full year when they are so desperately needed. As it is, the 33 VRE cars won’t be in service until 2007.
Meantime, ridership will continue to climb and the lack of seats will, undoubtedly, worsen. As I’ve been warning you for several years… conditions on Metro-North are going to get a lot worse before they get any better.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 14 years. He is Vice Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at jim@camcomm.com or www.trainweb.org/ct . For a full collection of “Talking Transportation” columns, see www.talkingtransportation.blogspot.com
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