(The following story by Matthew Strozier was published in the January 23 issue of the Stamford Advocate.)
STAMFORD, Conn. — Turns out trains don’t like the cold.
Because of the weeklong bitter chill, Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line has dropped the maximum speed for trains from 90 mph to 60 mph at certain times and places.
Cold weather also was to blame for five- to 10-minute delays on 30 New Haven Line trains Tuesday. The mechanical arm, or pantograph, of a train had ice in it and had to be removed.
But the cold has not created significant train delays aside from the problems Tuesday, Metro-North spokesman Dan Brucker said.
“They are running on time, but with not much room to spare,” Brucker said.
Slower speeds narrow the window or “margin of error” for trains, leaving less time to compensate for a slow boarding or congestion, Brucker said.
The main concern is the 90-year-old system of overhead power wires, called catenaries, on the New Haven Line in Connecticut. The wires get particularly taut and are at risk of snapping when temperatures dip below freezing.
A ripped power wire, Brucker said, “can virtually cripple an entire line” because trains won’t get electricity.
The wire problem occurs only on the Connecticut section of the New Haven Line. New York updated its wires about a decade ago and doesn’t have the problem, according to Metro-North.
Two levels of slowdown orders were in effect in the past week. Orders go out when temperatures fall below 20 degrees or when it gets unusually hot.
A level two order limits trains to traveling no more than 70 mph, and about 60 mph on curves. A level three order prevents trains from going faster than 60 mph anywhere on the New Haven Line in Connecticut.
The state’s catenary system is being upgraded by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Work is under way in two sections, including a stretch from the New York line to Stamford, and the entire system will be new by 2008, said Raymond Cox, assistant rail administrator of operations for the DOT.
Even without the cold, the New Haven Line is slowed by frequent curves that come about every 4,500 feet, Cox said. Beyond that, train stations are close together in towns such as Greenwich.
Yesterday afternoon, a level two speed order was in effect and a level three order was expected last night, according to Metro-North. The speed orders cover the New York border to New Haven.
Several commuters in Stamford said they haven’t noticed unusual delays during the cold snap. Metro-North considers a train late if it arrives more than five minutes after its scheduled time.
David Gonzalez, a resident of the Bronx, N.Y., who works in Stamford, said he heard of a late train last week, but weather didn’t seem to be the cause.
“They just let us know it was delayed,” Gonzalez said.
Others said delays are prevalent regardless of the weather. One commuter said a 5:53 p.m. express to New York failed to appear at all earlier this week in Stamford.
Tricia Viola, who works for a financial services firm in Stamford, said her early-morning trains from New York City are frequently late or lacking adequate cars, cold weather or not.
“It’s horrible,” Viola said.