(The Associated Press distributed the following article by John Christoffersen on February 11.)
STAMFORD, Conn. — Worried about numerous breakdowns in Metro-North Railroad’s aging fleet, lawmakers from Fairfield and New Haven counties want the state to take the express route to purchasing new rail cars for 2,000 commuters.
The lawmakers also want more parking at train stations and faster progress on long-running construction projects on Interstate 95. They called for the actions in a letter this week to state transportation officials.
About 30 percent of Metro-North’s New Haven Line fleet has been knocked out of service in recent weeks as a result of cold weather, snowstorms and age. The problems have resulted in crowded conditions and frequent train cancellations.
“We are greatly concerned that there is inadequate attention being paid to the very grave transportation problems in southwest Connecticut,” the letter states.
The 20 new rail cars would cost about $59 million. State officials said they are hoping to order them this year, but are trying to make up a gap of about $10 million in funding.
Marc Ryan, the state’s budget chief, said he hopes to have a plan for buying the cars to present to Gov. John G. Rowland and House Speaker Moira Lyons, D-Stamford, in the next week.
Lyons said she is optimistic that the new cars will be ordered this year. She said money is available for more parking at train stations, but some towns have resisted such projects.
The new rail cars would not begin operating for two years after the order is placed, officials said. The 20 new cars would represent only a fraction of the 343 cars in the New Haven fleet, a majority of which are about 30 years old.
About 180 new train cars are on the way for the Hudson and Harlem lines in New York, and efforts are underway to accelerate the purchase of another 120 cars for those lines.
“We seem to be back in the dark ages,” said state Sen. Judith Freedman, R-Westport, one of 42 lawmakers to sign the letter. “We felt we had to start taking some action.”
Jim Cameron, vice chairman of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council, blamed the legislature for not providing the money for new train cars.
“But how can we gain support in Haddam and Hebron, let alone Hartford, for what they see as ‘our’ problem, down here on Connecticut’s ‘Gold Coast,”‘ Cameron wrote in a newsletter last week. “Is the current winter crisis of inadequate cars enough to spark action?”
A transportation summit is planned at 9 a.m. Saturday at Norwalk City Hall, Cameron said.
The New Haven Line is the nation’s busiest, bringing 110,000 commuters to their jobs in New York and Connecticut every day. The rail service, which is experiencing steady increases in ridership, is considered a vital alternative to gridlocked highways.
Connecticut officials are rehabilitating the old fleet by replacing critical parts in an effort to get more life out of the cars until a new fleet is purchased. A study is under way, but it’s unclear when a new fleet will be purchased.
“Until we make a significant investment in the rail system we’re probably going to continue to have problems,” said Robert Hammersley, spokesman for the state Transportation Strategy Board, which was created to address the congestion.
The board last year suggested raising the gas and sales taxes to fund the rail cars and other transportation projects, but those proposals were coolly received, Hammersley said. He said the board will continue to study funding options.
A provision in Rowland’s budget proposal would raise commuter rail fares by 5.5 percent on July 1 to pay for increases in operating costs. Some officials slammed the timing of that proposal because of the service problems.
Ryan said the fare hikes would help the state fund new trains by keeping the amount it contributes for the train service down.
According to the Federal Transit Administration, Connecticut rail commuters pay the largest percentage of operating costs of any railroad in the country.