(The following article by Katherine Didriksen was posted on the Stamford Advocate website on February 3.)
STAMFORD, Conn. — Metro-North Railroad is bracing for another bout of wintry weather today while it struggles to fix widespread equipment problems caused by recent bitter cold and drifting snow.
The railroad has been unable to run a regular schedule during peak morning and evening hours for several weeks as more than one-third of its aging New Haven Line fleet has been knocked out of service.
“(The railcars) are just dying faster than we can fix them,” Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said. “It’s cumulative.”
Heavy electrical components, including traction motors and motor alternators, are particularly hard-hit by extreme cold and dusty snow, she said.
Trains have had decent on-time performance despite the car shortages, but customers will face standing-room-only conditions all week, Anders said.
Metro-North has lost 230 railcars out of its 800-car fleet to repairs. The railroad reached a high of 217 disabled railcars on Jan. 21. On the New Haven Line, 126 of 342 railcars, or about 37 percent, are out of service for maintenance.
On an average day, 50 to 60 cars are out of service for maintenance, Federal Railroad Administration-mandated inspections or major repairs, said Harry Harris, chief of the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s bureau of public transportation.
“You never run 100 percent of your fleet. You can expect to have about 18 percent out for one reason or another,” he said. “When you start reaching 80, 90, 100 cars, you are cutting in substantially to the fleet.”
Today’s forecasted wintry mix offers the railroad little time for repairs and presents other challenges. Cold and freezing rain causes problems with equipment on the ground, including track switches, Anders said.
Trains on the New Haven Line will continue to run under a speed restriction overnight to reduce stress on the overhead catenary wires that become brittle and taut in the cold, she said.
“It’s getting pretty bleak,” said Jim Cameron, vice chairman of the Metro-North-Shoreline East Rail Commuter Council. “They absolutely are desperate for capacity now.”
Commuters are getting increasingly angry and upset, he said.
“My frustration is that they still don’t understand the enormity of the situation or who’s at fault,” Cameron said. “Commuters don’t like being kept in the dark, and they don’t like being lied to.”
The lack of communication lies on Hartford’s shoulders, rather than on the railroad or the state DOT, he said.
Extreme weather is exacerbated by the state’s aging equipment. The bulk of the New Haven Line fleet was commissioned in 1973 — an average train lifespan is about 20 years — and the catenary wire system was built in the early 1900s.
“It’s a real challenge to keep all this equipment going,” Harris said. Repairs are complicated by a lack of maintenance space and replacement parts, he said.
Connecticut also hosts the only commuter railroad service that runs a dual-powered system of third-rail and overhead catenary wires, Harris said. A new car that fits the dual-powered system has a price tag of $4.5 million, he said.
“There is no quick solution, barring some kind of an economic miracle,” Harris said. Commuters are not likely to see funds for new railcars until 2006, he said.
In the meantime, Metro-North and the state DOT are merely looking to survive the winter.
“The worst-case scenario is no service,” Anders said. “We’re not even close to that.”
The railroad alerted passengers to the following timetable alterations through Monday:
In the morning rush hour, the 6:42 a.m. train from New Haven, due in Stamford at 7:30 a.m. and arriving at Grand Central at 8:18 a.m.; and the 7:37 a.m. train out of Port Chester, N.Y., due in Grand Central at 8:20 a.m., are canceled.
During the evening rush hour, many trains departing Grand Central will be combined or canceled.
* The 4:11 p.m. train from Grand Central to South Norwalk and the 4:16 p.m. train to New Haven are combined, departing at 4:16 p.m.
* The 4:49 p.m. train from Grand Central to New Haven will terminate at Stamford. Customers for stations east of Stamford must take the 5:01 p.m. train. Darien passengers must take the 5:04 p.m. train to Danbury.
* The 5:09 p.m. train from Stamford to New Canaan and the 5:26 p.m. train to New Canaan are combined, departing at 5:26 p.m.
* The 5:23 p.m. train from Grand Central to Bridgeport and the 5:28 p.m. train to South Norwalk are combined, departing at 5:28 p.m.
* The 5:44 p.m. train from Grand Central to Bridgeport and the 5:49 p.m. train to South Norwalk are combined, departing at 5:49 p.m.
* The 6:37 p.m. train from Grand Central to Harrison, N.Y., and the 6:40 p.m. train to Stamford are combined, departing at 6:40 p.m.
* The 7:07 p.m. train from Grand Central to Harrison and the 7:10 p.m. train to Stamford are combined, departing at 7:10 p.m.