This accursed winter is taking more casualties than just MTA service and what's left of our will to
go outside. The Times reports that the Metro-North New Haven line will be introducing a reduced service schedule on Monday, which will offer "more frequent service than on weekends but less than a typical weekday." Metro-North cites the double whammy of broken-down trains and little funding from Connecticut. MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan tells us:
The Harlem and Hudson Lines haven't had the same problems mainly because they have a much newer fleet of cars. The M-7 railcars, the shiny square-shaped stainless steel cars powered by the third rail, were put into service between 2004 and 2006 (and at the Long Island Rail Road between 2002 and 2007). But the majority of the cars on the New Haven Line, the red-striped M-2 cars, were put into service between 1973 and 1976, which means the oldest of these cars actually pre-date the creation of Metro-North Railroad by a decade. Metro-North has 320 cars serving the New Haven Line, and as of this morning, 146 of them were in our shops being repaired.
Our train maintainers are working heroically around the clock to do what they can to keep these cars in service, but it can be a Sisyphean task in weather like we're having. The State of Connecticut pays 65% of the costs of operating the New Haven Line, but the lack of funding alluded to by the Times refers to decisions made in the past about acquisition of new cars. We are beginning to receive the new M-8 cars for the New Haven Line, but they are undergoing required safety testing and are not yet ready for service.
The Times reports the new, less-frequent schedule will be "indefinite," but Donovan says, "We expect to restore the regular schedule as soon as the maintenance crews can get past the backlog of cars that are in the shop as a result of these winter storms." He also says the changes wouldn't affect off-peak trains. But according to many commuters, that's cold comfort with the service they've been getting.
One frequent New Haven line commuter tells us, "The trains have been not ride-able for a few months. I have to stand for the entire ride almost every day in the morning. That's a ride that's supposed to be 45 minutes, but is regularly an hour plus, and it's almost always 10 minutes or more late in the afternoons heading into the city now... And since I reverse commute, I actually end up with parking tickets due to the late trains because I can't move my car out of the station in time." And let's not forget the wonderful open-air ride a few commuters got on their way in from Stamford recently. Unfortunately, our old standby of encouraging people to walk or bike to work doesn't really apply here. But there's always canoeing along the Long Island Sound!
