Connecticut Governor Rell: Report Calls Expanding Commuter Rail Service to Penn Station a "Viable Strategy"

August 8, 2007 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that a report from the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) concludes that expanding commuter rail service to New York’s Penn Station is a “viable strategy to relieve increased congestion along the I-95 corridor and improve mobility in the region.”

In June, Governor Rell called for the review of “every available option and potential obstacle” for service for the thousands of Connecticut commuters who travel every day into New York City to locations near Penn Station.

“If we can provide service to Penn Station, we will. I know first-hand how important it is to get people out of their cars and onto mass transit,” Governor Rell said. “The study shows that more than one million automobile trips per year would be eliminated in one of the most congested parts of our state – the I-95 corridor – if daily Penn Station service were offered.”

“Expanding rail service – and particularly service to Penn Station – has been one of my top transportation goals over the past three years,” Governor Rell said. “Service to Penn Station would be a huge boost with new trains, ample seats and new service to Manhattan and the financial district.”

Currently, Metro-North commuter trains on the New Haven Line and its three branches provide service to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. If commuters need to get to Penn Station and its environs, there is a multiple subway transfer or a 20-30 minute walk from Grand Central. It has been estimated that about 30 percent of Connecticut commuters going into Grand Central travel on to the Penn Station area in lower Manhattan. The new study shows that daily commuter service to Penn Station would generate 8.5 million trips annually.

One existing challenge to providing Penn Station commuter service from Connecticut is the fact that the electric rail equipment on the New Haven Line is not presently capable of operating into Penn Station because of the different overhead “catenary” power systems. New M-8 electric rail cars now on order for the New Haven Line are being designed to operate into Penn Station. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Metro-North (MNR) are exploring the possibility of using New Jersey train equipment that can operate on both systems.

“We have looked at a number of options and come up with some innovative proposals that would benefit commuters and other travelers in the region,” said DOT Commissioner Ralph J. Carpenter. “At the same time, we have been careful to consider challenges – such as power systems, basic capacity and maintenance issues, and increased costs – so that our proposals remain realistic.”

The DOT report, titled “Implementation of Connecticut Rail Service into Penn Station New York,’’ presents four strategies for Penn Station service:

Strategy One: Weekend service into and through Penn Station to Jets and Giants football games at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in New Jersey. The DOT has been working with the MTA, MNR, Amtrak, New Jersey Transit (NJT) and the Long Island Rail Road to begin a pilot program of this proposed weekend service in 2009.

Strategy Two: Year-round off-peak and weekend service. This service would benefit “discretionary” travelers heading into New York for shopping, museums and shows, and would also provide connecting Amtrak service to other locations. Metro-North estimates that this service could begin in 2010 or 2011.

Strategy Three: Daily, year-round peak-hour commuter service. Metro-North estimates that about 29,000 commuters per day would take advantage of this service. That translates to the elimination of 1.4 million trips per year would be diverted from automobiles.

Strategy Four: Limited peak-hour service. This would add two New Haven Line peak-hour trains in each direction. The DOT would contract with a rail provider – possibly Amtrak, which owns Penn Station – to operate this service. Amtrak currently operates on tracks in Connecticut and its trains are capable of making stops at New Haven Line stations.

The DOT report notes that it would be feasible to operate double-decker rail cars, as currently used by NJT, from Connecticut into Penn Station. These cars, with electric locomotives, would carry 30-40 more passengers per car than currently envisioned with M-8 rail cars now under order by Connecticut. One manufacturer is now under contract to NJT to provide 100 double-decker cars, and Connecticut could conceivably “piggy back” onto New Jersey’s order, with delivery in about two years.

Potential challenges/obstacles to Penn Station Service:

• A separate fleet of rail equipment for Grand Central and Penn Station would require additional maintenance facilities and significantly higher cost and operating issues.

• The power system issues described above

• Capacity at Penn Station is very tight at present, and adding even a couple daily trains would present significant challenges in scheduling.

• Contracts and agreements with the operating agencies in the Penn Station service area would have to be negotiated.

“We have worked hard to develop a regional approach toward mass transit service and I am greatly encouraged that this report provides opportunities toward reaching that goal,” Governor Rell said. “Connecticut must continue to pursue aggressive and comprehensive measures to reduce congestion on our highways. The best way is to continue to expand rail and bus service, to make those services convenient and to provide modern, reliable equipment.”

At the Governor’s direction, discussions between the DOT and Metro-North about Penn Station service options have been ongoing for a year. Metro-North recently announced it will initiate pilot service to Giants Stadium in New Jersey and to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx in 2009. Options for “reverse commuters” from the Bronx into Connecticut using Penn Station service are also being explored.

Metro-North’s New Haven Line is among the busiest commuter rail lines in the country, providing 35 million passenger trips each year.

Connecticut has already embarked on an ambitious equipment and capital improvement program that includes the order of 300 new M-8 rail cars to replace the 240 M-2 rail car New Haven Line fleet, the refurbishment of 33 rails cars purchased from the State of Virginia for service on Shore Line East, new rail stations in West Haven and Orange, new and expanding parking at Bridgeport and other Metro-North Line stations, and new and expanded weekday and weekend service on Shore Line East.

Source: Connecticut Governor

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