What improvements would riders like to see for both your comfort, convinience and overall ride as well as what do you think would get more commuters out of their cars. I ride Metro North and Shore Line East Trains but would love to hear from riders of other commuter lines.
Posted by NC&StL576 (Member # 4090) on :
I've been on Coaster a few times. It seems kinda cool ridin' thru the canyon. I would like to see a new scedule so passengers can connect to Metrolink if they're in a big rush. And possibly a new siding at Carlsbad village so that two trains can run.
Posted by Tanner929 (Member # 3720) on :
Just wanted to clarify. Metro North is the New York, New Jersey Tri State Area of New York City. Metro North is made up of the old New Haven, Hudson and Harlem lines. The SLE is the Shore Line East line that runs from New London CT to New Haven with extended service to Stamford CT during Rush Hours. The Line rolls over the Amtrak NEC tracks. This line uses diesel and has named many of their coaches in the era of the old New Haven Railroad.
Posted by NC&StL576 (Member # 4090) on :
Oop. Sorry.
Posted by irishchieftain (Member # 1473) on :
quote:Metro North is the New York, New Jersey Tri State Area of New York City
Technically, the NJ operations of Metro-North out of Hoboken are NJ Transit, since they are the contract operator of the West-of-Hudson services.
Your post is focusing on Connecticut, though (the state you left out of that sentence). Metro-North operates SLE trains east of New Haven only (where CDOT owns the NEC, up to the NY state border), whereas all service between New Haven and New London is operated by Amtrak, with CDOT-owned cars and locomotives leased from Amtrak.
Personally? (and this is impossible now, since Metro-North deactivated the overhead third-rail within GCT) I would prefer to see a new EP-series electric motor come about, so that the SLE trains bound for Stamford can reach GCT; but that would have to mean striking a deal where Metro-North can assume operation of SLE on the Amtrak-owned segment (New Haven to New London), and so SLE can take advantage of full electric operation along its entire route. (The only alternative in this scenario is to have the new M-8 MU cars feature the ability to switch between DC third rail, 12.5 kV 60Hz overhead, and 25kV 60Hz overhead "on the fly", and to have all SLE stations upgraded to high platforms from low, since none of the "Cosmopolitan" MU fleet can stop at low platforms.)
The one thing that gets commuters out of their cars (guaranteed) is higher frequency combined with reliable service. SLE is nowhere near as frequent as Metro-North's New Haven Line; but even with the Acela Express operations on this part of the line, there is still room to add more trains without adding more tracks or compromising the AE schedules. (As far as going into NYC, especially during snowy days, what kills Metro-North is the continued use of third-rail into Grand Central; unless they increase the tunnel clearance in the Park Avenue Tunnels, they would not be able to switch from the third-rail system. There are no slots in Penn Station to add inbound trains from New Haven or New London.)
Posted by Tanner929 (Member # 3720) on :
Yes in Connecticut the SLE really just runs during peak commuter hours south in the a.m and north in the p.m same with the New Haven to Springfield Amtrak route.
Currently the state is building a new spantion bridge over New Haven Harbor as well as expanding I-95 to 10 lanes its been a disaster and only promises to get worse.
Posted by irishchieftain (Member # 1473) on :
I-95 would be a disaster even with twelve lanes. And now that the road is toll-free, this is a greater burden on taxpayers.
A better use for the tax dollars would be, frankly, to build an "Acela Bypass" on a far straighter alignment than the old New Haven shore line, especially since Metro-North forbids tilting on the parts of the Northeast Corridor they currently operate. (But then, that might result in a two-hour ride between Boston and New York on Acela; that would make the auto lobbies sweat, never mind free up more slots on the Shore Line for both Metro-North and SLE trains, never mind Amtrak Regionals...can't have that, can we?)
Posted by Tanner929 (Member # 3720) on :
Because its treasonist to post something like this on the Amtrak postings I'll ask you all here.
If you wanted to buy of run a railroad would you want to build a Long Distant train of a regional commuter line? Seems to me that improving and expandng a commuter line such a Albany to NYC or from say Richmond VA to Washington DC. Until these routs are implemented and improved then there will be no mass cry for improved LD trains. Any thoughts ?