METRO NORTH NEW HAVEN RAIL COMMUTER COUNCIL (CGS § 13B-212B, 212C)

● Studies and investigates all aspects of the daily operation of the New Haven commuter railroad line.

● Monitors the rail lines' performance and recommends changes to improve their efficiency and quality of service.

● Annually makes findings and recommendations to the governor, transportation commissioner, Connecticut Public Transportation Commission, General Assembly, the New York Metro North Rail Commuter Council, and the Management Advisory Board and Office of the Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York.

NOMINEE QUESTIONS

1. As the date for delivery of the new M-8 cars approaches, do you think there are still outstanding issues that need to be addressed before or after the cars start to arrive?

2. Can the Council play a greater part in trying to resolve some of the issues that appear to constrain the state's ability to expand service on Shore Line East? How do you think the interests of rail commuters and recreational marine traffic can best be accommodated?

3. When commuter service is operating on the New Haven Line, Shore Line East, and the New Haven-Hartford–Springfield corridor, what scenario do you see as the ideal for how these services will be integrated and who should be the entity operating them? Are there alternatives not being considered at present that you think should be?

4. What types of transit-oriented development around existing and new rail stations do you think would have the greatest benefit for those currently riding the trains and for attracting new riders?

5. What are the issues that may be hampering the development of better service on the branch lines, in particular the Danbury and Waterbury branches?

6. How do you see the state's severe financial crisis affecting the rail commuter service picture? How great a danger do you think this represents to current service levels?

7. What opinions do you have on the issue of whether the New Haven line operations should provide service to Penn Station as well as Grand Central? What are some of the issues you see with regard to this possible service enhancement and the possibility of service into New Jersey?

8. What “quality of life” issues for rail riders (for example, quiet cars, cleanliness, adequate seating, on-time performance, frequency of power outages) do you think are most in need of addressing?

9. What observations do you have on the recent leadership changes at DOT and Metro North? Has the Council's relationship with them benefitted from the change in leadership?

10. Station parking issues continue as one of the most difficult problems for the New Haven Line and Shore Line East services and now the governor has created a task force, including the Council, to confront these issues yet again. What progress do you think can be made on solving station parking problems?

11. Are you aware of the recent proposal some have forwarded to institute passenger service on the freight line between Waterbury and Hartford? What is your reaction?

12. The ability of the trains to accommodate bicycle users seems to be becoming more of an issue than ever. What do you see as the possible solution to this issue?

JF:ts