Commuter Rail Advocate Asks: ?Where Are The New Cars??
Recently I stumbled upon an enjoyable article posted earlier today, by jdankosky, and entitled Commuter Rail Advocate Asks: ?Where Are The New Cars?? that I would strongly encourage all of you to read! Below are some excerpts to whet your appetites!
 They’re not expected to be at the Commuter Council’s gathering at Stamford’s Government Center at 7 p.m. tonight. “I don’t understand why commuters can’t get a straight answer from consultants that are getting paid 27 million dollars, who are involved with this testing on a daily basis, why these trains aren’t in service,” Cameron told WNPR’s Where We Live. And, Cameron says they’re desperately needed, with the current fleet of cars being decimated by winter weather. Because so many of the older cars are out of service, Metro-North has cut back its schedule on the New Haven line by ten percent. Cameron says the new cars would help during what he’s called a “winter crisis.” “Interim commissioner Parker of the DOT testified two weeks ago that the trains will probably be in service mid to late February. Hello…it’s mid February, and their trains are no closer to being in service,” Cameron said.
[...]
DOT Commissioner Jeffrey Parker told Where We Live that the trains are in the final stage of testing, and should meet that deadline. Â ”As I’ve always said, the testing is dynamic, and problems could crop up that would delay us, but as I stand here today, that’s what we’re headed for,” Â Parker said. And, Parker says that commuters should separate the long-term need for new rail cars, and the problems caused by the worst winter weather in decades. Â He said that even if the new M8s were in service, it wouldn’t have led to “salvation” for the New Haven Line riders, jammed onto overcrowded trains. Parker said the crowding on trains isn’t “terrible” this winter, but says that, on average, 1,000 to 2,00o more people are standing during their commutes than usual with the reduced schedule. Â That’s out of 140,00 people a day.
[...]
 But, Parker admits, “I’ve been on those trains, and forced to stand, and it’s not a comfortable thing.” As for Cameron’s repeated request for Kawasaki and LTK to attend tonight’s commuter forum to answer questions about the delay, Parker doesn’t see the need.  He’ll be there, he says, along with a project official from Metro-North.  ”We really don’t want to have a real in-depth complex conversation about the inner workings of the car,” Parker told me.
Now, reading this started me thinking so I googled for more posts on the subject and discovered some more greats. For example, this post posted a fortnight ago, by News Feeds, on a blog called YardLimits.com:
Date Decided: Sep 28th, 2010Decided By: New York Southern District Court (Federal) Court: S.D.N.Y.Citation: 2010 WL 3790720Background: Plaintiff, a machinist, brought this action against hisemployer, MetroNorth, pursuant to the FELA. Plaintiff alleged that he suffered cumulative trauma injuriesover the course of many years while working for MetroNorth. Plaintiff alleged that despite the factthat he told his employer that automatic tools were available for several ofthe demanding tasks he was required to perform, MetroNorth continued in itspractices  thereby creating an unreasonably unsafe work environment. MetroNorth filed a motion for summaryjudgment, asserting that the plaintiff’s claims were time barred becauseplaintiff knew of his injuries more than three years prior to commencing thisaction.
Finally, another fantastic article on the subject came from WTIC News over on CBS Hartford posted a fortnight ago and entitled Weather Takes Toll; Metro-North To Cut Service « CBS Hartford … which is also definitely worth a look!
(Credit: Metro-North) The Metro-North commuter railroad says the winter weather has forced it to implement service cuts for the next month. In a letter posted on the corporate website, the railroad says starting Monday, and running through March fourth,  weekday rush hour service will be reduced by ten per cent on the New Haven line. The company says each day there are about 150 cars out of service on the New Haven line,  with crews working around the clock to return the damaged equipment to service. Motors, brakes, and doors are have been affected by the heavy snow the state has seen since late December, and crews have had to spend time clearing snow from the tops of the cars, from around the switches and from the rail yards, while each storm sends more damaged cars to the shop. The New Haven line apologizes in the letter, saying — quote — the service we have been providing has been far less than what you have come to expect from us and we strive to provide you. In addition to the ten per cent peak service cut, a Sunday schedule will be in affect both Saturdays and Sundays starting this weekend.