Talking Transportation: Cathedrals for Trains, But No Trains

In Connecticut, when it comes to transportation we don’t seem to have a transportation strategy … we just have a construction strategy.

Sure, the plans for redevelopment of the New Haven Union Station are certainly impressive … the new European-style roof and canopy over the tracks, the redone passenger tunnel, etc. All of it serving as a beautiful gateway to the Elm City and a new TOD (transit oriented development) project on adjacent state land.

But why are we spending $402 million on this while we can’t find a paltry $3 million to restore some train service on Shore Line East? We seem to be able to afford a cathedral for trains, just not the trains themselves.

I get it that infrastructure spending is important, much of it paid for with OPM (Other Peoples’ Money, i.e. the Feds). But shouldn’t we be providing actual transportation, not just architectural marvels? I guess it’s easier to ribbon-cut a station than run a schedule.

Consider just two projects, small and large, as examples:

The $33 million installation of electrically-heated station platforms at the Darien station (already 15 months behind schedule) … or the seven year-long, billion-dollar rebuild of the Walk rail bridge in Norwalk.

Why is the legislature looking at potential cuts affecting up to 30% of bus service in Bridgeport while keeping the future of nine different microtransit projects in some jeopardy?

Greater Bridgeport Transit carries as many as 15,000 passengers daily. And there are 17 towns and cities served by nine microtransit pilot programs, serving up more than 100,000 trips annually with Uber-like door-to-door service. Norwalk’s Wheels2U has proven the concept’s success with 200+ riders per day.

And guess what one of the bigger destinations of these bus and microtransit riders: that’s right, the train station. This is how CDOT hopes to increase ridership on the rails, by cutting bus service? With the price of gasoline these days, is this any way to encourage commuters to leave their car at home and try transit?

Why does CDOT have plans for another 5% fare hike this July on Metro-North with no expansion of service and no increase in speed? And the governor’s campaign of super-fast express trains to New York City … just that, a campaign promise never fulfilled.

Why is Amtrak suing the MTA (parent of Metro-North) instead of cooperating to provide better train service? MTA claims that Amtrak is slowing development of their new commuter service to the East Bronx while Amtrak says the railroad is denying it the right to run test and non-revenue trains on the New Haven line.

Why does Amtrak bicker with CDOT over the Hartford Line, limiting U-pass (student) riders’ access to its too-short, always-crowded trains between Springfield and New Haven?

Why have high access and power costs charged by Amtrak made running the shiny, new M8 electric trains on Shore Line East uneconomical, persuading CDOT to pull out old passenger cars and run diesel locos just to save money? Another nail in the coffin of Shore Line East.

It seems that we’re not investing in transportation. We’re investing in transportation projects … real estate, not real people. And riders (voters) can tell the difference.