| Senator
William H. Nickerson (R-Greenwich) today announced his support
of the plan made public today by Governor Rowland to make
$60 million immediately available to fund an expedited purchase
of rail cars for Metro North. The $60 million will be funded
$35 million from the Transportation Strategy Board (“TSB”)
fund established in the TSB bill adopted last September, plus
$25 million of new state bonding. This will allow purchase
of 2,000 new rail seats as mandated by the TSB bill.
In order to put the new cars on line as promptly as possible
the Department of Transportation (DOT) will look into the
possibility of purchasing used cars elsewhere in the country
that are compatible (something it has never done before)
as well as “tagging on” to existing rail car
orders placed by other transportation agencies elsewhere
in the country, plus using the traditional method of placing
the DOT’s own order for custom designed cars.
Nickerson said, “These funds are desperately needed
to shore up the existing 300 car fleet. Most of the cars
are 40+ years old and were too fragile to survive this cold
winter, with up to one third of the cars out of service
for repairs. In my view frankly the DOT has not done its
job to move expeditiously to buy new rail cars, as mandated
by the TSB bill, and I welcome the Governor’s direction
that they do so promptly.”
“Metro North railroad is the spine
of Fairfield County – right now the spine is cracked.
We must address the unsustainable traffic gluts on I-95
and the Merritt Parkway by greatly expanding the use of
the railroad both for intra-state commuting, where less
than 7% of commuters use the railroad, and also to assure
that the vital rail link to New York does not deteriorate.”
“Important as the $60 million is,
it is only a first step to address rail car needs. The Governor
also directed Marc Ryan, Secretary of Office of Policy and
Management, to present to the legislature within 60 days
a plan to replace the entire 300-car fleet. This will involve
the purchase of approximately 50 cars a year for six to
eight years and will entail a new order placed by DOT for
new cars. The plan will include both the engineering decisions
as to the specifications (double or single deck, self propelled
or engine pulled) and a financial program to fund the purchase. |
