Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

Metro-North Commuting ‘Like Getting Hit With a 2-by-4’ — Cameron on Transportation

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“Commuting on Metro-North is like getting hit with a 2-by-4. Service is getting worse and now you’re hitting us with a 10 percent fare hike.”

Those comments came from Jeffrey Maron, vice chairman of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council, a usually mild-mannered, two-compliments-before-any-complaint kind of guy. But Maron’s tone changed, as he quizzed state Department of Transportation Commissioner Jim Redeker at the recent CCRC meeting in Stamford. The transportation czar outlined the reasons for pending service cuts and fare hikes, explaining the Special Transportation Fund is running dry and he has no choice but to cut expenses and raise revenue. Maron reminded the commissioner that council members offered fund-raising suggestions, but never received a reply.

Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

Hudson River Rail Tunnels Shoulda, Coulda Been Done By Now: Cameron on Transportation

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It should have been done by now: 2018 was the expected completion year of the new railroad tunnels under the Hudson River. When it was proposed in 2009, the $9 billion project was the biggest infrastructure initiative in the country. Now it’s just a footnote to history. Why do rail tunnels from New York’s Penn Station to New Jersey matter to us here in Connecticut? Because they are the weakest but most crucial link in the Northeast corridor, the $50 billion heart of the U.S. economy.