Talking Transportation 2025
Catherine Rinaldi Metro North president departing

Departing Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi Refects on a Sometimes Smooth, Sometimes Bumpy Ride

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“It’s been the job of a lifetime,” says Catherine Rinaldi, Metro-North’s first female president, who is set to retire at the end of the month. “It’s been just such an honor and a privilege to be able to lead this amazing organization… these heroes who performed the daily miracle [of running 700 trains] every day.”

Miracle? Hardly. But with such an aging infrastructure and so many moving parts, I’ve got to give Metro-North (and Ms. Rinaldi) credit for a job well done. Rinaldi came to the railroad in 2003 as a lawyer and helped run Metro-North (and the Long Island Rail Road for a while) through the dark days of COVID, when more than 100 MTA workers died, as the railroads kept service going — even as 90% of riders hunkered down in quarantine.

Talking Transportation 2025
Plow Trucks winter

What the Darien DPW Does to Keep Town Roads Safe

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So, how have you been enjoying this winter so far? We’ve already had eight inches of snow in Hartford, compounded by heavy winds, downed power lines and wind-chills in the single digits. February is the cruelest of months. But thanks to local and state road crews, our highways get cleared and we can, though bundled up, get on with our business. Before a storm hits local TV stations do the inevitable lame stories showing salt being loaded into trucks and road crews honing their plows.

Cameron on Transportation
Metro-North railroad train car New Haven Line

Lots of Connecticut Transportation News: Here’s the Good, the Bad and the Impractical

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There’s so much news to cover this week on the transportation front! The Good
Kudos to Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget team for promising to prioritize long-planned transportation construction in their proposed $55.2 billion, two-year budget. Despite President Trump’s promise to tie federal funding to states’ compliance with policies on masks, vaccines, tolls and immigration enforcement, the Connecticut Department of Transportation says their work will continue. Congrats also to CDOT for their planned $32 million rebuild of the Derby-Shelton train and bus station on the Waterbury branch. Ridership on that line is up significantly since more trains were added (a 47% increase) and there are several TOD (transit oriented development) projects underway in those two towns.

Amtrak 2025
Avelia Liberty Train Amtrack

Should Amtrak Be Replaced by AmeriStarRail LLC? And Could It Happen?

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As President upends the way things are done in D.C., I thought I’d revisit an idea I wrote about two years ago that he might just consider. Trump is big on privatizing government services (like the post office), so why not Amtrak, too? Why does the U.S. have only one serious passenger railroad? And given its monopoly and high fares, wouldn’t a choice of rail carriers bring better service and lower prices? Sure, Amtrak competes against the air shuttles (which are faster, but even more expensive), buses (much cheaper and slower) and, of course, cars (also slower).

Talking Transportation 2025

Some Good News For Commuters: Faster NYC Traffic; More Trains on Time, Happier Riders

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There’s just too much news. Trying to keep up with everything that’s happening is like drinking out of a firehose. But I’m not going to write about the horrific plane crash last week in Washington, D.C. Unlike President Trump, I’ll wait to hear from the experts on what happened and why. Nor am I going to write about the president’s threats to cut funding for already-approved transportation projects in Connecticut, tying that money to immigration enforcement, marriage and birth rates, vaccination and mask rules. My colleagues at CTMirror have already covered that well.

Talking Transportation 2025
Joe Biden Amtrak

Our Transportation President Left Connecticut with $9.6 Billion for Upcoming Rail Projects

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With the changing of power in Washington this Monday, let’s say thanks to Joe Biden, the president who has done the most for transportation in our country in the almost 70 years since Dwight Eisenhower built our interstate highways. While his predecessor (and successor) Donald Trump talked a lot about investing in transportation, Biden (and the Connecticut delegation to Congress) actually got it done. Biden’s major initiative was …

… The Infrastructure & Investment Jobs Act — $110 billion for roads and bridges, $105 billion for public transit, and $7.5 billion for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. That means funding for more than 66,000 projects nationwide, encompassing road and bridge repairs, public transit enhancements, and airport modernizations.

Cameron on Transportation

Comments Worth Sharing in Reaction to Last Week’s Talking Transportation Column on Congestion Pricing

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Last week’s column about New York City’s congestion pricing experiment seems to have struck a nerve, generating a huge number of comments. Yes, friends, I do read all your emails and I try to reply, valuing your feedback — though not always agreeing with you. But I thought some of the comments posted below were worth sharing. David wrote: “ Some people maintain that tolls aren’t taxes, but really anytime government takes money out of citizens’ pockets, it’s a tax. Adding one more arrow to Hartford’s already full quiver of ways to shake money out of CT residents and those passing through is a bad idea.”

A train rider turned driver noted:

“For many years I rode the train five days per week.

Talking Transportation 2024
Manhattan night traffic cars street NYC

Three Cheers for Congestion Pricing — and Maybe in Connecticut

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Oh Happy Day! Congestion pricing is finally happening in New York City’s CBD (Central Business District), i.e. Midtown Manhattan. After decades of discussion, years of studies, dozens of court cases and numerous delays, motorists who chose to drive into midtown Manhattan (below 60th Street) will now be charged a toll based on the size of their vehicle and the time of day. Full details can be found here. Finally, someone is doing something to deal with too many cars/trucks and not enough space.

Talking Transportation 2024
Fairfield Avenue Bridge Interstate 95 highway

State Government and Money: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

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When we are spending our own hard-earned money, we are usually pretty cautious, especially in these tough times. But when it comes to spending OPM (Other Peoples’ Money), who cares? A few examples from the news highlight government’s cavalier attitude in this regard:
The $16 Million Bridge
CDOT is justifiably proud that it could rebuild the Fairfield Avenue bridge on I-95 in Norwalk damaged in a fiery crash last May, finishing months earlier than predicted and under budget, at just $16 million (compared to the initial estimated $20 million). Kudos to the (no bid contract) construction company — and to the fact that 80% of the cost will be paid by the Feds. Yes, once again, it’s OPM to the rescue.

Talking Transportation 2024
DreamStar Lines train

Livin’ It Up in the DreamStar California? ‘Luxury’ Overnight Sleeping Car Trains Expected in Months

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When it comes to trains, everything old is new again: the latest trend for rail travel is night trains. A private California company, DreamStar Lines, is planning an overnight train between LA and San Francisco offering “luxurious accommodations” in modern sleeping cars designed by BMW. Service could begin as early as next summer. The sleeping cars will range from a bedroom for two (with a shower and toilet) all the way up to a family/group room that sleeps up to six (four adults + two kids). There will also be a lounge car available to all guests, which will serve light food and a full bar featuring breweries, wineries, and distilleries from across California.

Talking Transportation 2024
Metro-North Club Car ChatGPT generated

Artificial Intelligence and Your Commute (and More)

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I love AI (artificial intelligence). I rely on it daily to help with my research. “How many bar cars did Metro-North operate in the 1990s?” Answer: 10

“How many people died in auto accidents on Connecticut highways in 2019?” Answer: 254

“Create an image of a Metro-North club car” And poof, it’s done! But what exactly is AI? Let’s ask ChatGPT:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is like teaching computers to think, learn, and make decisions, similar to how humans do.

Cameron on Transportation

Rail Commuters Owe Thanks to the Late Jodi Rell: No Governor in Decades Did More for CT Riders

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Jodi Rell saved our trains. There is no governor in recent decades who did more for rail commuters than she did. Gov. Rell, who died this past week at age 78, came to office (when she was lieutenant governor) in the midst of a scandal as her predecessor, Gov. John Rowland, resigned when caught accepting illegal gifts and did 10 months in a federal prison. Rowland, you should remember, was no fan of Connecticut’s railroads. He actually proposed replacing the trains on Shore Line East with buses due to that line’s high subsidies.

Talking Transportation 2024
Kathy Hochul Congestion pricing

Congestion Pricing Returns with a $9 Toll to Get Into Midtown Manhattan

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Heading to New York City? Take the train, because driving is going to become even more expensive: the New York plan for “congestion pricing” is back! As everyone predicted last June when New York Gov. Kathy Hochul suspended plans for a $15 toll for driving into midtown Manhattan, she has now reversed her decision. She is now proposing a $9 charge for passenger cars ($2.25 off-peak, and $14.40 for small trucks). It seems ironic that New York City doesn’t control its own mass transit system, but that responsibility is left to the state.

Talking Transportation 2024

New Locomotives, Clean, Fast and Quiet, to Roll Down Metro-North Tracks, Maybe Next Year

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Finally, there’s some good news for Metro-North riders, especially those who take the Danbury, Waterbury and Hartford lines: new locomotives are coming — eventually. Meet the Siemens Charger model SC-42DM, the first of its kind in the U.S.

Being built in Sacramento California, these new engines are the latest innovation in the long history of this German manufacturer. It was Siemens that built the first electric tram in the late 1800s. They even partnered to build one of the first commercial maglev trains, in Shanghai. The Charger is a great machine and there are hundreds already in use in the U.S. and abroad, running on railroads ranging from Amtrak and Brightline to commuter lines in Maryland, California and many other states.