A New Haven link and a time-sensitive investment could create a flow of talented workers from the north into Fairfield County.
However, the decision to buy 38 more Kawasaki M-8 railcars has been passed off to Gov. Dan Malloy. His choice could determine the future of the proposed Springfield, Mass.-to-New-Haven commuter service, one which would create a link to Metro-North lines.
At the end of her term, Gov. M. Jodi Rell continued to make a case to replace the Metro-North train fleet, which would free up cars for a proposed commuter service.
“Buying the new cars isn”™t just important to Metro-North”™s operations, but also necessary for ShoreLine East and the new commuter service,” said Rell, who noted the importance for the state”™s longevity in being able to access the business opportunities in Fairfield County.
State transit advocates collectively expect the pro-business Malloy will resolve the matter in his first year in office, though his spokesperson said Malloy would not comment on the topic until he”™s settled in office.
The state is already buying 342 high-tech, electric-powered M-8 cars. Rell”™s hope was to get approval by the state bond commission, which she led as governor, for 38 more. In the mid-December session in which the commission collectively decided not to approve the purchase as is, several bond commission members said they would prefer to leave such a high-cost decision to the next administration.
Rell had planned that 14 of the new cars be deployed to Metro-North”™s New Haven line with the other 24 going to ShoreLine East for its New London to New Haven service. The cars would replace older passenger cars pulled by diesel locomotives.
If the purchase does get approved by Malloy and the bond commission the ShoreLine East cars could be set aside for use when the state unveils its plan for the 62-mile commuter route service from Springfield, Mass., to New Haven, which is billed as a $400 million federal upgrade. The plan is to pull talented workers and businesses toward the big cities with a high-frequency commuter service through Enfield, Windsor Locks, Windsor, Hartford, West Hartford, Berlin, Newington, Meriden, Wallingford and North Haven. Riders heading farther south, whether it”™s Stamford, Greenwich or Manhattan, would connect to Metro-North service at New Haven.
“I think the link certainly can help,” said David Lewis, president and CEO of Operations Inc., a human resources consulting businesses in Stamford. He said it will only help if the rail is paralleled with parking to support a commuter who is signing up for a long commute down the line.
“You don”™t want to add another step to the commute,” said Lewis. “You”™ve got many people driving to a station 30 miles away that has space, not necessarily the station that”™s closest.”
Lewis said, particularly in Stamford, businesses closest to the train station would benefit most from the link, though those aren”™t the ones adding a significant amount of jobs.
“That could dull the excitement, but it bodes well to the south end development,” Lewis said of the major Building and Land Technology Harbor Point redevelopment project in south Stamford. He said, though the only announced major tenant ”“ Starwood ”“ will be bringing most of their employees over the border from White Plains.
“It will matter on who else buys that real estate,” said Lewis. “However it goes, it will continue to create the divide between real estate close to the train station and the real estate that is not. On average it”™s $60 per square foot at the train station and $30 away from it, that tells you all you need to know about how attractive it is to be near public transportation in a county where driving is a nightmare.”
According to the Department of Transportation the option for the state to buy the 38 cars is valid through August 2012, with a price to date of just over $2.1 million per car. The Department of Transportation has said the figure could fluctuate, because of an escalator clause derived from inflation and materials prices. The clause allows for prices to increase up to $4,000 a month for each car, or about $150,000 a month for all 38; making the order even more time sensitive.
