Passenger Trains > COVID-19's Effect on Metro North's New Haven Line Ridership

It will take time for things to get back to normal or even close to normal with ridership on MNR's New Haven Line, one of the most busiest commuter rail lines in the country.
https://ctmirror.org/category/ct-viewpoints/the-road-ahead-for-rail-commuters/?fbclid=IwAR3Mph7V1xq_g5nbLdhwxNfcvbKqQ_f36NUM6LQ3Z1QznCfOi6H89lOhK8A

Its so sad watching tthe cities and big states commit economic suicide like this from hysteria.  Its hard to believe what I am seeing.

Being ultra PC overrides everything including common sense. 

This is all very devastating. Eventually more companies will move back into their office spaces or even new companies will move into the spaces of companies that have had to vacate. Fairfield County cities like Stamford and Greenwich have several offices near the train station. The same thing with Bridgeport. The ridership on the New Haven Line will return to at least acceptable levels probably after we get the vaccine. People will always need to travel from a New Haven Line station to Manhattan and back, whether for work, sightseeing, or visiting family. I know that the Waterbury Branch service improvements are being worked on during these very difficult times and I think that's a great idea. That branch has so much potential to have more than what it does-some additional sidings to enable more rail service. A lot more people have been moving up to the Naugatuck Valley to save money so having additional trains running through there would be great. In these next few years, I want to see more infrastructure replaced along the New Haven Line.

Expect huge traffic jams in the next month or so to start. People are afraid to ride public transit. 

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> Expect huge traffic jams in the next month or so
> to start.

that's ASSUMING the commerce we had PRIOR to covid-10 returns.  in addition to historical unemployment levels,  i have seen dismal forecast's of businesses that closed and will not re-open.

People are afraid to ride public
> transit. 

until there is a vaccine, i can understand why some people will avoid planes, trains, and buses................

66

Yes, until we have a proven vaccine available to all a whole lot of folks ( seniors and those with diabeties,obesity,copd etc.) will be very wary of being in close proximity with others. I also think working from home will be a much bigger percentage than before Carona. 

   And, if there's a second wave come November/December then all bets are off. 

   Again, notwithstanding all the nonsense happy talk out of the White House until we can mass test and do the follow up contact tracing we will continue to fly blind and be inviting a second wave. And until there's a proven, universally available vaccine this will not be over.

   IMHO-Ross Rowland 

goneon66 Wrote:
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> that's ASSUMING the commerce we had PRIOR to
> covid-10 returns.  in addition to historical
> unemployment levels,  i have seen dismal
> forecast's of businesses that closed and will not
> re-open.

in the NY metro area, it does not take much of a diversion from public transit to cars to make a mess, or more than they already is. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/20 15:12 by joemvcnj.

Not all people will want to drive. You aren't always safe in your car as you are when you take public transportation. Whenever all of those traffic jams begin on I-95, there will probably be many people who wish that they were riding public transportation. The vaccination is a must. I can't stress how critical it is to bring a safe and effective one. In coming months, I may be riding MNR's New Haven Line on either MNR or Amtrak, under the conditions that there are very few cases. Even in better times, many people don't want to be bunched next to each other-the term is called personal space. Many trains that I ride with two three seating, it's not unusual for me to just stand if there are very few seats. Fortunately, my trips on Metro North trains on the New Haven Line, I have been able to avoid sitting in the middle of the train or even the first few cars of the train facing Grand Central Terminal.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/20 15:04 by Passfanatic.

Facing seat pairs on commuter trains ought to come into question. They are worse for social-distancing than 3+2, because people are facing each other within 6 feet. The NJT MLV cars have 32 such seats. 

abyler Wrote:
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> Its so sad watching tthe cities and big states commit economic suicide like this from hysteria.   Its hard to believe what I am seeing.

These are links vetted by the Drudge Report, so hopefully you won't think I'm peddling fake news:

https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/automobiles/498706-chicago-ford-plant-temporarily-shutters-one-day-after

https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/05/20/employees-say-hundreds-tyson-foods-workers-texas-test-positive-covid-19/

In any case, I don't see how folks who have a choice are going to want to be in close contact with folks they don't know until there is a resolution on testing, treatment and / or vaccinations.  That means all types of passenger transportation and museums are in for a rough ride for awhile.

I can also foresee another reason in your case why this you might be affected.  25 percent of the Federal taxes folks in Connecticut pay go to states like where you live.  Similar numbers for most of the rest of the Northeast corridor.  You might have to pay higher taxes to make up for the shortfall.

Brian

Regular passenger rail operations will probably have an easior time surviving than tourist rrs and rr museums, even after the vaccine. It's possible that many of the tourist rr and rr museums in Connecticut may thrive again eventually. The issue with the tourist railroads is that many of the people working them are in the risk factor group and not every family member wants to continue operating the railroads after their patriarch and matriarch who operates them passes on.

and tourist/museum railroads DEPEND on people's disposable incomes for support.

gonna be tough times for a while..............

66

If things are better this summer, maybe there will be many people using MNR's New Haven Line to head to the beach or other tourist activities. Even in better times, I believe that a good portion of MNR's revenue comes from non-commuters. There is lots of commerce available in Connecticut where people involve Metro North to get to. It's not unusual for travelers heading to Southeastern Connecticut to take Metro North to New Haven and rent a car or take MNR to New Haven and then switch to Ctrail Shore Line East. Of course, there are plenty of people who live in a New Haven Line community who use the train to head into NYC for daytrips.

GN1969 Wrote:
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> Being ultra PC overrides everything including
> common sense. 

When it comes to public transportation and the coronavirus, "PC" is about is relevant as Penn Central.  Anti-transit individuals, organizations and sympathetic media sources may be called a number of things, but "politically correct" is not one of them.  Here's a piece written by Randal O'Toole calling for shutting down public transportation in the United States:

https://thefederalist.com/2020/04/22/how-public-transit-makes-the-nation-more-vulnerable-to-disasters-like-covid-19/

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/20 21:20 by RuleG.

I think in the super small metropolitan areas, public transportation may be affected more, especially routes that are much slower than driving. In Albuquerque, NM, they have Railrunner Express and it is pretty far from "express" in terms of travel times competitive with driving, especially between ABQ and Santa Fe. I rode Railrunner Express in August of 2014 and the schedule doesn't cater well to those commuters who work in Downtown ABQ. ABQ is very spread out and many of the jobs aren't near a train station. Railrunner Express has had consistant low ridership in better times. ABQ is ABQ and the NYC metropolitan area are two different animals. Back to the New Haven Line, this line has an advantage over many other commuter rail lines in the USA-suburban office parks are closer to train stations. There are plenty of people who live in the Bronx who work in Westchester County and use MNR to get to their job. Not just maybe to New Rochelle, Greenwich, and Stamford, but up to White Plains as well. Many of these jobs are essential service positions in medical offices.

RuleG Wrote:
> https://thefederalist.com/2020/04/22/how-public-tr
> ansit-makes-the-nation-more-vulnerable-to-disaster
> s-like-covid-19/

By O'Toole's logic, we should also abolish schools, nursing homes, churches, theaters, prisons, etc, wherever there are dense gatherings. He is too stupid to interpret the zip code infection maps of NYC and LI, which have nothing to do with rail lines. He could never explain away the highway-oriented Staten Island as being a hot zone, while Manhattan is not. 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/20 05:28 by joemvcnj.

Passfanatic Wrote:
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> If things are better this summer, maybe there will
> be many people using MNR's New Haven Line to head
> to the beach or other tourist activities. Even in
> better times, I believe that a good portion of
> MNR's revenue comes from non-commuters. There is
> lots of commerce available in Connecticut where
> people involve Metro North to get to. It's not
> unusual for travelers heading to Southeastern
> Connecticut to take Metro North to New Haven and
> rent a car or take MNR to New Haven and then
> switch to Ctrail Shore Line East. Of course, there
> are plenty of people who live in a New Haven Line
> community who use the train to head into NYC for
> daytrips.

There's nothing to do in any of these places because of the silly ahutdowns, so no one will be riding the trains to go to leisure activities in NYC or Connecticut, because there are no leisure activities and the northeast governors seem intent on shutting down all leisure activities for the forseeable future.  No Broadway, no Met, no amusement parks, no concerts, no sports games, etc.

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> RuleG Wrote:
> >
> https://thefederalist.com/2020/04/22/how-public-tr
>
> >
> ansit-makes-the-nation-more-vulnerable-to-disaster
>
> > s-like-covid-19/
>
> By O'Toole's logic, we should also abolish
> schools, nursing homes, churches, theaters,
> prisons, etc, wherever there are dense gatherings.
> He is too stupid to interpret the zip code
> infection maps of NYC and LI, which have nothing
> to do with rail lines. He could never explain away
> the highway-oriented Staten Island as being a hot
> zone, while Manhattan is not. 

Randal O'Toole is a complete idiot...Cato Institute ass kisser for the Koch Brother (Good thing only one is left).  I have had many aguments on email with him over rail....He actually thinks cars emit less polution than transit...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/20 08:07 by bluesboyst.