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[Nexis4Jersey]

Stamford - Metro North

East Side rail proponents find transit study results lacking

Martin B. Cassidy
Published 2:34 pm, Monday, July 15, 2013
Craig Lader, a senior planner at SRPA, said the agency understood East Side residents and business owners want a train station as soon as possible, but since this will take years, an interim plan makes sense.

"There are many reasons why a train station is not going to happen for a decade at best," Lader said.

"The community has made it clear they want something to take place as soon as possible, and we thought the bus would be the best way to introduce something on a near-term basis with all the political support that is needed."

If the interim transit plan helps bring more people and business to the East Side, it will help bolster a longer-term effort to promote a project to build a rail station that would likely face high costs and other expected hurdles.

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/loca...dy-4666357.php

East Main Street Transit Oriented Development

Building Facts:
- Potential for 15 Building Structures
- Residential w/ possible retail
- Developer: Parsons Brinckerhoff
- Planner: South Western Regional Planning Agency, NY-CT Sustainable Communities

http://www.sustainablenyct.org/docs/...6.26.13_cl.pdf

Station Place Redevelopment (Manhattan Street, Station Place, Atlantic Street, Henry Street)

Building Facts:
- Proposed
- Mix of Office, Commercial, Residential, Parking (Garage) space
- Combined Total of +1,000,000 sq ft of development
- Office/Hotel Complex: +600,000 sq ft,
- Metro Tower: 17 story office building
- Manhattan St Tower
- 150 room hotel, 150 residential units
- 11.5 story residential building (131 Units)
- 2.5 story residential building (24 Units)
- 60,000 sq ft street-level retail
- Total of 2,300 spaces between parking garages
- Developer: JHM Group of Companies, Malkin Properties, and Jonathan Rose Companies LLC
- $500M development
- Expected Groundbreaking: Mid 2014

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news...t-4659762.php#

[Nexis4Jersey]

Wesmont Train Station breaks ground in Wood-Ridge

March 12, 2014, 11:12 AM Last updated: Wednesday, March 12, 2014, 11:12 AM
By Susan JOy Clark
Officials broke ground March 11 on the new Wesmont Train Station, a state-of-the-art commuter rail station at the 70-acre mixed-use, transit-oriented redevelopment.

The new train station, located on the former site of the Curtiss-Wright aircraft facility, will connect with the Bergen County Line and is expected to generate approximately 800 daily trips. All of the buildings at the development will be within walking distance of the station, and will provide riders with a 25-minute commute into Manhattan.

The new station is a partnership of Somerset Development, the developer of property, and NJ Transit and is the first in New Jersey to break ground through a public-private partnership. Fall 2015 is the expected completion date of the station.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/wesm...37031?page=all

[Nexis4Jersey]

Elmhurst LIRR stop not a slam dunk

Photo By Christopher Barca

Passenger trains serving Elmhurst stopped along the tracks over Broadway until 1985, when the LIRR station there was razed. However, the MTA has proposed building a new, $40 million station in the bustling neighborhood by the end of the decade.

Posted: Thursday, October 9, 2014 10:30 am | Updated: 5:21 am, Wed Dec 24, 2014.

by Christopher Barca, Reporter


Nearly 30 years after Long Island Rail Road passenger trains last stopped in Elmhurst, the MTA has laid out plans to construct a new stop in the bustling northwest Queens neighborhood.

However, area elected officials and civic associations who have pressed for a station for years shouldn’t consider the $40 million plan as set in stone just yet.

http://www.qchron.com/editions/centr...c5b607b87.html

[Nexis4Jersey]

State approves bond funds for work on new CT rail stations

By Shelton Herald on January 13, 2015
On the New Haven Line, new stations will be added in Bridgeport (to be called the Barnum Station, a second station in the Park City) and Orange, plus enhancements to the existing Merritt Seven Station on the Danbury Branch of the New Haven Line.

Barnum Station will be on the East Side of Bridgeport, between Bridgeport Hospital and East Main Street. The city’s existing train station is in downtown Bridgeport, and will remain operational as well.

http://sheltonherald.com/57428/state...in-bridgeport/

[chris08876]

Has the project in post #121 started construction? That complex is very impressive. First time hearing about that project.

[scalziand]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

I think the Waterbury Branch will take a backseat to any real upgrades and extensions till the other branches and SLE get there expansions... Torrington can wait another 10-15 years while Bristol/New Britain might be more urgent with the I-84 Rebuild.

The passing siding at least seems pretty certain to happen, and according to the officials at the meeting, will happen long before the Danbury line gets electrified.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Has the project in post #121 started construction? That complex is very impressive. First time hearing about that project.

Not yet , I think there targeting the Summer or Fall for breaking ground...

[Nexis4Jersey]

Despite problems, Metro-North ridership rises

Theresa Juva-Brown, tjuva@lohud.com 9:09 a.m. EST January 21, 2015

Despite chronic problems with overcrowded cars, delayed trains and slow commutes in 2014, Metro-North Railroad is expected to set a new ridership record.

Leaders estimate the railroad provided 84.7 million trips last year — the highest number in its 31-year history. Metro-North's previous record was in 2008, when it posted 83.6 million rides.

But as the railroad becomes busier than ever, officials continue to struggle to make much-needed track repairs and deliver reliable service each day, Metro-North President Joseph Giulietti acknowledged Tuesday.

Metro-North has come under heavy fire since a series of disasters on its tracks in 2013, including a derailment in Connecticut and a December crash in the Bronx that killed four passengers and injured dozens. Investigators later determined the engineer in that case was speeding and dozed at the controls before the train flew off the track. Since then, leaders have been overhauling the railroad's programs and practices with a special focus on safety.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/tran...rise/22068359/

[Nexis4Jersey]

Mamaroneck approves transit-focused rezoning

By Mark Lungariello
The area targeted for the rezone centers around the village’s Metro-North station and is expected to encourage redevelopment of properties long discouraged from seeking permits due to a hodgepodge of zoning. The rezoning reduces the amount of nonconforming lots in the zone from 85 percent to 35 percent, according to Frank Fish of BFJ.

The change creates an overlay zone in the area around the village’s main thoroughfare, Mamaroneck Avenue, and allows for mixed-use buildings in the corridor. Bonuses would be included for developers that construct affordable housing units in residential buildings or build retail or restaurant space on the ground floor of residential buildings, which would be limited to four stories or less. The area, within a quarter-mile of the train station, is expected to be an attractive option for educated millennials looking for walkable communities and access to public transportation to Manhattan.

http://westfaironline.com/67759/mama...used-rezoning/

[jamesinclair]

Has construction started at the North Brunswick (or is it South Brunswick?) station between New Brunswick and Princeton on NJ Transit?

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

Has construction started at the North Brunswick (or is it South Brunswick?) station between New Brunswick and Princeton on NJ Transit?

No , but I will check in a few weeks...

[Nexis4Jersey]

Construction underway on commuter rail line to Sussex County


By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author
on January 14, 2015 at 8:19 AM, updated January 14, 2015 at 8:23 AM

Construction has begun on the first commuter train line to Sussex County in decades as rails are being installed that will extend service to Andover.

The first 4.25 miles of track have been installed on the former Lackawanna Cutoff, as part of the first phase of the project to restore 7.3 miles of track between the Port Morris rail yards and Andover Township, said William Smith, NJ Transit spokesman.

The cutoff would connect to NJ Transit's existing Morris & Essex lines at Port Morris Junction in Roxbury, and to Mid-Town Direct service to New York in Dover.

This spring, NJ Transit plans to take bids to build a station and high level platforms in Andover, and to do more track construction and work on the Roseville Tunnel, Smith said. Passenger service could start in four years, depending on factors such as how weather conditions affect construction, he said.


The Sierra Club's state chapter opposes the project because it will open up environmentally sensitive areas in the Highlands region to sprawling development, said Jeff Tittel, chairman. The project received federal environmental approvals in 2008.

http://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/...l#incart_river

[scalziand]

DOT committed to signals on Waterbury line
Friday, January 30, 2015 3:05 AM EST

BY PAUL HUGHES REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

HARTFORD — The state Department of Transportation is doing its best to accelerate the design and installation of a signalization system for the Waterbury rail line, DOT Commissioner James P. Redeker told state lawmakers Thursday.

http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2015/...cal/858652.txt

The current $7 million grant is just for the signal design, and the whole installation is expected to cost $70 million, but should allow service to double.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Branch lines may benefit from Malloy’s transportation plan

By by Jeannette Ross on January 25, 2015
“Each of the branch lines has been through extensive studies,” Mr. Redeker said. They include Danbury, New Canaan and Waterbury.

The emphasis will be on expanded service and improved service. Although they are secondary to the main passenger line, he said the branch lines offer “extraordinary opportunities” for development and will be a “major focus” of the plan.

Budgeting will have to begin almost immediately to “build the capacity within the Department of Transportation to do the things we have to do,” Mr. Malloy said.

As for where the money will come from, he was not specific. “We are not focused on funding now,” but did indicate there may be public partnerships and design-build opportunities. To a question about paying for the plan with tolls, he said, “There are many ways to pay for transportation improvements,” adding a toll is essentially a tax on motorists.

“We have to make the investment,” he said, or “continue to complain” about the state of transportation.

http://www.thereddingpilot.com/21146...ortation-plan/

[Nexis4Jersey]

VALHALLA — At least six people were killed Tuesday after a Metro-North commuter train struck two cars just north of the train station, emergency responders said.

Multiple others were said to be injured in the crash.

The crash, which occurred about 6:30 p.m. near the Commerce Street crossing, caused an explosion that ignited both the cars and the Harlem Line train.

Numerous police and fire departments were responding for a "mass-casualty" incident.

David Billig, director of media relations at Westchester County Medical Center, could not confirm any of the injuries, but he said that officials at the hospital, one of the only Level 1 trauma centers in the area, were readying for patients from the crash.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/loca...ties/22822737/

[Nexis4Jersey]

Plans for Renovated Nostrand Avenue LIRR Station Revealed

By Camille Bautista on January 15, 2015 3:59pm
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Nostrand Avenue’s Long Island Rail Road station may soon get a facelift, according to MTA officials.

LIRR representatives revealed rehabilitation plans for the Atlantic Branch’s two-track elevated station at a community meeting Tuesday during which they detailed new staircases and glass canopies.

The proposal includes security cameras, improved LED lighting fixtures, new platforms and pedestrian overpasses composed of stainless steel to prevent rusting.

“The project will modernize the station and make it very attractive,” said Javier Toro, senior project manager for the agency.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/2015...ation-revealed

[Nexis4Jersey]

• Video Link

[scalziand]

Hummm.

State lawmakers mull measure seeking to replace Metro-North
Friday, February 13, 2015 3:05 AM EST

Associated Press

HARTFORD — State Transportation Commissioner James Redeker cautioned legislators against replacing Metro-North Railroad as the operator of the New Haven line linking Connecticut to New York City.

Sens. Toni Boucher of Wilton and Tony Hwang of Fairfield, both Republicans, have introduced a bill that would force the state Department of Transportation to put the contract out to bid. Connecticut or Metro-North may seek changes this year, Boucher said.

Several legislators from southwestern Connecticut say their constituents are unhappy with slow, unreliable rail service and want a different contractor.

http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2015/...cut/861685.txt

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

• Video Link

Wow, that's pretty intense... Is that normal?

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

Wow, that's pretty intense... Is that normal?

There's a thin layer of ice lining the 3rd rail.