I Hate Metro-North

Given the past couple of days, maybe I should rename the blog...but I digress.

This morning we boarded the train to find the August edition of Mileposts scattered on the seats. The majority of the newsletter was devoted to how "green" the railroad is. I suppose they have to find something to pat themselves on the back about given the debacles of the last few months. It did nothing to offset the sigh of resignation when, turning to the back page and looking at the latest "On Time Performance" (i.e., "Arrivals within 5 minutes 59 seconds of schedule") statistics, we find that, once again, the New Haven Line has the worst on time record. So why was I surprised when the train left South Norwalk late and arrived late at Grand Central Terminal?

Arriving at the office, I grabbed a cup of tea and sat down to read the New York Times online. One of the main articles was about yesterday's service disruptions and the fact that an almost identical "weather incident" happened three years ago. That disruption was followed up by a major investigation and report, to which the MTA responded with plans for major work on the transit system. Obviously, their "major work" rated right up there with the Army Corps of Engineers strengthening of the levees around New Orleans in the years before Katrina.

The commute home was almost as unbearable as yesterday morning's. I ended up working late, so I caught the 5:54 to South Norwalk. When we boarded the train there were no lights and no air on any of the five cars. We assumed (silly us) that lights and air would be turned on as the train departed the station. After the doors closed, and just before we pulled away at 5:59, the crew apologized for the lack of lights and air. They guessed the railroad wanted the train to go like that. Usually, they announce the lack of light and air before the train doors close so that people can move cars quickly or take a different train entirely.

After picking up passengers at 125th Street, they again apologized but also said that some of the cars (two, to be exact, but they never said) up front had lights and air and that we should move up there if we wanted cool cars. Some people moved. The rest of us decided that, after a long day, a seat in a dark stuffy car was better than standing room only in a cool car, which would only get stuffy anyway because of the number of people.

To top it all off, we arrived in South Norwalk at 7:00, definitely more than 5 minutes 59 seconds behind schedule.

So, they can't cope with the weather, they're running old equipment, and they are not great on getting us from point A to point B on time. Oh, and by the way, they want to raise our fares. Unfortunately, my monthly commutation ticket is still cheaper--and more environmentally friendly--than driving my car into Manhattan five days a week. Not to mention that I can nap on the train...

Peace,
Jeffri