LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD COMMUTER’S COUNCIL
MINUTES OF JULY 9, 2015
A meeting of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council (LIRRCC) was convened at 4:30 pm on July 9, 2015, in the LIRR East Side Access Readiness Conference Room at 450 7th Avenue, New York.
The following members were present:
Gerard P. Bringmann Mark Epstein
Owen Costello Ira Greenberg
Bryan Peranzo
The following members were on the phone:
Matthew Kessler Maureen Michaels
Larry Rubinstein
The following members were absent:
Sheila Carpenter Michael Godino
Ray Pagano
In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson -PCAC Executive Director
Ellyn Shannon -PCAC Associate Director
Christopher Greif -NYCTRC Council Member
Richard Schulman -Concerned citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the July 9, 2015 meeting was approved. The minutes of the May 14, 2015 meeting were approved
Chair’s Report
Mark Epstein presented the Chair’s Report. A written copy of the report is attached to these minutes.
Board Report
Ira Greenberg gave the Board Report. He said that the new M9 cars and Positive Train Control (PTC) were two major issues discussed at the MTA Board LIRR Committee meeting. He said that there are changes being made to the M9 design as a result of the larger than expected size of PTC equipment. Another issue discussed was the addition of cameras to the interior of the cars.
In terms of performance, On-Time Performance (OTP) is improving and Mean Distance between Failures (MDBF) is at an all-time high on the LIRR.
Maureen Michaels asked whether by not running diesel trains on the weekend the LIRR is making its statistics look better. Mr. Greenberg replied that running this equipment less can make its statistics worse rather than better.
Staff Report
William Henderson summarized the rider comments that have been received since the last meeting. He noted that he continues to receive complaints that the on-platform waiting areas at the Amityville station are locked, but that the person who is making these complaints has also complained about the homeless using these areas and leaving them in disrepair. Mr. Henderson said that he has replied to the rider previously that the doors are likely being locked by the police when they find the shelters being misused, as with homeless individuals using them for overnight shelter.
Hector Garcia confirmed that police agencies lock these shelters and that they remain locked until they are opened by LIRR personnel. LIRR Senior Vice President-Operations David Kubicek said that he would look into the schedule on which the stations are being opened so that they can be open during morning commuting hours.
Mr. Henderson said that the staff would be pursuing a new needs request with the MTA to obtain staffing for the LIRR Mineola office. Maureen Michaels asked whether a job description has been developed for the position. Mr. Henderson said that a general description of the need and the additional personnel resources needed are what is required in the New Needs process and that a more detailed position description may depend on the resources provided by MTA and would follow later. He briefly described the New Needs process.
Member Reports
Gerard Bringmann stated that people from his neighboring community who use the Bellport station wish to be classified in the same zone as Patchogue rather than Mastic-Shirley due to the considerable difference between the costs of tickets in the two zones. He said that there is a movement to petition the MTA to make this change and he said that he understands that similar changes have been made before, although this effort may be a long shot.
Election
Mr. Henderson said that to date two candidates have identified themselves, Mark Epstein for Chair and Larry Rubinstein for Vice Chair. Mr. Henderson asked for further nominations and if there are no further nominations that a motion be made to close nominations. There were no further nominations and the Council voted to close the nominations. Mr. Henderson asked for a motion that the Council elect the two candidates. Ira Greenberg abstained, noting that he does not vote in uncontested elections as a matter of course, and Mr. Henderson noted that Mike Godino had forwarded a proxy directing that his vote for the incumbent Council officers be recorded. All others in attendance voted in favor of electing Mark Epstein and Larry Rubinstein Chair and Vice Chair, respectively.
Old Business
Mark Epstein asked LIRR staff in attendance to comment on several issues. On the issue of railroad crossing safety, Mr. Epstein noted a recently announced partnership of the Rail Road to increase crossing safety, Google’s action on mapping grade crossings, and the recent fatalities near the Hollis station.
Mr. Kubicek noted that he had responded to a previously expressed concern about station clocks. Mr. Garcia said that the MTA is entering into a closer partnership with Operation Lifesaver and that the LIRR will be out at stations to educate people about rail safety, but that they have been doing something similar for years.
Mr. Epstein asked why people try to cross tracks unsafely. Mr. Garcia stated that it depends on the location and that at Little Neck the issue is convenience. People there do not want to use the track overpass and instead cross unsafely. Owen Costello added that people being dropped off are not near the overpass and do not want to walk back to use it. Bryan Peranzo commented that one effort that must be made to reach out to non-commuters. Mr. Garcia responded that at stations, the problem of unsafe behavior is largely people crossing to station. Mr. Kubicek stated that Operation Lifesaver tries to reach people through multiple channels.
Mr. Garcia said that there is an MTA partnership with Google, but that the LIRR has not been directly involved. Richie Schulman said that the problem of deaths and injuries on the tracks is not a new one and that there have always been tragedies.
Mr. Kubicek said that at Hollis, the fatalities involved a couple trespassing in the right-of-way in the bridge area and that those killed were area residents. Mr. Garcia said that there is high security fencing in this area and the persons killed intentionally entered the track area. Mr. Epstein asked about the transfer of passengers on the train involved in the accident. Mr. Kubicek said that it took between 30 to 45 minutes to transfer people to another train and that in a situation such as this the LIRR works to get people off the involved train and to a platform.
Ms. Michaels said that the first alerts on the incident referenced police activity, but commuters know this generally indicates someone struck by a train. She said that it is important for the alerts to contain more information about the nature of the incident so riders know what to expect.
Mr. Epstein said that one of the main complaints of commuters is that they know more about an incident than train crews know or at least admit to knowing. This is frustrating to those delayed on a train. Mr. Kubicek agreed and said that this is something the Rail Road is working on with its unions in relation to crew’s use of mobile phones. The LIRR is working on an alert system for conductors. He also asked the members whether a description like “person struck in right-of-way” provides riders with more useful information, and the members agreed that it does. Ms. Michaels said that information like this is sometimes given in alerts, but it is not consistent.
Mr. Schulman said that the LIRR is the only railroad that he knows where train crews do not have individual radios. Mr. Bringmann said that issuing mobile phones to crews was supposed to resolve this problem, but it has not. He said that he was recently on a train where crew members did not know that an additional stop had been added at Babylon.
Mr. Epstein said that in the recent situation where a train failed to stop at Wyandanch, riders had to make the first step to be reimbursed for alternative transportation to return to the station. He said that the LIRR should have sent an alert to Ronkonkoma Branch riders that reimbursement is available and that they should keep any relevant receipts. Ms. Michaels agreed that a policy on these situations is needed. Mr. Peranzo asked what will be happen if this situation happens again. Mr. Bringmann said that a policy need not be systemwide, as the Ronkonkoma Branch is single-tracked and there are few reverse peak trains. Mr. Garcia said that the LIRR made a one-time accommodation and that he did not know what would happen in a similar situation.
Mr. Epstein asked whether the 9:44 am train at Hicksville is being delayed by freight operations. Mr. Garcia said that the reason the passenger train is held at the station is an operational issue and not freight operations. Mr. Kubicek said that the MTA Board will soon be looking at its freight agreements. The agreement with the New York and Atlantic has achieved its goals, but the LIRR will be looking at schedules, runs, and their length and frequency. He said that the LIRR will have a very regimented way of looking at New York and Atlantic Railroad runs, which will consider freight in the context of total revenue and deadhead runs. Mr. Kubicek also said that he is concerned with the placement of “hot box” detectors designed to spot defective cars and is trying to get agreement of all parties on their location.
Mr. Epstein said that the political imperative on Long Island is to increase freight traffic. Mr. Kubicek said that he is also looking at the equipment used by freight operations, including the lengths of trains and ways in which trains are scheduled. He said that his highest priority is the passenger operation, but that he will provide for additional freight if it is consistent with maintaining passenger service quality and OTP.
Ellyn Shannon asked how much income freight operations generate. Mr. Kubicek said that income is $1 to 2 million per year, but importantly the freight operator has put a lot of investment into the Rail Road’s facilities, despite some negative impacts. Mr. Garcia said that the LIRR will add necessary service where it is able and then allow freight operations in the space that remains.
The Council briefly discussed the incident where a passenger fell between the platform and a train at Great Neck. It was noted that part of the issue was the geometry of the station.
Mr. Epstein said that he wants to schedule the Hillside Facility visit that some members had requested and that staff will work this out with Mr. Garcia. He asked whether weekend dates were a possibility and members said they were and Mr. Garcia said that this possibility could be explored.
Mr. Henderson said that work is continuing on demonstrating the value of the MTA Capital Program through the Keeping NY on Track website and meetings with local leaders. He said that staff is working on a new chapter for the existing website.
Mr. Epstein said that the Suffolk Taxi Commission is now official and he will meet with Suffolk County officials to discuss the LIRRCC’s relationship with the Commission.
Mr. Garcia provided several station updates, noting that the Massapequa station is complete, the Wyandanch parking facility is nearly complete and will be officially opened in mid-August, and the Smithtown station improvements would be opening in the next week.
Mr. Epstein said that he would like updates on the Flushing station elevator, Wantagh platform, and Hicksville platform projects. Mr. Garcia said that all of these projects would have their contracts let and be under construction by early next year.
Owen Costello raised the issue of crowding on narrow Penn Station platforms when a train is late and the next train on the platform is called. In these cases passengers can’t get off arriving trains because of boarding passengers. Mr. Peranzo said this situation is sometimes a problem on platforms shared with Amtrak and noted that these trains have 27 minutes to board and that they should not be called when another train is arriving.
Mr. Kubicek said that there is not closed-circuit television (CCTV) connectivity for station managers to see what is happening on the platforms and that he is working on remedying this, but at this point people are reading from scripts rather than reacting to what they see. He said that this is the first railroad where he has worked where operations personnel do not have access to security camera feeds and that the real challenge is crowd management. Mr. Costello agreed that crowding is a problem. Mr. Kubicek said that he is working to rebuild the Station Manager’s office at Penn Station and that the back-up facility for the Station Manager is better than the primary office.
Mr. Epstein noted that pigeon control at stations has been in the news recently. Mr. Kubicek said that the LIRR is working on new approaches to controlling pigeons.
Mr. Epstein asked what is happening at Penn Station. Mr. Kubicek said that there were initially two supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems at Penn Station and they have been converted to a single system, which has improved operations. The improvement was required because the characteristics of the West Side Yard were changing and the SCADA systems in place weren’t compatible with the changes. Mr. Epstein asked about changes to retail space. Mr. Kubicek said that they will be modifying corners where concourses and passages meet to improve pedestrian flow.
Mr. Bringmann asked the status of positive train control (PTC) and whether the LIRR will be testing on the Port Washington Branch. Mr. Kubicek confirmed that testing will take place on the Port Washington Branch and said that he has been meeting with engineers to determine where PTC equipment will be placed on the new M9 cars, but that this will not affect riders.
Mr. Epstein noted the need for additional window shading in the M9 cars. Mr. Peranzo said that it was mentioned in the M9 focus groups, but did not appear in the report on the groups that had been provided to the Council.
Mr. Costello asked whether car numbers could be displayed on the LCD screens being installed on the M9 equipment.
New Business
No New Business was discussed.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
William Henderson
Executive Director