On June 13th, MNR President Howard Permut and his senior staff gathered in the MTA Board room to greet and answer questions from MNR riders. Upon being introduced by MNRCC Chair David Buchwald, President Permut gave an overview of how far the Railroad had come since 1983. Some of the facts were startling:
— OTP went from 80.5% to 98.6%
— Consist compliance is now 99.8%
— Ridership has grown from 41.3 million to 82.03 million; and is on target for highest ridership ever this year
— Won the Brunel Award 2011, best application of engineering and design of any railroad in the world;
FIRST US RAILROAD TO WIN THIS AWARD!
How did MNR Change?
1. Capital investment
2. Committed leadership; began to operate the railroad like a business
3. Continuous organizational change – hired the right team
4. Intensive focus on customers – “our job is to serve customers”
Riders asked questions on a variety of topics, including:
Positive Train Control
Drainage problems in the Bronx
New Haven service stop at Woodlawn
Banging noise in the M-8s
Hot air in GCT
Retail and food services in GCT northern end
Discounts on fares and refund policies
High Speed Rail through Connecticut
Track capacity at New Canaan
A full Summary of Proceedings will be posted on the PCAC website in the near future.