While we complain about Metro-North–oh, do we complain about Metro-North–we Harlem Liners do realize we have it pretty good, with Metro-North’s best on-time percentage of the three lines, and some creature comforts that New Haven Liners can only dream abou–at least until mid 2010.

One New Haven Line vet actually gave the Harlem Line a ride yesterday for a visit to Mt. Kisco, and shared her findings on the Larchmont/Mamaroneck community site The Loop.

Writes Loop-y editrix Polly Kreisman:

Now I know how the other half lives.

The train was almost spotless, the seats big and contoured and comfy. The middle seat actually fit the dimensions of an average adult. No pew style here with the sticky floor.

The a/c was working. The lights stayed on the entire trip. And it was eerily quiet. No conductors on the loud speakers yelling to each other;  the trip from Larchmont many mornings feels like communal  eavesdropping.

I never once had to stand up clutching my computer, jacket, blackberry and purse  to let someone “slip” into the middle seat.

And we sat. Really sat. No one had to stand. It was all very civilized. A sort of Eurail by way of Hawthorne.

Our Connecticut correspondent ConnecticEnergy boarded the 8:03 out of Stamford this morning, then squeezed into a four-seater across from none other than 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley. Pelley, freshly back from Afghanistan to report on the state of the war, was apparently putting the finishing touches on the piece, which is to run Sunday–pecking away at a laptop.

Connectic struck up a convo with Pelley and congratulated him on a recent Emmy he was awarded. Connectic says Pelley could not have been more gracious and friendly while chatting with him and the people across the aisle–all that while in that smooth broadcaster baritone.

Last year, Page Six spied him on Metro-North, chatting with Ashleigh Banfield.

Besides elicting one of the most bizarre obit second paragraphs as I’ve seen in some time, the passing of famous writer Dominick Dunne earlier this week prompted an entertaining yard from Conductor Bobby, the New Haven Line staffer with a knack for spying–and approaching–celebs on board.

He writes:

I’ve seen the author Dominick Dunne on my train several times over the years. He is always very impeccably dressed and looks as if he is headed to a polo match or some swanky country club. I recognized him from his eyeglasses, which are horn-rimmed and round. They make him look oh so much like a senior member of the Harry Potter fan club.The first time I met Mr. Dunne was on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the Nicole Brown Simpson slayings. He had a garment bag slung over his shoulder when he got on the train in New Haven, which is about a 40 minute ride from his home in Old Lyme.

The two struck up a conversation about the O.J. trial, and Conductor Bobby apparently made enough of an impression on Dunne to worm his way into the roman a clef Dunne wrote about the trial.

The novel was Dunne’s thinly veiled memoir about his experiences at the O. J. trial and how he, somewhere along the way, lost the objectivity of a reporter and became emotionally involved in the case. The novel’s protagonist’s name is Gus Bailey.In the last chapter of the book, page 343 to be exact, gossip columnist Liz Smith asks Gus if he ever gets sick of discussing O. J.:

“I talk about him to Deb at the gas station when she puts gas in my car.

I talk about him to the train conductor on Metro North.”

With Metro-North ridership down 2.8% from the same point last year, the Journal News says the railroad is facing an unforeseen revenue shortage–on top of the $1.8 billion deficit it’s already staring at.

Its core customers thinned due to commuters being laid off, Metro-North has never seen such a protracted dip in ridership.

The paper reports:

Railroad spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the railroad was seeing what is probably its worst stretch of lower ridership in its 26-year history.

It’s funny–as recently as February, Metro-North was volubly touting its record ridership last year, with a 4% increase. OK, maybe funny isn’t the right word.

And here’s the happiest little New Haven Line rider ever, the lagging line’s cantenary woes, five hour trips to Westport and other pratfalls be damned. New Rochelle-to-Grand Central (and back!) commuter/legal secretary Lillian Martinez tells the Journal News train service is downright near-perfect every damn day:

“In 18 years on Metro-North, maybe I’ve been late or held up five times,” she said.

Going to be commuting daily from stamford to nyc - catching something like the 6:40 train. i’m confused about the parking situation/costs in stamford and if anyone thinks it’s worthwhile to go to Greenwich or Old Greenwich for non-parking permit folks.
 
seems to be a bunch of garages in stamford.  was going to take a ride around the station this coming weekend?  any garage better than the other in terms of distance?
 
any other advice?  anyone that you could refer me to for advice?
 
Thanks!
Jeff

Conductor Bobby has a fascinating account of his new assignment as a Metro-North conductor–working on the Waterbury Branch, which appears to be full of homeless, fare-evaders, and “quick-turners”–the guys riding Bridgeport to score dope, then hopping back on the train to Waterbury.

That region of Connecticut used to be a bustling manufacturing base. Now it sounds like it’s beyond despondent.

Bobby writes:

A distraught woman boards the train in Seymour wreaking of booze. Her skin is pale white but her eyes are vibrant red and bloodshot. She tells me that her boyfriend just threw her out of the house and she needs to get to her sister’s place in Naugatuck. I say “no problem” and tell her that I can bill her for the fare. I hand her the billing pad book and she sits down. She begins sobbing uncontrollably, so much so, she can’t fill the billing form out. I take the pad from her shaking hands and I begin filling the form out. I ask for her name and address, but instead she gives me her life story.

ConnecticEnergy tells me about some scary moments on the Stamford train pulling into Grand Central about a half hour ago. Somewhere between 125th and Grand Central, the train stopped, and one conductor conversed with the other across the P.A. system.

It went something like this:

“Bobby, someone’s playing around with the buttons again. Can you check it out?”

“Got it, Jimmy, no problem.”

Bobby presumably went to check on some doofus pulling the emergency brake or something, then got back on the house mic–telling Jimmy to call an ambulance to be waiting on Grand Central when the train pulled in.

The next announcement went something like this:

“Ladies and gentlemen, sorry for the delay. We have a medical emergency…Is there anyone on board who can offer medical assistance?”

The conductor gave his car location, but apparently no one was forthcoming, so he got on the P.A. again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as I said, we have a medical emergency. Is there anyone on board who’s trained to give medical assistance?”

Moments later, the train pulled into the station. Connectic Energy did not notice rescue personnel and did not know the end result.

Don’t hate on Metro-North riders from the Nutmeg State because they’re blueblood banker guys who won’t let a bunch of kids build a wiffleball park.

Hate on them because Connecticut is exempt from the major price hikes that seem to be in the works, sayeth a dear rider/reader.

Greetings,
I’m curious as to why there’s been so little attention paid to the impact of the MTA Doomsday budget on Connecticut Metro North riders. Specifically, why isn’t the fare increase affecting Connecticut Metro North riders? With the Doomsday budget soon to be in place, a trip from Connecticut to Grand Central will cost less than a trip from stations within New York to Grand Central. This is just one more example of how state governments in Albany and Hartford have different agendas with respect to mass transit.

Perhaps it’s time to eliminate the fragile “regional” transportation agreement between New York and Connecticut.

Signed,
A Frustrated Metro North Rider from Mamaroneck

“Wow, look at her–she’s a hottie!”

“Didja hear the MTA is thinking of reducing fares 25%? Those guys are nuts!”

“I really have to give riders credit for honoring Metro-North’s limit-your-cellphone-calls policy.”

“Those new conductor uni’s sure are spiffy.”

“Gotta love the New Haven Line–it’s never late!”

The intelligence quotient of the 6:12 to Stamford last night spiked noticeably with none other than NY Times Op-Edder/Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman on board.

Kudos to Saugatucker for actually recognizing the guy. Saugie says Krugman was reading the New York Review of Books.

[image Mother Jones]