09/10/2016
While living along the New Haven Line Corridor, I nearly always brought my bicycle on Metro-North New Haven Line trains. Bicycles on Metro-North cars were restricted. Metro-North planners liked it that way. Technically you weren't allowed on trains with bikes for nearly half of each weekday. Conductors were mostly supportive of cyclists, but a state-sanctioned commuter rail council was not. There were no bicycle accommodations on the old train cars. With a pending train order of 380 train cars, I thought why not have bike parking on the new trains? I met with & spoke to cyclists, media and elected officials in order to persuade officials that providing bike parking on the new train cars was an achievable and desirable goal. I even contacted a potential manufacturer, Sportworks Northwest, and passed on contact info to Metro-North officials. I met friends and allies along the way, David Bedell, Mary Mushinsky, Melinda Tuhus, Tom Kehoe, Ken Coughlin, Jason Stockmann, Kim Martineau, Michael Norris, Doug Hausladen, David Marcus, Aaron Goode, Matthew J. Feiner, Hunter Smith & others. A number of us worked together through our advocacy group, RailTEC. Allies at Elm City Cycling and other cycling groups supported our vision. Governor Jodi Rell signed on after receiving a number of letters including a letter from then-New Haven Mayor DeStefano and she ordered Connecticut DOT to include bike racks on the new M-8 cars. When it was all said and done, Sportworks Northwest picked up the largest bike rack on trains contract ever and in mid-August DOT
Commissioner Redeker (see excerpt below) announced that the bike racks would be installed on all New Haven Line train cars. That's good news :-)
Can you help us take the next step: make on-board bicycle parking available at peak hours for cyclists traveling within the State of Connecticut?
Richard Stowe
Bicycle racks on every New Haven Line train
By: DAVID GURLIACCI | August 18, 2016
Darienite.com
Following the recent purchase of 405 new, state-of-the-art M-8 rail cars that are now in service on the New Haven Line, the state began outfitting the cars with bicycle racks in response to customer demand.
“This is another example of our listening to our customers and taking positive action,” Commissioner Redeker said.
Bicycles are not permitted on peak-hour (morning and evening rush) trains.
The cost of installing the racks was $209,000. Connecticut’s share was $135,000 and the State of New York paid the balance under the 65-35 percent financial agreement between the states.
Check out this old story on the New Haven Line bike racks:
If you're riding the rails on Metro-North, soon it will be easier to bring your wheels along too.
