All aboard for delays, buses
Starting Monday, track maintenance will derail Danbury branch for two months
DANBURY — The good news is MetroNorth is going to make the train ride from the Hat City to South Norwalk safer and smoother for commuters.
The bad news is track maintenance work will last for two months, starting Monday, with seven southbound buses replacing as many offpeak trains that will not run.
Buses will replace six trains bound for Danbury from South Norwalk during the next two months. That’s not all. Buses will leave Danbury as much as 30 minutes earlier than the regularly scheduled train, and buses coming from South Norwalk will arrive in Danbury as much as 30 minutes later than the regularly scheduled train.
“That can’t be fun,”
said Dominick Alessandro, a Danbury resident with a Manhattan design business that he commutes to each day from MetroNorth’s Harlem Line in nearby Purdys, N.Y. “I can’t imagine too many people wanting to go through that — most people will probably find another way to get to work.”
The work, which includes replacing railroad ties, welding joints, and clearing brush, is part of MetroNorth’s regular track maintenance program and is not related to two other train projects at the Danbury branch that made news last week.
One project to install and test new safety technology could be completed by the end of September, according to the state Department of Transportation. The technology, known as positive train control, would make the Danbury branch the first line in the state where speeding or unsafe trains could be stopped automatically.
Another project to reactivate an old track from Danbury to Southeast, N.Y., and create a shortcut to Grand Central Terminal gained traction last week when the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council authorized $1 million to study its merits.
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and leaders in Putnam County already know some of the numbers.
Connecticut residents account for 780 parking permits at Southeast train stations, with another 95 Connecticut residents on the waiting list.
In addition, buses bring 195 commuters daily from Danburyarea parking lots to Southeast train stations, according to Putnam County officials.
By contrast, the Danbury branch has 1,100 daily riders to South Norwalk. A typical ride from Danbury to Grand Central Station takes two hours.
The shortcut track would be an attractive alternative to some Danbury commuters such as Alessandro who drive to New York stations, only if the train from Danbury was nonstop to Grand Central, and didn’t require a wait on the Southeast platform, he said.
At the same time, Alessandro said, there is something appealing about the convenience of commuting from his hometown station.
But from Monday through midNovember getting to and from the Danbury train station will be less convenient for those who take the affected trains.
MetroNorth has created a cheat sheet for Danbury branch commuters: web.mta.info/mnr/pdf/ 082619_DanburyBusing_ both_v5.pdf
“It’s going to be a nightmare,” Alessandro said.