LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD COMMUTER’S COUNCIL
MINUTES OF MAY 8, 2014
A meeting of the Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council (LIRRCC) was convened at 4:30 pm on May 8, 2014, in the LIRR East Side Access Readiness Conference Room at 450 7th Avenue, 20th Floor – Manhattan, New York.
The following members were present:
Gerard Bringmann Mike Godino
Owen Costello Ira Greenberg
Mark Epstein Maureen Michaels
Raymond Pagano
The following members were on the telephone:
Matthew Kessler Larry Rubinstein
The following members were absent:
Sheila Carpenter Bryan Peranzo
In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson -PCAC Executive Director
Joe Calderone -LIRR
Craig Daly -LIRR
Mike Gilson -LIRR
Robert Free -LIRR
Michael Gelormino -LIRR
Jann Sanicola -LIRR
Hector Garcia -LIRR
John Collins -LIRR
Tom O’Brien -LIRR
Dina DeGiorgio -North Hempstead Councilwoman
Richard Schulman -Concerned citizen
Matt Alevy -Concerned citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the May 8, 2014 meeting was approved. Due to the full agenda, the presentation of the Chair’s, Members’, and Staff reports were postponed. The Chair’s report was distributed to members in written form.
Discussion of Rolling Stock, Equipment, and Customer Facility Inspection and Maintenance Standards and Schedules with Guests from the LIRR
Mark Epstein opened the floor for discussion and asked the guests to introduce themselves. John Collins began the discussion by noting that the maintenance standards that the LIRR uses are grounded in federal regulations and commented that the FRA standards for commuter railroads are contained in 49 CFR 213, although the LIRR’s track inspections exceed those required by FRA standards. He said that the LIRR walks its tracks once a week and uses a Sperry Rail Car to look for track defects twice a year, although the FRA requires the Sperry Rail Car inspections only once a year.
Ira Greenberg asked whether these inspections use of x-ray technology. Mr. Collins said that they do and noted that the LIRR also runs a track geometry car over the system four times per year.
Maureen Michaels asked why rails break. Mr. Collins responded that there are many reasons for rail failures, but most of them are related to temperature and changes in temperature.
Gerry Bringmann asked how track conditions are identified between inspections by the Sperry Rail Car and track geometry car. Michael Gelormino responded that there are LIRR employees regularly walking the tracks and tjat train crews report unusual situations, some of which are brought to their attention by their passengers. Mr. Collins pointed out that the incident that had occurred on the previous Friday was due to excessive rain.
Ms. Michaels said that she believes the automated inspections of the Main Line are not frequent enough. Robert Free replied that there are issues with the availability of the Sperry Rail Car, as well as track access, as an absolute block must be placed on a section of track in order for it to be tested using the Sperry Rail Car.
Raymond Pagano asked when the Sperry Rail Car inspections occur. John Collins said that they are performed in the spring and fall.
Mr. Greenberg suggested that the LIRR could reduce availability issues by purchasing its own Sperry Rail Car equipment. Mr. Collins replied that obtaining the equipment through the current contract allows for technology on the car to be kept up to date by its maker, as technology evolves over time. There would have to be a cost/benefit analysis performed to confirm whether purchasing this equipment would be prudent.
Ms. Michaels asked the incidence of defects detected by the Sperry Rail Car. Mr. Free responded that the number of defects that are found varies. Sometimes there are no defects, but sometimes there may be three or four defects found on a branch.
Mr. Pagano asked whether any efforts have been made to improve track durability. Mr. Collins commented that he is not aware of any such efforts and that there is not much new technology available to increase rail durability.
Mr. Greenberg inquired about the derailment near Kew Gardens a year ago and asked whether it was due to a rail joint defect. He asked how the rail joints are inspected. Mr. Gelormino responded that inspections are done visually and said that there may have been other factors at work. He said using continuous welded rail improves the rate of failure and stated that there is an aggressive track work program, which will replace the joints and upgrade insulated joints.
Mr. Greenberg said that the LIRR could add resources to these programs if this would reduce delays, but said that he did not see where increased resources would have reduced recent delays, except for one incident involving a derailment. Mr. Gelormino noted that there is sometimes an optimal staffing level, which is reflected in the size of track gangs that the LIRR uses. He said that equipment inspection and maintenance cycles are designed for safety and performance. The schedules are driven by FRA requirements, but generally exceed them. There are inspections that are performed each day and others that occur at longer intervals.
Owen Costello asked if the on-board restrooms are checked every day. Craig Daly replied that they are and noted that the M7 restroom doors are a difficult problem and that in general the restrooms on cars are in better shape earlier rather than later.
Ms. Michaels stated that on the M7 emergency exit window instructions riders are told to pull the window in, but she questioned how one would do this with the seat in the way. Mr. Daly stated that the emergency exit windows are inspected annually and that once the window is out of its frame it can be removed and put anywhere and it does not need to be pulled clear of the seats.
Mark Epstein asked if council could get a demonstration of the features that had been discussed. Mr. Gelormino responded that this is a good idea and he would be glad to set one up.
Ms. Michaels said that, with the performance of equipment in Metro-North Railroad’s Spuyten Duyvil derailment, she is worried about the performance of emergency exit windows.
Joe Calderone said that he will set up a demonstration at LIRR’s Hillside maintenance facility. Mr. Epstein suggested that LIRRCC members should have a tour of rolling stock, safety, and operational equipment.
Mike Godino asked about the cleanliness of car interiors. Mr. Daly said that there is a daily layup cleaning performed on each car and that they have found solutions to cleaning dust that collects near vents. He said that the LIRR started including vent cleaning in its extraordinary interior cleaning in August.
Ms. Michaels noted that station houses are not well maintained, but cars generally are. She also said that air vents are not dirty on coaches, but this is a problem on M7s.
Richard Schulman asked how often cars go through the car wash. Mr. Gelormino responded that cars are washed as often as possible after spring begins. Mr. Free added that if service is disrupted cars can miss their exterior cleaning cycles.
Ms. Michaels said that when seats are repaired with tape they are not often used by riders. Mr. Gelormino commented that the tape currently being used is an upgrade from past materials but is still not good enough. Since 2013 the LIRR has been refurbishing rather than replacing seats when they are defective. Mike Gilson commented that many needs for seat refurbishment or replacement are identified during extraordinary interior cleaning cycles, where car cleaners and car inspectors identify problems.
Tom O’Brien addressed the issue of safety in freight operations and said that the New York and Atlantic Railroad exceeds FRA standards. Ms. Michaels asked if the weight of freight cars is an issue for the LIRR. The guests responded that it does not pose a problem.
Mr. Greenberg inquired about the decision to locate a hot box detector at Bellerose because cars that enter the system through car float operations would travel over LIRR tracks without having been checked. Mr. Gelormino responded that he is not in favor of locating this equipment at Bellerose.
Ms. Michaels asked about liquid propane gas (LPG) tankers on the system. Mr. Free stated that all deliveries of LPG have been consolidated to Riverhead. Mr. Gelormino said he will find out for Ms. Michaels on whether the cars she saw are empty or full.
Larry Rubinstein asked if there is a speed limit on freight trains. Mr. Free replied that the speed limit is 45 mph for freight trains.
Mr. Gelormino discussed the LIRR’s personnel practices. He said that they hire conductors and require a two to four year training program to become qualified as conductors. The LIRR recertifies its crews every two years, while the FRA requirement is for recertification every three years.
Mr. Free said that the LIRR performs random inspections of property, crew and equipment. Mr. Collins added that the LIRR has a good relationship with the FRA and gave the example that they have worked with the FRA on issues of rail bonding and as a result moved from welding to another process. Mr. Free commented that the LIRR exceeds FRA requirements in many cases. Mr. Daly added that in many cases the FRA standards are developed from LIRR and other operator procedures.
Mr. Epstein asked what happens when a trains overshoots a platform. Mr. Free responded that that generally the incident is reported, a manager is alerted and the manager interviews the crew. He said that this is done to ensure that the crew is fit for duty. To protect the passengers, there is a door override button that the Engineer can activate. Eventually, there may be disciplinary action as appropriate.
Mr. Epstein mentioned that he has two issues at the Port Washington station, the closed pedestrian overpass and obstructions on the right-of-way. Joe Calderone stated that the overpass is closed for safety reasons and its demolition is scheduled for this summer. As the LIRR is now in transition period, he said that he cannot give an answer of what is going to replace it. Mr. Costello said that the closed overpass is a major inconvenience for one-third of the users of the station and there should be a temporary structure installed. He also asked for the release of the engineering report on the bridge.
Mr. Collins stated that the bridge is a tension-type structure and cannot be repaired. Given its condition, it had to be put out of service immediately.
Mr. Costello commented that during the US Open, officials put up a bridge over Route 27 in one day. He said that he has heard that the bridge is being used as part of a plan to build support for parking plan. Mr. Gelormino stated that concrete fell from the bridge and struck an employee.
Mr. DeGiorgio stated that he has reached out to President Nowakowski to ask him to fast track replacement of the pedestrian bridge. The bridge is very important because the station is in a tight configuration. The bridge is used as a drop off point for passengers and allows people to avoid Main Street, avoiding a traffic disaster. She also noted that the station’s platforms are now crowded because people are all at the end of the train station.
Mr. Costello said that the loss of the pedestrian bridge also displaces school students to the Willowdale bridge, subjecting them to traffic.
Mr. Epstein asked about encroachments on the right of way. Mr.Costello said that in some places retaining walls are falling down. Hector Garcia said that the LIRR had addressed the major issues with respect to encroachments. Mr. Calderone stated he will revisit this issue.
Mr. Costello inquired about narrow platforms in Penn Station, specifically platforms 16 and 17. He said that outbound trains are announced before people get off the inbound trains, which makes it difficult for people to leave the trains and platforms. Mr. Free said that there are many people on the platforms prior to trains being announced. He said he will look into the situation.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
William Henderson
Executive Director