Date: Fri 28-Feb-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

HVCEO-Danbury-rail-Amtrak

Full Text:

Elected Officials Vow To Fight For Danbury Rail Line

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

The chief executives of area towns, meeting in Brookfield last Friday,

condemned Gov John G. Rowland's budget proposal to kill train service on Metro

North's Danbury line.

"It makes no sense whatsoever," said Newtown First Selectman Bob Cascella,

chairman of the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO), at a

meeting of the council in Brookfield's Old Town Hall.

"The region and the state has been working for expansion of mass transit -

rail transit - and now the governor proposes short-circuiting the entire

operation," Mr Cascella said.

In a letter to other HVCEO members, Danbury Mayor Gene Eriquez said he

adamantly opposed Gov Rowland's proposal to replace the rail line with

expanded bus service "because of the deleterious effects it would have on

[Danbury] and the entire northern Fairfield County area."

"It is common knowledge that the north-south road network in this area is

deplorable," Mr Eriquez said. "Because of this, the state Department of

Transportation has embarked on a program upgrading the rail network. This was

aimed at easing the congestion on the road network while saving the massive

funds needed for road construction and protecting the environment."

"It is obvious that traffic congestion along the Route 7 corridor is an

impediment to proper economic growth in this area," he said. "Replacing train

service with buses will only exacerbate this situation."

The HVCEO members said that not only has the state spent $88 million improving

the 24-mile Danbury rail line in recent years, but Danbury and Bethel recently

built new train stations. The line, which connects Danbury to the New

Haven-New York line in Norwalk, carries more than 2,100 passengers daily and,

since 1989, its annual ridership has increased 30 percent.

Bob Rush, a New Milford resident who has been involved with an effort to

restore rail service between Danbury and New Milford, said his group

appreciated the position of HVCEO.

"The Danbury to New Milford extension has been in the works for five years

now," he said. "To end rail service would be a collosal mistake for the

region, the state and the country."

The municipal officials at the meeting dispute Gov Rowland's figures, which

showed that the state was forced to subsidize each rider's trip by $18 on the

Waterbury and Shore Line branches and $6.59 on the Danbury line. These are

1995 figures, they said, predicting that the 1996 and 1997 figures would show

that ridership is up significantly on the Danbury line.

The HVCEO members agreed to send a joint letter to Gov Rowland protesting his

proposal.

State Rep Julia Wasserman (R-106 District) and other area legislators also

have joined forces to try to convince the Rowland administration to drop its

plans.

"Many residents of Bethel and Newtown rely on the Metro-North Danbury branch

to get them to and from work in a safe, efficient manner," Rep Wasserman said.

"Every passenger who uses the train is one less person who will be forced to

travel on the already overcrowded highways."

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Rep Wasserman is now involved in

the process of reviewing Gov Rowland's 1997-99 proposed state budget.

"The plan to eliminate the Danbury branch trains should be viewed for what it

is at this point - a proposal," Rep Wasserman said. "As with every other

proposal in the budget, the final decision will rest with the General

Assembly. While I am committed to working in the Appropriations Commitee to

control state spending, the cuts that we make must make sense and must make

government work better for the people it serves."

State Rep John Stripp (R-135th District), who is also a member of the

Appropriations Committee, said he feared that some New York City commuters

living in Connecticut may move over the state line to use the New York rail

line, thereby costing Connecticut tax revenues. He said that property values

in Fairfield County also will be impacted, "as living in the area becomes less

attractive to those who wish to commute to New York."

In Redding this week, town officials said they still intend to spend $68,000

of federal money to refurbish the Branchville train station. The Federal

Highway Administration has agreed to pay 80 percent of the $85,000 estimated

construction cost of the project.