by jxzz
I live in Shore Line town east of New Haven, and I commute to Stamford using West Haven station. The easiest station for me should be Guilford or Branford and I wish I could do that with less driving, but the reliability and lack of real time tracking is really putting off a lot of potential SLE commuters like me. Most SLE stations do not have heating or winter proof shelter like West Haven station so that real time tracking is really a big deal. Plus, most commuters do have car and there is always an option to drive to West Haven to not miss meeting or jobs in Stamford/NYC if a big SLE delay or cancellation comes. Occasional delay or cancellation is workable if the tracking/alert is real time.
I attended commuter forum meeting with CTDOT commissioner in New Haven recently and asked a question on how and when will the Shore Line East trains can be tracked real-time. The answer I got was not satisfactory. Lots of what, if, can't etc. saying that train staffs or engineers are not supposed to push out real-time info.
I agree that train staff or locomotive engineers should not be in this job and they have more important stuff to do. But they do communicate with transportation center, and it is possible to install GPS on trains or cameras in stations to track the movement of trains to give out delay or cancellation as quick as possible to commuters who get stranded in downstream stations waiting knowing nothing. Yale buses/Stamford Harbor Point Trolly are tracked real time with GPS system and cell phone apps. SLE trains should do a lot better than now.
Metro North trains do have app like "right track" to track real time on stations for delay or cancellations, SLE does not have that. I would wish that SLE riders get the same things as those on Metro North lines.
I attended commuter forum meeting with CTDOT commissioner in New Haven recently and asked a question on how and when will the Shore Line East trains can be tracked real-time. The answer I got was not satisfactory. Lots of what, if, can't etc. saying that train staffs or engineers are not supposed to push out real-time info.
I agree that train staff or locomotive engineers should not be in this job and they have more important stuff to do. But they do communicate with transportation center, and it is possible to install GPS on trains or cameras in stations to track the movement of trains to give out delay or cancellation as quick as possible to commuters who get stranded in downstream stations waiting knowing nothing. Yale buses/Stamford Harbor Point Trolly are tracked real time with GPS system and cell phone apps. SLE trains should do a lot better than now.
Metro North trains do have app like "right track" to track real time on stations for delay or cancellations, SLE does not have that. I would wish that SLE riders get the same things as those on Metro North lines.