Metro North "Recovery" under Giulietti

Metro-North Climbing Back Uphill Under Joseph Giulietti

NEW HAVEN — Ask James Fahey whether Metro-North Railroad has improved under the leadership of President Joseph Giulietti, then stand back: The veteran railroader answers with a passion.

"Are you kidding? The previous administration destroyed this place. The tracks were a disgrace. Now the tracks are unbelievable, the communication has improved 100 percent – and that's the key to safety," Fahey says.

"We lost that feeling of ownership before. Now people have that feeling back — the pride is back," says Fahey, chief of the executive board for Metro-North's main union. "I care about my railroad – my children work here. Damned right I care.
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ince Giulietti took charge on Feb. 10, 2014, he has steadily talked about creating teamwork and respecting workers. He resisted criticizing his predecessor, Howard Permut, and quietly replaced part of the senior management team, recruiting or promoting new leaders without publicly reprimanding anyone.
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Giulietti has been pumping money into the track maintenance budget, looking to make up for years of inadequate work when railbeds deteriorated. Last year, crews replaced nearly 100,000 ties, put down more than 16 miles of rails and rebuilt about 90 switches.

"When the tracks are bad, it shakes up your equipment and you start having trouble there, too," said Fahey, who worked for Metro-North from its inception in 1983 until retiring last year as assistant chief of the operations control center at Grand Central Terminal.

"When I'd ride home, I'd feel it. I used to walk in to the offices of the last administration and ask 'Do you even ride the trains?' " Fahey said.

Among Giulietti's earliest moves was bringing back Glen Hayden, former chief engineer at Metro-North who'd left years earlier for Parsons Brinckerhoff consulting firm. Hayden is in charge of reconstructing the track beds that eroded during Permut's tenure.