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STAMFORD, Conn. Derek Goodman catches a Metro-North train from Stamford to New York only a few times a month and said it isn't bad if he gets a seat.
"It's pretty horrible if you have to do it every day," he said, adding that the ride is comfortable only "if you can get a seat, which is not always the case because of the overcrowding."
Vijay Kothari also complained of overcrowding at the Stamford station. "Sometimes you have to stand," Kothari said. He suggested that when riders can't sit, the commute "should be free ... or at least a reduced price."
That would be just fine with Alex Miklos, who is to moving to Stamford and starting a new job in New York City early next month. Miklos, 23, said he's not looking forward to standing on hot, crowded trains every day.
"The rush-hour trains are always jammed. But by the time you get to Stamford, if you don't have a seat, forget it, you're going to keep standing the rest of the way," Miklos said at the Fairfield station recently. Miklos said that during the summer commuters often choose between sitting in train cars with little or no air-conditioning, or standing in one a little cooler.
"Recently I was on my way back from the city, and I could have had a seat on one train that didn't have the A-C working and it felt unbearable," Miklos said. "So I crammed onto a more crowded one where the A-C was working and just sat on the floor."
But new trains are on the way. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced last week 25 more M-8 cars will be added to the 380 already on order for Metro-North's New Haven Line.
Commuter leaders said will take time for that to have an impact, because only 10 new cars will be added to the line per month, starting in October. "Overcrowding results from a lack of investment by the state in new rail cars, and the delay in their delivery," said James Cameron, chairman of the Commuter Rail Council.
Metro-North spokeswoman Margie Anders said, "We are operating with a 40-year-old fleet that is inadequate. We can't always guarantee a seat for everyone or that the A-C will work."
Does overcrowding or heat impact your decision to ride Metro-North trains? Leave a comment below.
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