After a year of delays, derailments, and other woes on Metro-North’s New Haven Line, the Connecticut Citizens Transportation Lobby is hosting a commuter “Speakout” on February 18 at 7:30 pm, at the Pequot Library in Southport, CT. Transportation Commissioner Jim Redeker will be present for the event, which is an opportunity for rail riders to voice their concerns and questions about the railroad to the highest ranking transportation official in the state.

In a press release announcing the event, Citizens Transportation Lobby co-chair Jill Kelly said, “Metro-North is crucial to our economy and if it isn’t operating safely and on-time, everyone is affected… commuters, motorists and ordinary taxpayers.” Co-chair Carol Leighton, also of Fairfield, added: “It’s time that commuters got some straight answers about what’s going on. The CDOT pays Metro-North $73 million a year to run our trains, and this is not acceptable.”  (Tri-State is a member of the Citizens Transportation Lobby’s steering committee.)

The recent troubles of the rail line have been dominating media in Connecticut and making political headlines. State lawmakers have called on incoming Metro-North president Joseph Giuletti to testify in Hartford and the Hartford Courant identified the New Haven Line as one of the top priorities for Connecticut’s General Assembly to address this session. And, perhaps most importantly, hundreds of rail riders have signed up as members of a new Commuter Action Group aimed at pressuring legislators to take action to improve service.