Dear Ned…
Well, you did it.  Congratulations on your election.  And my condolences.  The easy part of politics is over:  getting elected.  Now comes the hard part:  being governor. I hope you and your transition team are already working on that budget that’s due in three months.  There’s a lot of red ink ($4 billion) that needs to be mopped up.  And don’t forget those $80 billion in unfunded pensions.  But I’m sure you’ve got the solutions, right?    That’s what you promised voters, anyhow.  So have at it. But as you are cutting and slashing, may I be so bold as to make a few suggestions on the transportation front? 

Quiz question #1: What country has the largest interstate highway system in the world? Hint: It’s not the United States.
Quiz question #2: What country has the most miles of high-speed rail? Hint: It’s not France or Japan.
The answer to both questions is… China!

How much should it cost to ride mass transit?  Are our fares too high?  Would lower fares increase ridership?  If so. why not make the trains free? As I’ve noted any number of times, fares on Metro-North in Connecticut are among the highest commuter railroad fares in the U.S.  That’s because our state’s subsidy is the lowest… about 24 percent, compared to a 50 percent fare subsidy on the Long Island Railroad. Of course, Hartford’s attitude is that everyone in Fairfield County is a millionaire and can afford to pay more.

In the “land of steady habits,” we don’t fix problems, we study them… over and over again. It’s been 10 years since then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s “blue ribbon” Critelli Commission report studying the reform of the Department of Transportation. You’ll remember that the study came after a construction scandal on I-84. And while much of the report addresses the dysfunction of the CDOT, I was pleased that the Commission’s chairman, then-Pitney Bowes Chairman Michael Critelli, also picked up on some suggestions for improving rail service.

There is possibly no more beautiful railroad station in the world than New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. As the destination of over 55,000 daily rail commuters from Connecticut, it’s a place where many of us spend a fair amount of time. I’ve been riding in and out of Grand Central for over 50 years. So to help you maneuver the station’s labyrinth of tunnels, ramps and stairs, here are some of the “secrets” of Grand Central that I find most useful.