Daily Commuters from Northwest Corner to the Big Apple are a Sturdy Lot
Matt Palumbo
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7/5/2004
KENT – The prospect of daily commute between New York City and Kent – or any city in the Northwest Corner, for that matter – leaves many with a feeling of anguish, if not incredulity. Yet there are commuters on the daily 2-hour train ride into Manhattan who do it every day without a second thought – in fact, some relish the thought of their daily commute.
Many riders have moved from other areas where commuting is common, and seem to be more comfortable with a long ride to work.
Commuters who have moved here from Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Brewster, and Westchester made the point that commuters from the metropolitan area’s more remote sections of Queens and Staten Island have more complicated commutes to Manhattan, and take almost as long.
A common theme is there are no equivalent jobs here – so to do that kind of work and make that kind of money, Manhattan is the only option.
Said a man at the Tenmile River station: “Considering there are no jobs that pay the same in Connecticut, it is (well) worth it.”
But is the long, regular grind of a 5-hour round-trip (including getting to and from the stations) commute worth the time and expense involved? The KentTribune.com conducted an informal survey of commuters as they awaited their trains on the Harlem Valley line. Every commuter we queried said that the commute is indeed well worth it. Not a single person said it wasn't.
“I get funny looks every time I tell people where I live and the length of my commute,” said one commuter from Bantam. “I tell them ‘you go to your vacation home on the weekends, I go there every day.’”
Asked the same question, Penny Schmutzler of Kent responded:
“Is the commute worth it? Absolutely – although I wouldn’t do it if I had small children at home – (it’s) too far in case of an emergency. But I love my job and being in the city.”
Another woman on the Tenmile River platform said, “It’s a trade-off you make for living in the country. I can live in the city or live in the country; but I can’t do the suburban thing. With the train, I can have both.”
There are regular groups of commuters that get on at each station. Some sit alone and read or work; others form small groups who sit with each other, gossiping and playing card games. These same groups reform at the end of the day and pick up their commuting social lives on the way home.
Rich Ramirez, a conductor on the main link from Brewster to Grand Central, says:
“The majority of people are good people. Everybody is very friendly, everybody is very cooperative. Every day is different. It’s a fun job because you always meet different people. I’ts very quiet in the morning, reading papers, having breakfast getting ready for the day. Coming home everybody is too tired to talk.”
If the regular commuters think the daily round-trip isn’t bad, we thought KentTribune.com readers would like the lowdown on how to make the commute with a minimum hassle.
We could call this article, “The Northwest Corner Commuter Manual for Dummies;” or we could be more kind and call this article, “The Sophisticated Manual for Northwest Corner Commuting.” We’ll leave that judgment up to you after you finish reading the article.
Commuting by Car
With commuter buses no longer stopping in Kent, the only options left are driving and Metro North railroad.
With Kent’s Civil War memorial as the starting point; gasoline at $2.15 a gallon; and mileage averaged to 20 miles a gallon; here are the driving distances and times, as well as costs, of driving to New York and using various Metro North stations. We’re assuming 20 business days per month. Driving times and distances are from mapquest.com and mapinfo.com. Please note we are not calculating depreciation on motor vehicles.
Driving is the choice for commuters who need their privacy, want to listen to their own music or news, and – most of all – who want to come and go as they please.
It’s about 84 miles to Grand Central Terminal, and 168 miles round trip. Mapquest.com estimates the driving time at one hour and 55 minutes, or 3.83 hours for the round trip. There’s a $3.50 (using EZ Pass) toll each way on the Triborough Bridge. Using iconparking.com, we were able to find a parking garage at 43rd St. between 2nd and 3rd Avenues for $300 a month (assuming 7AM-7PM each day), including taxes.
Daily costs are $18.09 for gas; $7 for tolls; and $15 for parking – for a total daily cost of $40.09. On a monthly basis, that’s 76.67 hours commuting and $801. The annual totals come to 920 hours (equivalent to 38.33 days) and $9,621.11. Of course, the driving time estimate doesn’t consider rush hour traffic and construction delays.
Taking the Train
If you’d rather spend your time reading, catching up on paperwork, making phone calls, nodding off, bringing along your dog, or even making an occasional trip to the bathroom, the train may be for you. You’ll save money, be able to use your time more productively, and given the traffic, usually have a more predictable commute.
The big down side is you lose control over your schedule. Taking the train means you come and go as Metro North pleases. For commuters nearer to NYC, this is an easy compromise – but locally, it can be a hardship.
Northwest corner commuters report leaving their homes at 5:50AM, 6:10AM, etc., to catch trains they need. The stations closest to Kent don’t get many trains; and for most that means sticking to a strict schedule – or facing up to a two-hour wait for the next train. The same limitations exist on the way home.
Commuters also face other annoyances and frustrations.
“The trains are dirty, late, and they break down,” grumbled one morning passenger at the Tenmile River station. Yet, faced with the choice of the train or driving, most still prefer Metro North.
“Who wants to drive 114 miles each way every day? NEVER!” said another commuter.
Stations have electronic ticket machines for daily train tickets and Metro Cards for NYC mass transit. Buying tickets at Grand Central or through the internet gives you much greater flexibility. The ticket prices we quote here are monthly tickets purchased through the WebTicket program at http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mnr/html/planning/fares/fares.htm. If you can wait to have tickets mailed to you, WebTicket is your best option.
Stations in the area are clean, but most offer scant protection from the elements. The platforms are roofed, and there’s usually a small, glassed-in, heated waiting room for cold days. Many commuters prefer to wait in their cars until just before the trains come.
The trains themselves are a different story. Riders have consistent complaints.
“I never use the bathroom,” said one woman at the Harlem Valley Wingdale station. “It smells!”
A commuter at Tenmile River Station added, “Bathrooms are great to have. The problem is they are filthy! The odor is unbelievable, and they can do nothing about it at the Wassaic station (where the trains are often stored).”
While Metro North is buying new train cars, they only work on tracks with electric power – and at Southeast, users switch to diesel service. This leads to some frustration, as commuters with the longest rides pay the most, but get a lower level of service.
One rider lamented: “The trains they use are old. The heat and air conditioning are questionable. Last week when the air temperature was 50 degrees, they had the air conditioning on in the train. The conductor said there is no way to regulate it. It would either be on or off. In the evening, the same train, no air conditioning. The cars were like an oven. Metro North has the new M7 cars but they are only electric and will not be available to go to Wassaic. Something has to be done for the commuters who pay the most but get the least
.”
Yet in spite of the frustrations, people still ride the rails. They cite the higher salaries and cultural stimulation that can’t be matched in the local area.
We’ll look at three different train lines: the Harlem Line – probably the best bet for upper Litchfield County commuters; the Danbury spur of the New Haven Line; and the Hudson Line, which ends in Poughkeepsie.
For parking spots for Poughkeepsie and the Harlem line from Southeast through Wassaic, contact Allright Parking at (888) 682-PARK. Reserved parking is available at these stations on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis. In this article, we will only discuss parking lots listed in Metro North publications.
Harlem Line
At the Harlem Line’s Southeast station (formerly Brewster North), passengers usually must switch between electric and diesel trains. More importantly, north of Southeast, there’s only one set of tracks. That means there can only be one train traveling at a time -- limiting the service to stations closest to Kent. Choosing stations with more trains means a much longer drive.
Brewster. Brewster is only 52 miles from Grand Central, but it’s also 30 miles from Kent. On the plus side, as of now, there is some available parking at $125 for 3 months; and there are 65 trains stopping per business day. The monthly train ticket costs $266.56. An express train can get you to Grand Central in an hour and 23 minutes. However, it will take you 49 minutes to drive to the station.
If you choose to use the Brewster station, your combined driving, parking, and train costs will be $437.22 and 88 hours a month – or $5,246.64 and 1,056 hours (equal to 44 days) per year. For parking, call (845) 279-3760.
Southeast / Brewster North. Recently, the Brewster North station was renamed Southeast – the name of the town where the station sits. Southeast is about a mile from Brewster, so available trains, commuting times, and costs are similar. It’s a big station, boasting 607 parking spots. Unfortunately, all the reserved spots are taken; and there’s a 2-3 year waiting list.
Patterson / Pawling / Appalachian Trail Stations. There are three stations between Southeast and Harlem Valley Wingdale. For Kent residents, these stations offer no advantages. They have the same train schedule as Wingdale, but are further away. In fact, the Appalachian Trail station is just a small wooden platform where trains stop only on weekends and holidays.
Harlem Valley Wingdale. The Harlem Valley Wingdale station is 9.35 miles and 15.5 minutes from Kent. It’s the closest station with available reserved monthly parking. The road leading to the station from Route 22 divides the parking lot. Some commuters may not realize there are additional spots on the right-hand side.
However, only 13 trains leave for New York and only 13 trains arrive from New York each business day. This is a big reason why some commuters drive the extra distance to Brewster or Poughkeepsie.
Monthly spots are available in the 117-space lot for $28.15. If you need to leave your car overnight, add $9 to the fee. Commuting time varies. The quickest, rush hour, time for the 69-mile trip to Grand Central is an hour and 45 minutes. Off-peak trains take about 2 hours and 10 minutes. Monthly train tickets cost $322.42. If you use this station, expect your trips to New York to cost you $390.78 and 80.33 hours a month – or $4,571.25 and 964 hours (about 40 days) per year.
Dover Plains. While it’s the closest to Kent as the crow flies, both the Wingdale and Tenmile River stations are a shorter drive. Dover Plains is a 12.73 mile and 25.46 minute drive. Until recently, Dover Plains was the end of the then-77-mile Harlem line, and its 275-spot parking lot reflects that. With two new stations added further north, there’s currently ample parking. Parking and ticket costs are the same as Wingdale.
Tenmile River. Only 8.4 miles and 13 minutes from Kent, the 52-spot parking lot of this pleasant little station has no available reserved spaces. A waiting list and some daily spots are available for the 80-mile ride to New York. The monthly commuting ticket is $324.28.
It is worth noting that the last train of the night, the 11:52 out of New York, no longer stops at either Tenmile River or Wassaic.
Wassaic. The last stop of the 82-mile Harlem Line, all 318 parking spots at the Wassaic station are taken. What’s interesting is the significant number of cars with Massachusetts license plates – indicating a potential for further expansion. Ticket prices are the same as Tenmile River.
New Haven Line
Using the New Haven line from the Northwest Corner is more problematical, because the driving distance to the train stations is longer.
The Danbury spur of the New Haven Line may seem tempting on a map; but it offers no advantages. If only 26 trains a day is bad at Wingdale, driving to Danbury for a 20-train schedule is worse. Further, the 65-mile train ride takes around 2 hours – about the same as Wingdale, and much longer than the train ride from Brewster.
Hudson Line Poughkeepsie is the last stop on the 74-mile Hudson Line; and its 1,013 parking spots show it gets a lot of use. 50 trains stop there each business day; and you can get to Grand Central in as little as an hour and 32 minutes -- but it is a 33 mile, 57 minute drive from Kent.
Monthly parking is $33.56 and the monthly train ticket is $322.42. Your monthly cost for driving, parking, and the train comes to $563.31 and 99.13 hours – or $5,859.49 and 1,189.6 hours (about 49.5 days’ worth of time) per year.
Recommendations
Some people need to drive. It does offer the greatest amount of control; and under perfect conditions, may offer the shortest commuting times. However, it is by far the most expensive option; and driving in NYC can hardly be considered relaxing.
If you can take the train and need to leave your car, your best current option is the Harlem Valley Wingdale station. Your annual expense is well under half the cost of driving to NYC; and it offers the lowest total commuting time of any other local station. Of course, there are only 13 trains daily in each direction. For more trains, the best station is Brewster. It gives you the greatest selection of trains for the least cost in time and money.
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