Being that the New Haven Line has the highest ridership in the Metro North system and ridership could expand, building parking garages are key. People drive from all over to use the train at Stamford station, especially those who might live in Darien who want to get first dibs on a seat. Obviously, the majority of trains that terminate at Stamford are locals on the New Haven Line and once they are on the Harlem, they only make Fordham and 125th Street. There are probably many people who live along the New Canaan Branch who would drive to Stamford for more service anyway. Hey, they might as well. Plenty of people who live near a Shore Line East or Ct Rail station will drive to New Haven to get MNR. They would rather not have to depend on the sparse levels of SLE service. In fact, there are multiple SLE and Ctrail trains that arrive at NHV 45 minutes before a MNR train departs westbound. That 45 minutes is a large chunk of time to be waiting between trains.
I think on weekends, the limited stops express east of Stamford can be improved but as others are saying, yes, the New Haven Line has capacity issues, but at least the MNR trains move fine.
I think on weekends, the limited stops express east of Stamford can be improved but as others are saying, yes, the New Haven Line has capacity issues, but at least the MNR trains move fine.