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Connecticut seeks providers for New Haven-Hartford-Springfield passenger rail service
Daniel is right… they have been draggin’ feet on a route that DOES have a market
After studying this for over 30 years what is the state thinking.
Trains at 110 mph ,every 30 min. with stations less than 10 miles apart and grade crossings The line has to double tracked which the state has the money for over 4 years now and not one tie has been laid
Doesn’t Connecticut need to first negotiate with Amtrak, the line’s owner and operator, to enable a 3rd party (and Amtrak competitor) to run the increased passenger service? Could G&W’s Connecticut Southern submit a proposal?
110 mph?; 30-minute headways?; 10-miles between stops?; no grade separation?; single-track?; Connecticut taxes?. Has CT legalized marijuana, the “New Cash Cow”? Something wrong, here! Amtrak might buy it, but won’t pay for it. Give us a St. Albans, VT to Montreal, QC thru train (the current ‘Vermonter’, previously known as the ‘Montrealer’, when it went to Montreal) and we’ll talk about the possibilities.
How 'bout splitting the train(s) at Springfield? A few go to Albany, the rest to Boston. Double-drives (push-pulls) would work.
Typical Ct.-A day late and a dollar short with everything they’ve done since the 50’s.Last I heard they were turning NH R.O|.W. into a “bus route” from NB to HTFD.I mean-REALLY?
It will be a cold day in the center of the earth before the CT DOT ever does anything right. We used to have double track on the NH Springfield route. We’ve been saving money on that for the last 15 or 20 years. A governor proposed RDC commuters from Enfield to Hartford in the 1970s, but instead they took the tracks out 20 years later. Right now there are only about 6 trains a day on this line the NH and Penn Central and early Amtrak ran 12 to 15 a day.
Right now we are spending Half a Billion dollars to build a Bus way to run about 15 miles on the ex NH right of way ( on the exact alinement of one of the first mainline bits of electric service in the country–center third rail–). The bus way has been the bad dream of the DOT for a generation: in Connecticut DOT bad ideas never die they just wait until the can sneak it in. The DOT is probably the most corrupt and anti public of all our state agencies. They are very adept at playing internal government games and are a real hindrance to economic and any other sensible growth for the state. cf. Bradley airport and Connecticut Harbors
It will be a cold day in the center of the earth before the CT DOT ever does anything right. We used to have double track on the NH Springfield route. We’ve been saving money on that for the last 15 or 20 years. A governor proposed RDC commuters from Enfield to Hartford in the 1970s, but instead they took the tracks out 20 years later. Right now there are only about 6 trains a day on this line the NH and Penn Central and early Amtrak ran 12 to 15 a day.
Right now we are spending Half a Billion dollars to build a Bus way to run about 15 miles on the ex NH right of way ( on the exact alinement of one of the first mainline bits of electric service in the country–center third rail–). The bus way has been the bad dream of the DOT for a generation: in Connecticut DOT bad ideas never die they just wait until the can sneak it in. The DOT is probably the most corrupt and anti public of all our state agencies. They are very adept at playing internal government games and are a real hindrance to economic and any other sensible growth for the state. cf. Bradley airport and Connecticut Harbors
Couldn’t CDOT just buy more M8s and rebuild the Shoreline East (SLE) stations to match in the meantime. CDOT could then take the current SLE equipment and operate it on a New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield line as noted above. I don’t think SLE uses the full SLE equipment pool as it is. As a side note, I think Amtrak currently has the contract to operate SLE.
They are spending the money this year on laying cable. I would be surprised if the service starts in 2016
This line used to be double tracked all the way from Springfield to New Haven and they tore up the second track not that many years ago. Now they want to put it back. Typical government operation.
In defense of the CT DOT, they are only doing what the administration and legislature want them to do. It will be interesting to see how many commuters will forsake their cars and parallel I-91 for the trains. also, how much is the state of Massachusetts willing to contribute to the costs considering its benefit to the Springfield area? Much of the business and employment in the region is now so geographically dispersed that an automobile is about the only reasonable way to get from ones home to ones employment. Most of the stations on the Springfield line are surrounded by development and have very limited parking. To fill up all those proposed trains a lot of parking will be needed. Operationally, the only thing that makes sense will be for the state to contract with Amtrak to combine manpower and equipment with the existing Shoreline East service currently being operated for the state by Amtrak. A 2016 start up with double tracked 110 mph service with stops 10 miles apart seems highly optimistic to me. 80-90 mph would make more sense and would save a lot of fuel and brake shoes.
In defense of the CT DOT, they are only doing what the administration and legislature want them to do. It will be interesting to see how many commuters will forsake their cars and parallel I-91 for the trains. also, how much is the state of Massachusetts willing to contribute to the costs considering its benefit to the Springfield area? Much of the business and employment in the region is now so geographically dispersed that an automobile is about the only reasonable way to get from ones home to ones employment. Most of the stations on the Springfield line are surrounded by development and have very limited parking. To fill up all those proposed trains a lot of parking will be needed. Operationally, the only thing that makes sense will be for the state to contract with Amtrak to combine manpower and equipment with the existing Shoreline East service currently being operated for the state by Amtrak. A 2016 start up with double tracked 110 mph service with stops 10 miles apart seems highly optimistic to me. 80-90 mph would make more sense and would save a lot of fuel and brake shoes.
In defense of the CT DOT, they are only doing what the administration and legislature want them to do. It will be interesting to see how many commuters will forsake their cars and parallel I-91 for the trains. also, how much is the state of Massachusetts willing to contribute to the costs considering its benefit to the Springfield area? Much of the business and employment in the region is now so geographically dispersed that an automobile is about the only reasonable way to get from ones home to ones employment. Most of the stations on the Springfield line are surrounded by development and have very limited parking. To fill up all those proposed trains a lot of parking will be needed. Operationally, the only thing that makes sense will be for the state to contract with Amtrak to combine manpower and equipment with the existing Shoreline East service currently being operated for the state by Amtrak. A 2016 start up with double tracked 110 mph service with stops 10 miles apart seems highly optimistic to me. 80-90 mph would make more sense and would save a lot of fuel and brake shoes.
Amtrak should take advantage of this to restore the Inland route trains between New Haven and Boston via Springfield. Let the Connecticut’s commuter rail operations do the local service between new haven and Springfield. Amtrak could also use this to bring more trains and extend its NEC service to Vermont.