Hartford Line CtDOT New Haven-Springfield - NHHS (Before Launch of Service)

"Call the whambulance" indeed!

There are many other towns that deal with a lot more than "several" train horns a day. Take New Hyde Park on the LIRR Mainline. Those gates are down 48 minutes every hour (i think?) during rush hour and there are tons of trains rolling through there. They aren't complaining that loudly. Just get used to it.

If the towns are that concerned, shore up the DPW monies to divert the roads so that there isn't a grade crossing, otherwise quit your complaining, aggregate value added of reliable commuter service far outweighs an occasional train horn.

Patrick A. wrote:If the towns are that concerned, shore up the DPW monies to divert the roads so that there isn't a grade crossing, otherwise quit your complaining, aggregate value added of reliable commuter service far outweighs an occasional train horn.

LOL. That is all.

Aren't most of the incidents on the Springfield line at present at the grade crossings in Meriden and Wallingford? If people can't get the hell out of the way NOW, what makes them think less horns are the answer? If they do nothing to improve service, I think their downtowns will be less attractive for people to live in because of THAT, not because of a horn.

Wallingford Will Move

WALLINGFORD — On Tuesday night, town councilors are expected to vote on where Wallingford’s next train depot should go — a decision that could affect downtown traffic and development for decades of years to come.

There are two sites being suggested by the state Department of Transportation: one at the intersection of the railroad tracks and Ward Street, called Judd Square, or Plan 1; and another near the intersection of North Cherry and Parker streets, referred to as Parker/Cerrito, or Plan 2. Town staff are primarily backing the Parker Street site, citing safety issues due to traffic interruption and a parking garage at the Judd Square location.

Berlin Citizen

Designers of the rail line plan on installing another line of track through Berlin to create a double track which will carry more trains. These trains will travel at speeds of 100 miles per hour through town and stop at the modernized and renovated Berlin Train Station.

Today, six to eight round-trip trains stop in Berlin a day, traveling 80 mph through town. By 2030, the designers expect the number trains passing through Berlin to triple or quadruple. Plans estimate the line will be finished 2016.

...

John Bernick, CTDOT’s project manager for the rail line, said the Berlin train station is an important stop along the NHHS line. The station serves many people from the surrounding area. It is also one of the few stations with a ticket operator manning a booth.

He said the plans to add a second track to the line is nothing new—a second track used to exist but was taken out.

...

The train running through Berlin is a spur off the busiest rail line in the nation, the Northeast Corridor. The Connecticut Department of Transportation said the commuter train shipped 38 million riders from New Haven to New York City last year--a new record.

The NHHS rail would feed into that line and Amtrak plans on extending the line from Springfield north, to Boston and as far as Montreal, Canada.

I am still at loss, why is CDOT planning upgrades, on a line they do not own and where they do NOT have a operating agreement with Amtrak.
The line is Amtrak and not CDOT, its like me, paving over the driveway of my next door neighbour ?

Jaap, you've got me. I think it's a great project; I don't get the business strategy. It's like the dumba$$ busway project. They're building along Amtrak ROW from Berlin up. OTOH not sure if they or Pan Am own the stretch west of Berlin, but it's along an access road Pan Am uses. Then there's P&W paying to repair Maybrook until they finally said the hell with it.

I don't get it.

Jeff Smith wrote:Jaap, you've got me. I think it's a great project; I don't get the business strategy. It's like the dumba$$ busway project. They're building along Amtrak ROW from Berlin up. OTOH not sure if they or Pan Am own the stretch west of Berlin, but it's along an access road Pan Am uses. Then there's P&W paying to repair Maybrook until they finally said the hell with it.

The busway follows the Amtrak right of way from Hartford to Newington Junction, then it diverges onto the "Highland Line" to New Britain. This line was abandoned in the 1990s IIRC. Originally there were two routes from the Springfield Line to New Britain: the "Highland Line" abandoned route and the New Britain branch, which diverges at Berlin. The Berlin-New Britain trackage is owned by Pan-Am Railways. I don't believe there are any intermediate customers on either branch and am not sure why the direct route at Newington Jct wasn't retained as Pan-Am's (then B&M's) route to/from New Britain.

Think we are diverting from Springfield to New Haven line here.

What's not to get?

Connecticut wants to put commuter service on the line. Amtrak doesn't want to do that. In fact by law I don't think Amtrak is allowed to do that.

Connecticut has an agreement with Amtrak. To put in (and pay for) the infrastructure needed to operate commuter service. Double-track, signal upgrades, additional stations, probably more parking.

MBTA, NJ Transit, Septa and MARC have done this all along the NEC, invest in infrastructure on a route they don't own.

CDOT doesn't have an operating agreement yet, they don't need one yet. They're not ready to run trains. But all the parties have agreed publicly (including MassDOT) that they will support this.

What's not to get?

Connecticut does NOT have agreement and yes Amtrak can and will provide Commuter service.
Its called contract operations or Amtrak Commuter.

Amtrak can operate the service under contract with Connecticut but they can't make infrastructure investment for a purely local service, right? They have agreed to allow CDOT to put the investment in and then sponsor additional service.

As part of the New Haven–Hartford–Springfield (NHHS) High Speed Rail Project, CDOT and Amtrak intend to upgrade the existing infrastructure in order to re-install the second track from New Haven to Springfield.

See link (from a few weeks ago)-

http://www.construction.com/projectcent ... itemid=262

The notice is legally required, it still does not note a agreement or a disclaimer that CDOT is funding work on Amtrak property.
which still is stupid on CDOT's part.

Once the service and speeds are upgraded on the Springfield Line, I would advocate Amtrak running all of the trains, because I believe that some of the SPG shuttles will be extended to Greenfield.

First, I think by law the state can't commit funds to a project like this unless they have some kind of formal agreement or memorandum of understanding. And they do. Go back a few pages in this thread and I think you'll find it.

Second, that's not just a legal notice or disclaimer I linked, that's a request for bids.

Request for a multi year Construction Management Contract for Upgrade of Amtrak’s Springfield Line Between Hamden, CT and Springfield, MA.

Dutch, your analogy of helping your neighbor pave HIS driveway. I think a better example is you ask me if you can park your car in MY driveway. I tell you sure, just pay to expand it.