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

Believe Keolis is the operator of record for VRE,had a few bumps at start up there,otherwise has been "low profile"
in the minds of CSX and Amtrak.
They got "blindsided" when the transistion from MBCR to them as MBCR left a VERY BIG MESS behind as a "parting gift"
and the HSP-46 "factory glitches" piled up to boot.

Rumor has it Bombardier is looking good for the operating contract, and that Amtrak under-performed. This is based on current hiring by Bombardier no longer being "contingent". Of course, Amtrak remains the owner, dispatcher, and still has the shuttles, so no jobs lost. And the shuttles may end up being extended, so that could be worth something on the employment side.

Bombardier site is advertising engineer and conductor positions for New Haven.

yes but they won't award the jobs unless they get contract , they advertised for RFE too

Woke up to find out that the old station building at Berlin is on fire this morning...details on most sites are very vague but it sounds like the building is a total loss. Wonder what, if any impact this will have on the completion of NHHS now.

Firefighters say the fire was on the roof of the building and that most of the fire has been contained to the main building. The building was under construction and many trains had been limited until May 2017. But bus service was running out of the station and trains were passing through.

http://fox61.com/2016/12/21/crews-in-be ... k-station/

There's a photo gallery on the linked article...not much there right now but it ain't pretty.

Also cross-posted on the Springfield Line upgrade thread on Amtrak.

What a shame.

GoT (your new acronym ), do you or ASull know the current status of the new station?

Last time I was in Berlin was long before I moved...Checkthedoorlight was actually there more recently!

Passed through Berlin on Christmas Eve, and again today...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/shadyjay/ ... 6934890750" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sad. Just sad. Trains are stopping there once again, at a temporary platform just to the south. Definitely looked liek some cosmetic damage along the high level platform abutting the building.

On Saturday, we operated on the new Track 2 through Hartford Yard and held at the end of the double-track for a NB train. Looks like the area is prepped for the 2nd track starting in Windsor, though gates and crossings have yet to be modified that far north. Just south of Berlin, the future 2nd track area was pretty flooded. Looks like some drainage will be needed there. Lots of new signal bridges everywhere. It's been over a year since my last trip on the future Hartford Line, so there was definitely a lot of progress since my last trip.

This isn't good:

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hopefully some $$$ can be found!

Metro-North and Shore Line East riders would absorb a 5 percent fare increase, and off-peak and weekend service on the Waterbury and Danbury lines would end. Shore Line East service would be slashed by half, the DOT said.

The commuter train service between New Haven, Hartford and Springfield that's set to debut next winter would be pushed off by two years to save $8.2 million, the DOT said. But the agency warned that further delays could risk huge expenses because the state might be forced to repay more than $100 million in federal aid for the project.

My photo of Berlin from December 26th:


I'm actually more optimistic that it's savable now than I was a few days ago. Other than a few small collapses like the one at left, the brickwork itself is remarkably intact. The walls are still standing. While the station is a gutted shell, and the woodwork and stained glass are ashes, I think it may yet be able to be repaired.

this type of building only basement walls and brick walls but all floor beams and floor are gone, and since it no longer had railroad use. I see its future in a set of dumpsters.

Any sense on whether the owner was insured?

That's going to be quite a few jobs lost for Amtrak if a private contractor secures the NHHS contract. After talking to a few people who work at Keolis up in Boston, I'm kinda glad Bombardier is rumored to be a front runner.

Sadly, what's left of the burned-out Berlin station will be demolished. I had a chance to look at the ruins last weekend while I was visiting family in the area and this seemed inevitable... nothing but four walls left, and the remaining brick probably heat damaged anyway.

http://www.courant.com/community/berlin ... story.html

http://www.courant.com/community/berlin ... story.html (an earlier report)

Believe this is the second time the brick structure was exposed to fire,this was "HOT" enough to damage the brick
to a point that's unstable at best.
Hopefully there're plans for the building somewhere to recreate the station building using "newer" bricks and reusing
what items were salvaged from the "remains".