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

Track 5 in SONO is only 3 cars and engine long, only way a transfer could be done in SONO is if track 5 were made in to a trough track and south side station building demolished, but then still CP241 is mainly only 15 mph switches, so any train crossing over ties up 4 tracks for 3 to 4 minutes.
Running little trains on mainline makes no sense, it takes up a same track slot as a big train, so why run a SLE shuttle anywhere when you can run a 10 car M-8 set and make a few more stops.
The New Haven line is at or near saturation level for amount of trains.

Ok, I see what you're getting at. Say then for slots, and this would be easier for SLE when it's running M-8's (NHHS would have to be P32's), you just go ahead and make it a through train with limited stops all the way to GCT. Assuming there's turnover in the ridership between origination and Stamford, you end up with a rush-hour limited-stop express (what were we calling those a while back? You know, the zone expresses in peak?). Just have it as a continuation of an existing MNRR train already slotted further down the line.

And thanks for indulging me, Dutch.

lets see CDOT only owns 4 P32acdm's yet uses about 8 , I don't think you see expansion of CDOT diesel service to GCT, just sayin.
Maybe CDOT can spend money and buy more dual modes, but untill that happens they owe MNCR big for supplying extra engines.

Maybe the next order (the follow-on to the BL's) will involve dual modes. The BL fleet is 50/50, and I wouldn't be surprised if more of those are devoted to CDOT too. Yeah, it will be a while.

Jeff Smith wrote:Maybe the next order (the follow-on to the BL's) will involve dual modes. The BL fleet is 50/50, and I wouldn't be surprised if more of those are devoted to CDOT too. Yeah, it will be a while.

Got to consider the rolling stock, too. Springfield, Mass. to GCT is a *long* way to ride on commuter-style seating. I'm 6'3" and find that even riding as far as Danbury or New Haven can get uncomfortable.

While I'm sure someone might do it, it seems to me that it would be the equivalent of those things you read about from before the First World War, where a bunch of people decided to go from New York to somewhere like Portland, Maine via trolley car.

You're probably talking at least 3:30 from GCT-SPG and that's assuming semi-express or better on the GCT-NHV leg, a long way on a commuter train. This service is geared more towards relieving traffic on the I-91 corridor, not to compete with Amtrak for intercity SPG-NYC service. While there will be some attempt at connectivity between NHHS and New Haven mainline service, I can guarantee you that only a handful make the full trip. I'd say the furthest regular commuter would go would be the Hartford suburbs to STM.

Let's not forget that while a few riders could conceivably make the whole trip from SPG-GCT and vice versa, there will still be at least a fair number of riders who will be getting on at stations such as Wallingford and Berlin and getting off at say Bridgeport or Stamford. The same can be said for "reverse" (if that were to even apply to intra-state travel) commuters going from Fairfield County up towards Hartford County. And since there are already a number of limited stop expresses between GCT-NH extending them would make perfect sense (provided they have the equipment necessary as others have stated). All they would need to do is change crews. The SLE expresses from Stamford have done this for years without a problem.

That being said I doubt any through GCT-SPG trains would be any more than a peak or reverse peak service. Furthermore, I highly doubt it would be competing with Amtrak since any through trains would make most, if not all, stops between NH and SPG and Amtrak will probably want out of stopping at some of those smaller stations at the very least (save for any existing WAS-SPG runs perhaps). Plus, as has been stated earlier, it would be way too uncomfortable to ride in a Comet coach vs an Amfleet coach for over 130 miles one way and I think only one trip in one of those cars would be enough lure any extreme commuters onto Amtrak (if they can afford it, of course).

Keep dreaming folks equipment use on Springfield line will be Mafersa cars and non-dual mode locomoties.
The Mafersa's are severly restricted on MNCR third rail and with their manual doors will not travel into GCT.

I was thinking more of intermediate commutes, not Springfield or Hartford to GCT, but Meriden to SoNo or something like that.

again then some want to go to Stamford and some want to go to Greenwich, etc etc etc.

I'll wipe the foam off my face and get back to the actual project news. Some crap in there about electrified service, but I think they were just harking back to the original proposal, long discarded since the feds didn't come across with major bucks.

Hartford Courant

Wheels Slowly Start Turning On New Haven-Springfield Rail Improvements

Motorists are beginning to encounter brief construction delays at railroad crossings in central Connecticut, the first sign that work is under way on the long-planned Springfield-to-New Haven commuter rail system.

Contractors began digging in December alongside grade crossings in Hartford, West Hartford, Wallingford and elsewhere to install fiber optic cables for new signals and communications systems.

For commuters on the busy I-91 corridor, the work offers at least a little hope of improved north-south rail service through the state within the next few years.

The state Department of Transportation is indicating that limited commuter rail service on the line could begin by 2016, followed, quite a bit later, by high-speed — or at least higher-speed — regional service linking Washington, D.C., and New York to Boston and perhaps Montreal.

...

Installing the underground signal and communication cables is underway. The DOT is now issuing weekly advisories about where motorists should expect delays. This week, for instance, drivers in Wallingford may encounter brief waits to cross the tracks at Ward Street, Quinnipiac Street, Hall Avenue, Parker Street and North Plains Highway, while drivers in West Hartford should expect lane closures to allow for work on the Amtrak bridge overhead.

Transit planners say a vigorous north-south commuter system could bring new retail and housing development near stations in Meriden, Wallingford, Berlin and Windsor, and the DOT's plan is to create new stations in West Hartford, Enfield, Newington and North Haven. Advocates emphasize that Metro-North's New Haven line is one of the most economically significant mass transit systems in the world, and the Connecticut communities up and down the route are better off because of it.

For now, though, the budget of federal money and nearly $290 million in state bonding doesn't cover new station construction, double-tracking between Hartford and Springfield, or reconstruction or replacement of the massive Amtrak bridge over the Connecticut River in Windsor Locks. The DOT has pledged to work the Congressional delegation to keep seeking whatever federal aid is available in the future.

Courant.com

I wish they'd stop tagging this "High Speed Rail".

The Berlin train station, the first stop south of Hartford on the route, is slated to get its parking lot expanded.

Economic Development Director James Mahoney said Tuesday the rail project is just one of several improvement plans in the works for downtown Berlin around the train station.

There also is a plan to renovate the town's brick Victorian train station, a historic structure with stained glass windows.

A $1.8 million federal grant will be used to repoint crumbling mortar, replace failing bricks, paint the interior, fix the roof and landscape the grounds. The station is owned by Amtrak, but the town is the lead agency in the project.

Amtrak sells Windsor Locks station: Journalinquirer.com

Article behind a pay wall.

Amtrak grants access to historic train station


In a major move toward reviving the boarded-up historic train station, Amtrak has granted the town the permit needed to start physical restoration.

That follows Amtrak’s decision to sell the station to the town for a dollar. In return the town has promised to raise the money — estimated at around $500,000 — to rehabilitate the building and turn it into a visitor center, possibly with a gift shop and café.

Using a state grant, the town hired Hartford’s Crosskey Architects to do the design and restoration work, and with the permits in hand, the work can begin.

you're not the only one
http://www.ct.com/blog/wtxx-new-havenha ... 7447.story

But let's face it, they wouldn't get the money if it wasn't tagged as such. and since the official US definition of "high speed" isn't all that "high" it's technically not inaccurate. That's not to say most of the line couldn't accomodate true high speeds (125mph+) in the future for non-commuter trains though. Between the relatively few grade crossings, minimal curves, double tracking, and 125mph capable diesel-electrics it's certainly not that much of an impossibility in the near future without having to electrify.

Would true HSR (150+ mph) require electrification or can it be done with diesel locomotives?