SLE to New London plans delayed

DutchRailnut wrote:they can now, its called Amtrak.

Cost. Intermediate stops.

Noel,

Groton/ New London might make sense if the service was bi-directional. Until then, it doesn't make sense. Screw the boaters, trains are more important. :D

EDIT: They are NOT running more than needed to OSB.

Noel Weaver wrote:I think the State of Connecticut should put its money into better Metro-North service to Danbury and Waterbury. The area
east of New Haven has ample service to Old Saybrook, the boaters howl when the bridges are not open and I don't think they
should put any money whatsoever into service to New London beyond what's offered by Amtrak.
More service should be operated to Waterbury, Torrington which is bigger than New London and probably the rest of the
towns between New London and Old Saybrook doesn't even have a decent bus connection to Metro-North Service. If the
state wants to do something right, they should operate a connecting bus to Metro-North services between Waterbury and
probably Winsted but at least Torrington. More and better train service to Waterbury would build up one of the few
potentials that the Naugatuck Valley has namely a residential area for people working out of the area and mostly in Fairfield
County and New York.
I know there is employement in Eastern Connecticut but it is better accessed by bus service than by rail service. The defense industries and the casinos are not on rail lines but they are on main highways and accessible for bus service from
anywhere in the area.
I think they are probably running more service than necessary to Old Saybrook and I do not think there is any need for
service beyond Old Saybrook.
Noel Weaver

I believe CT's first priority should be establishing SLE service to at least Hartford on the Springfield line.

BTW, anyone have an idea on just how many SLE passangers use their monthlies on Amtrak regionals to/from New London?

The service to OSB is important, and they aren't running enough as it is (schedule gaps), but they are running as much as they can since there's only two tracks there.

Nobody really wants a bus to Torrington. People can drive to Danbury. If there are so many people who want to go from Torrington to, say Stamford, the state would consider extending the Waterbury branch up there. I'm sure RMNE would love free track maintenance, but it doesn't seem a wise use of taxpayer money, or something that's even necessary.

I should not waste my time with you but I must come back on this one. If the Shore Line deserves commuter rail service and
maybe it does warrant a couple of rush hour trains but not much more then the upper Naugatuck Valley deserves at least a
decent connecting bus service to Waterbury.
Train service north of Waterbury can not serve Winsted and would not make as fast time as a bus could no matter what they
do with the track.
I think a rush hour or two trains in the AM west bound and PM east bound and the rest of SLE could be handled porbably by
one bus hourly on a daily basis. This might even be more than that area can justify or support. The taxpayers of
Connecticut are supporting train service that benefits only a few and which most of them will never need or use.
Noel Weaver

The states 2 biggest tourist attractions are the 2 Casinos. They are @ 10 & 15 miles away from NL. So tourism is a big part of the area. The problem is you would have to run trains at 3 or 4 in the morning and thats not going to happen.

Swedish Meatball wrote:The states 2 biggest tourist attractions are the 2 Casinos. They are @ 10 & 15 miles away from NL. So tourism is a big part of the area. The problem is you would have to run trains at 3 or 4 in the morning and thats not going to happen.

There is ample Amtrak passenger service to connect with the buses to the two casinos. The last I knew the bus schedules
were even listed in the Amtrak timetable. You do not need commuter service for people going to casinos.
Noel Weaver

Casinos operate 24/7, and neither Amtrak or MNRR would be able to provide adequate service. I was just rebuffing a fact that NLC is the biggest tourist attraction in the state. PERIOD

Well casino's are not doing that great right now, maybe the Indians can hope, that with 6 casinoes in Atlantic City going bankrupt, that some of that clientel heads north to Foxwood/Mohegan Sun.
last few times even weekends are to quite to be profitable, from my own observation.

Noel,

We already have more than a few trains during rush hour, and continuous bidirectional service is the ultimate goal. When they get double-sided platforms in, Amtrak will let them run more trains, some passing sidings could increase the dispatching capacity more. There are two words to justify SLE: Q Bridge.

Why would a bus make better time? Busses hit stop lights, traffic jams, and a host of other wonderful things. With tourist-train track quality and freight diesels (i.e. not very good) RMNE hauls as it is, with some track improvements it would be fast. The roads around there are pretty slow. Plus, then it would have a 3-seat ride towards Stamford, instead of the a 2-seat ride. Probably neither would run north of Waterbury on weekends, buses because there would be no need, trains because RMNE would need the trackage on the weekends.