Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the operations of MTA MetroNorth Railroad including west of Hudson operations and discussion of CtDOT sponsored rail operations such as Shore Line East and the Springfield to New Haven Hartford Line

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, nomis, FL9AC, Jeff Smith

 #988694  by F-line to Dudley via Park
 
Nexis4Jersey wrote:What about extending or Branching service to Torrington?
Torrington's nowhere near attractive for rail yet. That section of Route 8 north of Waterbury isn't bad at all, that city isn't shoreline/New York-oriented at all, and other projects like Danbury-New Milford, Hartford-Manchester/Willimantic, or New London-Worcester are much higher on the pecking order. State hasn't put Torrington anywhere on its "potential passenger rail corridor" list in the State Rail Plan like all those others. However, I think when Hartford-Waterbury-Devon service is maturely established it starts looking logical to make Torrington inclusive of the network, with service pitched as economic stimulant and building out commuter rail density rather than serving some pent-up demand (which it doesn't have as a MNRR-only branch). The wrinkle here is that Torrington's got a much bigger need for options to Hartford in lieu of the I-84 or Routes 6 and 4 horror shows than to points south where the commute on 8 is OK. To do that without a transfer requires running a train to Torrington-Waterbury that then reverses direction and goes Waterbury-New Britain. Skipping Waterbury and going Hartford direct misses a huge ridership point and both the Naugy and Highland tracks point due south on literal opposite sides of the road for 2 miles before they finally junction, meaning they'd have to shoehorn a semi-awkward wye well north where they first approach (there's room and it's operationally feasible, but the tight curvature on it would be kind of lousy).

Gonna take awhile. I think the whole Central CT commuter rail system has to develop a lot more before this gets on the wishlist.
 #988760  by Noel Weaver
 
The major line re-location back in the 60's for the Thomaston Dam took away some of the worst curves between Thomaston and Torrington but this line still has its share of curves and speed restrictions. A bus running on route 8 could make it from Torrington to the railroad station at Waterbury in maybe 25 minutes with a quick stop in the Thomaston area but the train would require close to 45 minutes and maybe even more. To fix this line up to accomodate regular passenger service would be a big cost item as well and today there is no station in Torrington although a shelter could be thrown together at not a huge cost. As much as I would like to see passenger service back to my home town of Torrington I have to admit that in this day and age it is simply not practical give that route 8 is faster and is an easy road to negotiate at just about anytime of the day. What is lacking and needed here is a decent bus connection for the existing Metro-North service at Waterbury and they could do that without spending a fortune to restore rail service north of Waterbury.
In my time in Torrington in the late 40's and very early 50's you could travel in and out of Torrington in all directions and at all times of the day by decent bus service to such places as New York, New Haven via Waterbury, Hartford, Winsted, Pittsfield and beyond and Albany, New York among other places. Sometimes there would be two or even three buses at the same time outside of the bus terminal at Center Square in Torrington. The Hartford bus went to the railroad station and some of the Waterbury - Winsted buses did too but the action for bus service was the station at Center Square. It had a full time ticket agent, newstand and shoeshine as well. I don't think much bus service remains in Torrington today, everybody there wants to use their car.
Noel Weaver
 #988841  by Jeff Smith
 
I actually think Waterbury - Hartford makes more sense as a rail corridor, and would attract more passengers, than the current Waterbury - Bridgeport service.

MNRR operates the branches in CT on a 100% cost allocation to CDOT; main-line is 65-35. So if CDOT wanted MNRR to operate a Waterbury extension (or Danbury, for that matter), they could ask MNRR to do it. Would MNRR? I don't know. And it's likely NHHS would be operated by Amtrak, who own the ROW anyway.

I like what I think is F-Line's idea; truncate the Waterbury at Devon. I believe the initial plan earlier in this thread contemplates a new Devon station for transfers to the main line. So you run it Devon - Waterbury - Hartford. You'd have two peak directions but you'd still need improvements such as signalling and passing sidings to facilitate two-way running.

Who'd run it? There's hardly any freight traffic on there with PAR/Springfield Terminal. P&W doesn't use the area below Derby anymore since the area west of Derby is OOS on HRRC track. Would P&W or PAR want to run it? Keolis? I doubt Amtrak would. Could CDOT do it? I had a friend years ago I served with in the reserves who worked in the industry who said CDOT (this was the Harry Harris era?) wanted to run the trains themselves. Nothing came of it, of course. I would think if you could give the Maybrook east of Danbury to P&W with trackage rights to HRRC instead of vice-versa, and give P&W or CTSO the Springfield/PAR work (would PAR even notice?) then you could get one of them to run it.

Regards Torrington, wouldn't the Derby - Danbury section be more worthwhile? I think I've asked this before, but I can't imagine the roads there are any good up to Monroe, and it solves the OOS problem when the upgrade is installed. Torrington would be less dense. Again, logical ideas after the Highland route is reopened.

Anyway, I'm probably smoking something (I'd like to see the original HRRC Bridgeport - Trumbull - Monroe rebuilt, which is pure foam), but at least there keeping this stretch along the 84 corridor in play.

As for the busway, F-Line, even the first shovel may not keep it alive. Look at ARC. Christie came in office, looked at the boondoggle, and nixed it after work had started. I doubt Malloy will last more than one term. He's CT's Corzine. Liked him as mayor of Stamford; not so much as CT Gov.
 #988866  by F-line to Dudley via Park
 
I don't think demand's there Derby-Danbury. Route 34 sucks no doubt, but those commuters go to New Haven and that's not where a branch would dump them. Route 25 is how they get to Bridgeport, and rail would be inconveniently circuitous if it had to swing 10 miles out of the way to get there. It's too bad it would literally take 35 years and $35B for an west-inland NEC of dubious feasibility to reconnect Newtown with Waterbury because 84 is the holy grail corridor screaming for it all the way to the border.

Devon-Waterbury-Hartford for most runs and Bridgeport-Devon-Waterbury/Waterbury-Hartford peak hour short-turns are pitch perfect. I don't think there's a need to go fishing for any more force-fits on that corridor. That service will blow up mega, and it'll be downtown Bristol's savior because they will never ever get highway access. Also think doing this instead of the @$&*$#$*#$*^@#@# busway makes NHHS alt service via Berlin-New Britain-back to Newington nice and easy to do every third train, as well as service configurations that span the width of Greater Hartford and do a New Britain-Manchester/Buckland Hills or something like that. The east-west disconnect from W'bury to D'bury is a painful, painful loss but the die was cast on that one in the 50's when they built 84 on top of the ROW.

CDOT probably desires to run it, but I don't know if they'd need help for the first decade from a pro. If it lines money in MNRR's pocket without otherwise inconveniencing them, I don't see why they'd pass it up as purely mercenary operators who don't have to claim responsibility for it on their service map. MBTA has got a pretty good thing going with RIDOT and is happy to go wherever they'll pay to go; might even bid on Providence-Westerly to pocket some more revenue MA's way if Amtrak's interest is cool to it. And freight's not going to be a factor. Maybe P&W convinces Housy to fork Derby over if nothing more than for peace of mind. But I don't understand why PAR still bothers when it's Amtrak's overhead fees that have shrunk them to 1 day a week south of Springfield and their refusal to follow the PTC mandate system-wide is going to make it even harder to justify running on cab signaled ACSES trackage from Deerfield to Hartford and again from Waterbury to Derby to service this outpost. I think they want to dump that line and that's why they're making goo-goo eyes at Nicastro, hosting fantrips for local pols, and claiming $50M is enough to get full-blown CR speeds on the Highland (lie!). They definitely want to bring the state to the table about buying the line with this study. Only question is who would they allow as a replacement freight operator? CSO's the natural choice and likely high-bid who can funnel those same goods to them in Springfield, but who knows if PAR trusts growing RailAmerica with that much CT presence and would prefer a weakling like CNZR, Housy, or Naugy get it. They play games like that habitually. At any rate, I'll eat a bowl of ballast if they are still owning that line lock, stock, and barrels by 2015. At very least they'll have dumped ownership to the state, if not totally shed their operating rights.
 #988926  by Train322
 
Before they talk 50 million for Waterbury to Plainville, on a line with curves and grade crossings where I wonder how fast a train can run versus a connecting bus in I 84, (with completed three lanes, although no storm drains that lead anywhere) - let them spend money on passing tracks between Devon and Waterbury so they can, given reliable equipment, run trains on two hour headways.


Once that is done, they can look for connecting bus lines in Waterbury or, I can't imagine how slow it would be on a rail line that does not run direct, extending rail to Plainville/New Britain.
 #989004  by Noel Weaver
 
Folks using the train in the Naugatuck Valley are headed for Bridgeport, Stamford and New York and not Hartford. Item- Hartford is shinking as a city, commuter destination and jobs location. The busway is a huge waste of money, commuter rail to Hartford likewise is a waste of money although I favor much more service between New Haven and Springfield that could function as commuter rail service along that line. Connecticut has enough irons in the fire trying to keep going what they already support without trying to do the impossible. As much as I like passenger trains and believe me, I like them, in some places buses simply do a better job and Hartford generally fits this mold.
Noel Weaver
 #989006  by N4J
 
Noel Weaver wrote:Folks using the train in the Naugatuck Valley are headed for Bridgeport, Stamford and New York and not Hartford. Item- Hartford is shinking as a city, commuter destination and jobs location. The busway is a huge waste of money, commuter rail to Hartford likewise is a waste of money although I favor much more service between New Haven and Springfield that could function as commuter rail service along that line. Connecticut has enough irons in the fire trying to keep going what they already support without trying to do the impossible. As much as I like passenger trains and believe me, I like them, in some places buses simply do a better job and Hartford generally fits this mold.
Noel Weaver
Hartford is not sinking in any job market , there's alot of private businesses and projects planned to relocate to Hartford. But the Busway is indeed a waste and makes no sense with the current route.... Hartford needs more Rail connectivity , people outside the NYC area not to fond of bus travel if you haven't noticed.....so connecting Hartford with more / faster Rail like to Waterbury , New Haven , Springfield , Manchester would be used by a decent amount of the population , then the current bus system. It would also boost ridership across the system to build more lines , and in the future when population of the Northeastern US hits 80 Million (2050) , this region will be prepared.
 #989169  by F-line to Dudley via Park
 
Train322 wrote:Before they talk 50 million for Waterbury to Plainville, on a line with curves and grade crossings where I wonder how fast a train can run versus a connecting bus in I 84, (with completed three lanes, although no storm drains that lead anywhere) - let them spend money on passing tracks between Devon and Waterbury so they can, given reliable equipment, run trains on two hour headways.


Once that is done, they can look for connecting bus lines in Waterbury or, I can't imagine how slow it would be on a rail line that does not run direct, extending rail to Plainville/New Britain.
Have you ever driven I-84 at rush hour between Hartford and Waterbury? A train will beat car or bus by 1 or 1-1/2 hours at peak travel, easily. It is one of the most painful commutes in the state, and severely isolates Bristol and Waterbury from the Hartford job market.

This was the NYNE mainline; it used to be a full double-track major intercity route, and service was well-patronized right to the end in the 50's. The 1-mile downtown Bristol hairpin is residue from when the New Departure plant was historically on North Main St., but the rest of the line is very straight and suitable to good speeds. Even the hills out in Plymouth and the long curve where it turns south to Waterbury are graded very well for it. The flank from the top of the Bristol hairpin to when it turns back east is the downtown station approach, so it mitigates what's obviously a very slow zone with a major station stop where the trains would be slowing anyway. The sharp curves and grade crossings are not much of an added travel time penalty because of that.
Noel Weaver wrote:Folks using the train in the Naugatuck Valley are headed for Bridgeport, Stamford and New York and not Hartford. Item- Hartford is shinking as a city, commuter destination and jobs location. The busway is a huge waste of money, commuter rail to Hartford likewise is a waste of money although I favor much more service between New Haven and Springfield that could function as commuter rail service along that line. Connecticut has enough irons in the fire trying to keep going what they already support without trying to do the impossible. As much as I like passenger trains and believe me, I like them, in some places buses simply do a better job and Hartford generally fits this mold.
Noel Weaver
Would agree to a certain point about commute patterns. There is bleed-through right around Waterbury where a fair amount of traffic is challenged by getting around the horn 84-to-8. It's not a sharp demarcation, more a continuum that after a couple stops south few are commuting east and after a couple stops east few are commuting south. For peak hours, definitely most services would be best off terminating in Waterbury for each end. Off-peak, it's operationally easiest to just have end-to-end runs sweeping through the whole line at hours when not a whole lot of equipment needs to run. It'll ultimately net better service levels and serve those bleed-through riders better. There is also the matter that a lot of people in the mid-Naugutuck Valley have extremely poor airport access, further isolating them from options they need. In a pick-your-poison situation, Seymour or Ansonia is probably the dividing line where NYC over Bradley decisively stops being a dilemma, and Nagutuck or Beacon Falls where Bradley looks a better drive depending on time of day. For that reason a subset of run-thrus would be a whole lot better than a brick wall at Waterbury station dividing the two routes and blocking those bleed-thru audience options.

Still no way to make this a viable bus route. 84 is just too awful, and there are no other bypass highways after 40 years of the impossible Route 72 saga. I simply don't think there's any other mode that'll work for de-isolating this area from the job market. They flat-out can't get from A to B with a tolerable commute, and the areas suffer the economic consequences accordingly.

At any rate, the meeting point at Waterbury terminal opens up a ton of service options. I won't pretend to know the best way to slice and dice it until a survey crunches some hard data on where everyone's going. That hasn't been done in a long time, and demographic patterns have definitely changed in the last 20 years making any previous studies on the books pretty far obsolete.
 #989210  by Train322
 
One of the reasons why the New Haven to Springfield line is being upgraded and the busway is being built is to try to attract business to Hartford. Hartford does have a lot of empty office buildings and many properties downtown are parking lots.

I was not aware that the Waterbury - New Britain line was as straight as it is, only because I am focused on the hairpin curve in Bristol.

The article in the Hartford paper did not provide details.
The question is, 50m for Waterbury to Plainville. Does that mean double track over the new portion?
Also, can the Waterbury-Devon get passing sidings for X million?
If the rail is expanded, that may help the economy of Waterbury and many of the valley towns as well as the efforts to redevelop Bristol.

In sum, the transportation investment is really an attempt to bring business and property tax revenue to central Connecticut.
 #989541  by Ridgefielder
 
F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:Devon-Waterbury-Hartford for most runs and Bridgeport-Devon-Waterbury/Waterbury-Hartford peak hour short-turns are pitch perfect. I don't think there's a need to go fishing for any more force-fits on that corridor. That service will blow up mega, and it'll be downtown Bristol's savior because they will never ever get highway access. Also think doing this instead of the @$&*$#$*#$*^@#@# busway makes NHHS alt service via Berlin-New Britain-back to Newington nice and easy to do every third train, as well as service configurations that span the width of Greater Hartford and do a New Britain-Manchester/Buckland Hills or something like that. The east-west disconnect from W'bury to D'bury is a painful, painful loss but the die was cast on that one in the 50's when they built 84 on top of the ROW.
Just a minor correction- 84 was not, in fact, built on the NYNE ROW. Part of the right-of-way was obliterated in the South Britain area by the construction of the road, but most of it is still there. Southbury to Middlebury is actually one of the oldest, if not the oldest, rail-to-trail conversions: a local doctor bought it from the NYNH&H when they pulled out in 1939 and converted it to a bridle path, then deeded it to the state. The piers and abutments of the big bridge over the Housatonic at Sandy Hook are still there, too. The line was north of the I-84 alignment from Hawleyville to around South Britain, then crossed south to climb the shoulder of the hills that are to your right when you're EB on 84, on the way up to Towantic Summit.

What you're saying about the fate of the Busway really reminds me of the whole "Super 7" project in my native parts. Norwalk and Danbury wanted it, Wilton, Ridgefield and Redding said "over my dead body," and three towns fought CDOT for forty years before the state finally caved and gave up on the plan. And I think you're spot-on about West Hartford having a blocking motion up their sleeve. My former inlaws are West Hartford people, so I know that town-- they're likely to pull out all the stops and they have the money to do it, too.
 #1050687  by Jeff Smith
 
Some current stuff going on beside the busway (discussed here to the extent that it hinders rail: Hartford-New Britain: Busway or Expanded Rail?)

It seems like Plainville is a good target and could be done "relatively" easy.

http://www.trainweb.org/ct/minutes11-11.htm
Branchlines: Danbury Line signalization work is proceeding with setting the signal houses. A Study of a service extension from Waterbury to Bristol and Berlin is underway. Pan Am owns this section of track.
I have found these notes and quote, some of which are obviously old:

I emailed these folks, and did receive a response that a study is in the planning phase:

http://www.ccrpa.org/transportation.htm
The Connecticut Department of Transportation has retained a consultant, URS, to study transportation needs to, from, and through Central Connecticut. Reinstatement of passenger rail service on the line you mention will be considered as part of the study.

The study is in the planning phases, so no documents are available. It is expected that the consultants will release a web site for the study when more information is available.
http://articles.courant.com/2011-11-13/ ... ranch-line
Nicasto, chief of the Chambers of Commerce of Central Connecticut, late last month joined state transportation officials in a tour of the rail tracks from Berlin to Waterbury. He's hoping to build momentum for at least rebuilding the Waterbury to Plainville stretch soon, a move that could extend Metro-North's Waterbury branch line schedule into the center of the state.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy earlier this year committed $1 million to study whether it makes sense to rehabilitate the entire Berlin-to-Waterbury section of tracks, bridges, crossings and other infrastructure. The line is now used only for occasional freight trains; bringing it up to standards for new commuter service would cost about $125 million to $130 million and could be done in 18 to 30 months, Nicastro said.

But if the job is divided into stages, the first one — from Waterbury to the Plainville railyard — would cost just $50 million or so, Nicastro said. That would offer thousands of central Connecticut people a new way to get to their jobs in the Naugatuck Valley and Fairfield County, he said, and also would give easy access to New York City for the region's biggest employer, ESPN.

The late Peter Lynch, a widely respected railroad manager and consultant, concluded two years ago that Connecticut could restore passenger service on the route for a relatively low cost. But advocates were pitching the plan as an alternative to the $569 million New Britain busway, and encountered stiff resistance at the time from busway supporters in the DOT and elsewhere.
http://bristolnews.blogspot.com/2009/02 ... ng-up.html

"Light" rail is mentioned, but that could be a misquote.
The idea isn’t quite barreling down the tracks yet, but there’s a growing push to create a new commuter rail service between Waterbury and Hartford.

State lawmakers and the Department of Transportation are increasingly supportive of taking a hard look at the option, a change hailed by Bristol Mayor Art Ward.

The service would use an existing freight line railroad track that runs through Bristol and New Britain on its way to Berlin, where it can hook up with the Amtrak line that runs along the Connecticut River.

...

“We need to see what we can do about getting our rail line open from Bristol into Hartford,” Nicastro said.

Nicastro said that “it would not be that costly” to begin passenger service on the existing rail line.

This is “a good time” to pursue the idea, said state Rep. Betty Boukus, a Plainville Democrat whose 22nd District includes portions of both Bristol and New Britain.

“To me, it’s something that would definitely help,” Boukus said.

Boukus said she can envision a time when Pan Am passenger trains might be able to take people from Bristol all the way to Maine, at the other end of the regional system.

Mike Nicastro pointed out that from Waterbury, train riders could connect to the Metro North system that runs trains into New York City.
http://bristolnews.blogspot.com/2008/03 ... stols.html
State transportation decision-makers were all aboard Thursday for moving down the track on plans on a comprehensive study of the possibility of establishing passenger rail service between Waterbury and Berlin. “We will do everything we can” to make rail service happen as long as the data shows it’s in the long-term interest of the state, said Albert Martin, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Transportation.

...

Ken Shooshan-Stoller, a regional planner, said the session was put together to see how the area can utilize the 24.5-mile rail line more fully.
“We want to be imaginative and we want to consider all the options that we have,” Shooshan-Stoller said.
Roger Bergeron, a vice president with Pan Am Railways, which owns the track, figured it would cost as little as $11 million to make changes that would allow for passenger service.
That doesn’t include depots or associated infrastructure, however.
Officials said that if passenger rail were to get rolling, there might be a need to make costly changes to prevent trains from tying up traffic on Route 6 in Bristol at Maple End or busy New Britain intersections.
Currently, there are four trains a day between Plainville and Berlin and one that runs between Bristol and Waterbury, Bergeron said. He said it could easily handle much more.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/connecti ... train.html
3-24-08 A study is underway to determine if passenger service should be restored to a train line that runs between Waterbury and Hartford. The tracks are currently only being used for freight trains and are owned by Pan Am. I think the following towns could be serviced by this train: Waterbury, Terryville, Bristol, Plainville, New Britain, and Berlin.

A public meeting will be held March 27 at 9 a.m. at the public library on High Street Bristol CT.

Quote:
The Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency is hosting a meeting on March 27 to discuss the feasibility of creating commuter service along the little-used rail line linking Waterbury and Berlin. Municipal officials from Waterbury and Bristol are invited, and representatives from Pan Am Railwaysthe company that owns the track, will attend, the agency said.

"Our agency has always supported keeping an eye on that rail infrastructure. We don't want to let an asset go to waste in light of the way oil prices are climbing," said Kenneth Shooshan-Stoller, vice president of the planning agency.

Quote:
The tracks are used infrequently by freight trains, and the route hasn't seen scheduled passenger service in several decades. Shooshan-Stoller said his agency is interested in initiating a study to determine whether it would be financially practical for the state Department of Transportation to revive commuter service on the route. That study would estimate ridership and potential revenue, as well as the costs to operate the service and to bring the tracks and bridges up to federal standards for passenger use.

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/connecti ... z1wZnC3Zbd
 #1050740  by F-line to Dudley via Park
 
Jeff Smith wrote:"Light" rail is mentioned, but that could be a misquote.
Frequent misquote. The locals get their terminology mixed up often because of the whole Griffin Line LRT saga (which got killed by John Rowland specifically so he could pitch the busway) dominating the news about Central CT transit options for a good 15 years through the mid-90's. Thanks to local reporters not being up to snuff on their terminology t's taken on a meaning analogous to commuter rail...or, if splitting hairs further, any DMU option vs. normal push-pull CR. They call NHHS "heavy rail" a lot too.

Can't say I blame them for not knowing what was what when CDOT and various governors have spent the better part of 3 decades acting as a mouthpiece for custom-mode boondoggles that would've been easier to implement as Just A Train™. Because it can never be Just A Train™...Hartford's always got to be doubling down at any given moment on one sharks-with-frickin'-lasers vaporware mode.
 #1063184  by Jeff Smith
 
Vandalism occuring as we speak: http://www.courant.com/community/new-br ... 8596.story
Part of the Hartford-to-New-Britain busway is being built along a long-unused freight rail line between downtown New Britain and Newington Junction. A stretch of that railbed passes through the heart of Fairview Cemetery. Visitors there in recent decades have seen only a ridge with shrubs and small trees. But in earlier generations, freight trains used to regularly chug through the center of the cemetery.
 #1063189  by F-line to Dudley via Park
 
Jeff Smith wrote:Vandalism occuring as we speak: http://www.courant.com/community/new-br ... 8596.story
Part of the Hartford-to-New-Britain busway is being built along a long-unused freight rail line between downtown New Britain and Newington Junction. A stretch of that railbed passes through the heart of Fairview Cemetery. Visitors there in recent decades have seen only a ridge with shrubs and small trees. But in earlier generations, freight trains used to regularly chug through the center of the cemetery.
Ground clearing. The ROW is severely overgrown in that area.

Where this will get hilarious is when they cross the Newington town line, because the saber-rattling there is starting to look like West Hartford-lite:

http://www.courant.com/community/newing ... 4298.story
http://www.courant.com/community/cromwe ... 4871.story
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