I agree the fare sharing is critical. Without it i dont think the service would have a chance to be succeessful or useful. 8 round trips alone isnt enough for a commuter service, 16 is a different story.
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Will Amtrak be offering free rides on the Opening Weekend too?
TRAIN(geek) APPROACHING, PLEASE REMAIN BEHIND THE YELLOW LINE
Traingeek3629 wrote:Will Amtrak be offering free rides on the Opening Weekend too?According to the above May 5 post "For those that live in the area and are thinking of riding the free trains on the service’s opening weekend, the new CTrail fares will be available on Amtrak that day if you need to ride Amtrak on your return leg (which I will have to due to timing.)"
Traingeek3629 wrote:Will Amtrak be offering free rides on the Opening Weekend too?I highly doubt the Amtraks will be free. Amtrak’s new schedule on the line starts in fact one week earlier. I would imagine that it will be free on CTrail only. However Amtrak WIlL be changing to the new fares that weekend so if due to the schedule you need to ride an Amtrak on one leg and a free train the other leg you will only have to pay the Hartford Line fare on the Amtrak. Its unknown if the CTrail ticket machines will be operating (if you need to buy a ticket for the Amtrak ride) but the Hartford Line fares will also be available if you buy the ticket from Amtrak from a ticket agent, Quik Trak, or online.
Just one observation, the crossings in Windsor CT are still not 100% ready to go and also the track is still not connected in Windsor at north point of old train station. With the deadline coming soon, I would figure these crossings would be perfect at this point but they are missing gates on some crossings, they are missing total crossing and gates on others. Full pavement is not done especially again in and around current Windsor train station. Also, no one is around except maybe a truck or two but no one is really working on anything. Do we know if this section is to be done before startup or is it waiting for Phase 3?
Man, I hope they'll be done by service launch! Only 31 days to go... Also to note, I believe some of the extra double tracking that was funded by money Florida rejected was part of Phase 3.
Yes they are calling what they did with the Florida money "Phase 3A." Phase 3B is everything left that hasn't been funded yet. Info here: http://www.nhhsrail.com/ea/1_0.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .
Note one thing they haven't done listed there that was called for in phase1/2 is a layover facility in Springfield. This ultimately wasn't done because ConnDOT somewhat altered their operational plans. Originally ConnDOT planned on operating 11 commuter round trips meshed with the current Amtrak service which would have required this facility in Springfield, however the state had to knock that down to the present 8 commuter round trips as they were unable to procure enough rolling stock for the original plan and the SLE trainsets did not end up being available. However they got lucky because Amtrak showed an interest in adding 3 round trips and with the joint ticketing program that got them to their 17 promised round trips so they could save face. With Amtrak running 3 of the new roundtrips they can layover all the ConnDOT trains in New Haven. Now if they do Phase 3B and add more service or at the very least extend the Hartford terminating round trips to Springfield they would once again need to look at finding a layover facility location as Amtrak uses all the currently available space in Springfield for the trains that they park there overnight.
Note one thing they haven't done listed there that was called for in phase1/2 is a layover facility in Springfield. This ultimately wasn't done because ConnDOT somewhat altered their operational plans. Originally ConnDOT planned on operating 11 commuter round trips meshed with the current Amtrak service which would have required this facility in Springfield, however the state had to knock that down to the present 8 commuter round trips as they were unable to procure enough rolling stock for the original plan and the SLE trainsets did not end up being available. However they got lucky because Amtrak showed an interest in adding 3 round trips and with the joint ticketing program that got them to their 17 promised round trips so they could save face. With Amtrak running 3 of the new roundtrips they can layover all the ConnDOT trains in New Haven. Now if they do Phase 3B and add more service or at the very least extend the Hartford terminating round trips to Springfield they would once again need to look at finding a layover facility location as Amtrak uses all the currently available space in Springfield for the trains that they park there overnight.
So based on this info then the track should be connected but they are showing no sign of doing so. Also, in some places this new track is lower then the first track by about six inches. Is that suppose to be that way for clearance reasons or do they have more ballast that still has to come to raise the track. They also sprayed for grass to grow around where crossing signals have still yet to be placed. Seems the grass spraying would be the final step but now they will need to dig this up once they go to place the signals in place. Just seems like they are stalling for some reason or another.
Considering all the delays and mismanagement this project has gone through, and the fact that we're so close to opening, it would be sad if that work isn't done by service launch.
lordsigma12345 wrote:Everyone: This caught my eye being interested in possibly attending ceremonies and riding theTraingeek3629 wrote:Will Amtrak be offering free rides on the Opening Weekend too?I highly doubt the Amtraks will be free. Amtrak’s new schedule on the line starts in fact one week earlier. I would imagine that it will be free on CTrail only. However Amtrak WIlL be changing to the new fares that weekend so if due to the schedule you need to ride an Amtrak on one leg and a free train the other leg you will only have to pay the Hartford Line fare on the Amtrak. Its unknown if the CTrail ticket machines will be operating (if you need to buy a ticket for the Amtrak ride) but the Hartford Line fares will also be available if you buy the ticket from Amtrak from a ticket agent, Quik Trak, or online.
new service on the inaugural weekend next month.
Caution-Before boarding any Amtrak trains on the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield route during
the inaugural weekend CTrail free service find out exactly what their policy concerning honoring
any complimentary tickets that may be issued or required especially if the fare and/or on board
penalty is substantially higher then what CTrail fares are. Check with an Amtrak crew member
before you board - especially if you do not have any ticket type in your possession - to prevent
making what could turn out to be a expensive mistake. MACTRAXX
EXPRESS TRAIN TO NEW YORK PENN STATION-NO JAMAICA ON THIS TRAIN-PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING TRAIN DOORS
Very true - unless it is announced that Amtrak will be honoring the "free tickets" I would suggest assuming they are not. If you are planning on riding during the inaugural weekend and you need to use an Amtrak operated train for one of the legs of your trip assume you have to pay for that leg and buy your ticket BEFORE you board the train from Amtrak using either amtrak.com, the mobile app, the 1-800 number, or, if you are boarding at New Haven, Hartford, or Springfield stations, an Amtrak ticket window. The one thing that IS confirmed is that Amtrak will begin using the Hartford Line fares on Saturday June 16th so the price for your ticket if you buy BEFORE boarding would be what's listed on http://www.hartfordline.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . Also do NOT use the Amtrak Vermonter - the Vermonter is EXCLUDED from Hartford Line pricing.
Hartford line site has been redesigned with much more detail and information. Check out the new site. One new detail is there is going to be 100% universal ticketing. Like the CTrail tickets the Amtrak tickets will be redeemable on the CTrail trains. This is a big plus as it adds the ability to do online and app ticket purchases and also adds the ability to buy from an agent in Springfield and Hartford for those who aren’t as tech savvy. Also both CTrail and Amtrak will honor all the weekly/monthly passes as will as the UPass CT. As mentioned in the past the Vermonter is fully excluded from the Hartford Like program and will continue to use normal Amtrak fares only.
http://www.hartfordline.com/pdf/hartfor ... de_map.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The MBBs are finally being tested:
https://youtu.be/u_mqZZ3Owj0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://youtu.be/5lSdBE8W8N8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I still don’t understand why they had to paint them like that.
https://youtu.be/u_mqZZ3Owj0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://youtu.be/5lSdBE8W8N8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I still don’t understand why they had to paint them like that.
I like the paint job, personally.
Question: did they put benches on the platforms?
Question: did they put benches on the platforms?
