Central Connecticut Rail Study Hartford-Waterbury (Busway)

Mr rt wrote:Only Stamford & Bridgeport are thinking about light rail/trolleys.

It's news to me that even those two were thinking of it. I didn't mean to imply, by the way, that I thought anyone was actually trying to bring back the Farmington Avenue line, just that it was the only semi-viable rail transit route from the suburbs to downtown Hartford that wouldn't duplicate the route of an existing expressway.

New Haven and Providence, RI are also looking at modern streetcars, as well as like 80 or 90 other mid- to large-size cities across the US. They're cheaper than light rail but spur a lot more private economic growth than buses.

Mr rt wrote:Only Stamford & Bridgeport are thinking about light rail/trolleys.

Au contraire, mon frere!

New Haven has been talking about a 4-mile streetcar line for some time. Even the trolley museum
of which you're a member has been involved in the planning.

Lee, You are correct, it's Stamford & New Haven ... and they have both thrown a little money at it ...
Providence ... hadn't heard about that one.

Mr rt wrote:Manchester to Hartford would also work, but does the existing rail line go deep enough into the suburbs before becoming a trail ?

It ends at Parker St. in Manchester, about 1/2 mile past the crossing of Route 83 near Robertson Park. The Hop River Trail starts a couple blocks after. Plenty dense area for a stop. If they restored rail-with-trailed another 1-1/2 miles beyond that it could stop at a park-and-ride right off Exit 65, which is about the easternmost extent of the worst of I-84 rush hour traffic. Wouldn't make any sense to go past there because of how screwy the ROW gets around Bolton Notch, but long-term Hartford-Manchester/Vernon is a fairly attractive-looking addition to the commuter rail network hitting the right mix of park-and-ride, high-density town centers, and shopping in the eastern extent of Greater Hartford.

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc- ... 7464.story

To the people here with historical knowledge, I was wondering if the photo caption that goes with this opinion piece is accurate. Was there really a lack of ridership? If so, why the talk of reestablishing these services?

Since I am not really discussing the article itself I didn't leave a brief quote, but if I was supposed to, my apologies.

According to the 1958 timetable for Train #55, I can see why there was an apparent lack of ridership. The timetable shows the train out of Springfield at 2:15AM and out of New Haven at 4:07AM, and arriving at GCT around 7AM. This schedule is earlier than the SB Washingtonian in Springfield, which came some 3 or so hours later.


Of course this is decades-before Metro North came into being, so not really relevant in this particular forum.

Not Metro North related, but there is a present debate about the Waterbury-Hartford line and the New Haven-Springfield line, which would be related to CTDOT operations.

In reponse to the original question, the photo caption appears to represent the standard of accuracy we have learned to expect from daily journalism (apart from a few reporters who really do know transportation). The caption suggests that all service Springfield-Hartford-New Haven-New York was discontinued, not just train 55 (and that may have been in number only--the December 1960 Guide shows train 99 running about an hour earlier). The April 1971 Official Guide (the last pre-Amtrak) shows Penn Central still operating service between those points, although mostly requiring a change at New Haven and also sometimes at Hartford. As often happens with photos accompanying news stories, the photo here has nothing to do with the substance of the article, which deals with the Hartford-Bristol-Waterbury corridor.

"Going north, the route would connect to the Amtrak line in Hartford and could continue through northern New England to Canada."

..as long as you don't mind walking the last few miles..

An actual CTDOT traffic engineer gives his opinion on the busway here. You will have to scroll down a bit to read the pertinent topic. While the rest of the thread is not on the topic of railroads, it is still an interesting read.

Editorial: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010 ... 903624.txt

When conceived, the 9.4-mile road for buses was estimated to cost $82 million. Its estimated cost now is $572 million.

Despite the high cost, the project is still alive because of the hope it will qualify for $275 million in federal aid.

It would not be money well spent.

That point is now being made by the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce. It is urging that the project be stopped, or at least halted until a new governor takes office next year and can reconsider it.

The project’s huge cost would siphon money from needed repair and maintenance of the state’s bridges and roads. The busway will cost more, but serve fewer people, than double tracking the rail line between Springfield and New Haven to restore regular commuter and freight service.

The busway would be built on an abandoned rail line. The chambers of commerce are objecting that taking the railroad right-of-way for a bus lane will prevent its restoration for regular rail service. That service would connect Hartford to Waterbury, through New Britain and Bristol, and then on to Bridgeport and New York.

Restoring this rail connection would serve the same end of taking cars off a clogged Interstate 84 by providing a mass transit alternative. But, it would serve an entire region, not just a 9.4-mile route at a cost that has become impossible to justify.

That proposed cost of $60 million per mile is nothing short of astonishing for a project that would use an existing, intact, double-track-width railroad right-of-way. Are they using gold alloy for pavement or something?

Hey, it's only tax money.

After riding an express bus on the busway that exists between Kendall (south of Miami) to Florida City over the old Florida East Coast right of way, I am totally against busways. The ride was terrible and the cost is obsene. I suspect they will spend even more to study this some more. I hope they will come to their senses. The money would be much better spent fixing up Metro-North's operations where service already exists.
Noel Weaver

I agree with Noel.
The busway would be a terrible waste!
Granted, I doubt I'd use the rail alternative much, if at all if constructed/offered, but I'd more likely vote for it!
Hartford to Waterbury would save me considerable driving time should I ever wish to go out that way.