CTDOT: Hartford Line

CT DOT Hartford Line Fall 2018 Newsletter was published today and can be found at http://www.nhhsrail.com/pdfs/fall%20201 ... letter.pdf

Ultimate goal is to serve 13 Hartford Line stations with a total of 50 trains per day.

The next phase includes new stations in North Haven, West Hartford, Windsor, Windsor Locks and Enfield, as well as the design of a second track between Windsor and Enfield.

At this time Newington station is not included in the next phase. Most likely due to pending decision of where to locate it - Newington Junction vs. Cedar St.

Next phase's design is fully funded and underway.

Next phase's construction funding is not yet secured.

Gratifying to see a continued focus on the future phases of the project in this newsletter and in recent statements. That 2030 vision will really be something to see. But plenty of course to be done before we arrive there. I wonder if CDOT will be pushing to finish the double tracking first, or instead focus on building the infill stations on the southern portion of the line.

It would be great if they could finish the double tracking first. Hopefully in the timeframe from now until 2030 and sooner rather than later, brand new equipment will be ordered for Ctrail trains.The new stations are key too. Between Springfield and WIndsor Locks is too large of a gap without an infil station.

New maybe, it is more likely that the CDOT shoreliners currently in MN pool will be replaced with MLV's.
Freeing up the 52 CDOT Shoreliners for other CDOT lines.

DutchRailnut wrote:New maybe, it is more likely that the CDOT shoreliners currently in MN pool will be replaced with MLV's.
Freeing up the 52 CDOT Shoreliners for other CDOT lines.

And consequently liberating the Hartford Line of those rotting MBBs

When the many of the Shoreliners are retired, that can certainly free up any remaining CDOT owned, especially the center door ones which aren't really that old and ride very well.

Enfield town leaders say no to million dollar 'quiet zone' to cut train horns

"It's intolerable at this point," Lareau said from his backyard overlooking railroad tracks. "Trains are going constantly. 24 hours a day."

Lareau said the near-constant passing of trains shakes his whole house down to the foundation. The volume and frequency of trains used to be roughly 10 per day, Lareau explained. Now, he says, that has increased by triple thanks to the new Hartford Line passenger rail, Amtrak and freight.

He believes the added rail traffic is making nearby homes for sale unattractive and causing his own home value to plummet. "It's about $40,000-$50,000 below the estimated value due to the train volume," he said.

To save his eardrums and cut down on train horns, Lareau petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration to make a stretch of tracks near his home a "quiet zone." But town leaders would have to pay the estimated $1 million price tag. It was a proposal quickly shot down by the city manager. When we tried to reach Christopher Bromson to find out why, he refused comment.

I hear this guy's house is right next to a whistle post.

so the railroad and Whistle post were not there when he bought his house ???? think I get it , how old is he ???

I guess they must have bought the house prior to 1844.
Obviously, the claim is invalid.
The price of the home would have been influenced by the railroad.

If you don’t want to deal with the noise of the trains, then don’t live next to the tracks. The train frequencies will increase in coming years. The railroad was there first.

GirlOnTheTrain wrote:I hear this guy's house is right next to a whistle post.

Pointed this out on the Amtrak forum but-- this guy's house is also under the landing pattern for Bradley. He's about 3.5 miles from the end of the nearest runway. Hard to believe the trains are more bothersome than the 737's and A320's (let alone the C-130's from the Air National Guard base) coming over ~1,000' off the deck.

I usually don't have sympathy for people who complain about the rumble and exhaust from passing trains because that's what trains MUST do to do their job.

But I do have sympathy for people who complain about whistles since whistles are "preventable" -- things rules create or can mitigate or eliminate without changing the transportation role of trains.

If the guy says whistles have cost him sleepless nights and $50k of value, he and his neighbors--say the 20 closest properties-- should be happy to pay, say, $500yr in zone improvement taxes* to borrow, bond, and build a quiet zone and the Municipality should be happy to do it.

*And $200 from the next closest 50, and $50 from the next 200. That's enough to bond and build a fancy quad or whatever--or close enough that a towns and states road-and-safety budget can

Whistles? Horns are the thing nowadays.