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DutchRailnut wrote:hope the ridership is there, on days other than special events,but my hopes are not high for this service.People didn't think weekend service to OSB would catch on, but it did. The real goal should be Mystic. There are a lot of hurdles, but I think that would be a worthwhile venture.
ThirdRail7 wrote:I don't think there are any crossovers between the Groton Industrial Track and Westerly, so without a new one installed Amtrak's not going to be enthused about the schedule penalty of turning back wrong-rail at Mystic. Besides, if RIDOT gets South County commuter rail down to Westerly CDOT has put in the State Rail Plan that it wants to take SLE there for a direct transfer. Amtrak is due to renovate that station into a 3-tracker in anticipation of RIDOT stopping there, and there's a layover yard attached to it that makes an ideal turnback. RIDOT's proceeding fairly deliberately with its buildout. I don't think we'll be waiting past 2020 for the opportunity. The capital costs would be very little for CDOT because Mystic is pre-existing and Westerly + layover will be paid for by RIDOT and Amtrak. It's more or less an operating extension for CDOT, not a capital one...and RIDOT very much wants to entice them over for the beneficial transfer revenue, so the stakeholders are all willing.DutchRailnut wrote:hope the ridership is there, on days other than special events,but my hopes are not high for this service.People didn't think weekend service to OSB would catch on, but it did. The real goal should be Mystic. There are a lot of hurdles, but I think that would be a worthwhile venture.
F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:I think this is a great idea; an overlapping (or at least connecting) multiple corridor commute service. Nice to see CDOT has this on their plate.ThirdRail7 wrote:I don't think there are any crossovers between the Groton Industrial Track and Westerly, so without a new one installed Amtrak's not going to be enthused about the schedule penalty of turning back wrong-rail at Mystic. Besides, if RIDOT gets South County commuter rail down to Westerly CDOT has put in the State Rail Plan that it wants to take SLE there for a direct transfer. Amtrak is due to renovate that station into a 3-tracker in anticipation of RIDOT stopping there, and there's a layover yard attached to it that makes an ideal turnback. RIDOT's proceeding fairly deliberately with its buildout. I don't think we'll be waiting past 2020 for the opportunity. The capital costs would be very little for CDOT because Mystic is pre-existing and Westerly + layover will be paid for by RIDOT and Amtrak. It's more or less an operating extension for CDOT, not a capital one...and RIDOT very much wants to entice them over for the beneficial transfer revenue, so the stakeholders are all willing.DutchRailnut wrote:hope the ridership is there, on days other than special events,but my hopes are not high for this service.People didn't think weekend service to OSB would catch on, but it did. The real goal should be Mystic. There are a lot of hurdles, but I think that would be a worthwhile venture.
When Gov. Dannel P. Malloyvisits New London this afternoon, it will be to celebrate what hopefully will become a more common occurrence in the state — an increase in transit service.
Mr. Malloy and legislative supporters succeeded in securing funding to expand Shore Line East weekend rail service to New London. It will begin next April, but riders can get a taste of it today and tomorrow with special trains from New Haven for the city's OpSail/Sailfest weekend.
Shore Line East began as commuter line east of New Haven to Old Saybrook, but advocates in New London pushed for years to extend the service to the Whaling City. The Shore Line East/One More Stop Coalition, representing nearly two dozen business, civic and environmental groups, succeeded in getting weekday service. With a $260,000 appropriation in this year's budget, there will be five weekend trains per day starting in April.
This is a big deal for southeastern Connecticut. It opens employment and economic development opportunities for residents of all the towns east of Old Saybrook. It will get cars off of I-95 — it never made sense to have huge weekend traffic jams on the highway while the rail lines were virtually empty. Fewer autos means cleaner air in the region. And, by most estimates of the cost of driving, it will be cheaper to take the train to New Haven than to drive.
njt/mnrrbuff wrote:In addition to the weekend service to New London, it would be nice to have more of the intermediate points served. There are a few problems.I don't think a lot of the Shoreline East Stations have ticket machines.
1. A lot of the stations only have one side platform, such as Clinton. In the future, it would be nice if more stations would have platforms on both sides, in addition to Old Saybrook, and Guilford. Westbrook, I know is under construction.
2. The parking lots aren't big enough at a lot of the stations.
Yep, I-95 on the weekends can be a parking lot, not only between New London and Old Sybrook, but on other parts of the road, especially in New Haven. It would be nice for SLE to run to Mystic and Westerly, but I wouldn't count on that anytime soon. New London is a good endpoint for Shore Line East.
Metro-Man101 wrote:What does that have to do with anything?njt/mnrrbuff wrote:In addition to the weekend service to New London, it would be nice to have more of the intermediate points served. There are a few problems.I don't think a lot of the Shoreline East Stations have ticket machines.
1. A lot of the stations only have one side platform, such as Clinton. In the future, it would be nice if more stations would have platforms on both sides, in addition to Old Saybrook, and Guilford. Westbrook, I know is under construction.
2. The parking lots aren't big enough at a lot of the stations.
Yep, I-95 on the weekends can be a parking lot, not only between New London and Old Sybrook, but on other parts of the road, especially in New Haven. It would be nice for SLE to run to Mystic and Westerly, but I wouldn't count on that anytime soon. New London is a good endpoint for Shore Line East.
Metro-Man101 wrote:None of them do and very likely won't for the foreseeable future. Only if either Metro-North were to ever take over SLE (which by then they'd probably have to re-name it something else lol) or if ridership increases after bi-directional service is implemented down the road would there be even any discussion of installing them.njt/mnrrbuff wrote:In addition to the weekend service to New London, it would be nice to have more of the intermediate points served. There are a few problems.I don't think a lot of the Shoreline East Stations have ticket machines.
1. A lot of the stations only have one side platform, such as Clinton. In the future, it would be nice if more stations would have platforms on both sides, in addition to Old Saybrook, and Guilford. Westbrook, I know is under construction.
2. The parking lots aren't big enough at a lot of the stations.
Yep, I-95 on the weekends can be a parking lot, not only between New London and Old Sybrook, but on other parts of the road, especially in New Haven. It would be nice for SLE to run to Mystic and Westerly, but I wouldn't count on that anytime soon. New London is a good endpoint for Shore Line East.