CTrail Hartford Line Downtown Hartford Station (and double tracking)

[JcPinCT]

The timetable for double tracking the Hartford Line in Hartford and deciding on a new downtown station design/location will most certainly be delayed as State of Connecticut leaders announced today (December 13, 2019) the I84 Hartford Viaduct Project has been replaced with a new Greater Hartford Mobility Study.

"The change will take the viaduct project from a highway replacement to a regional plan for improving transportation. The area of study has yet to be determined but it would roughly stretch from Flatbush Avenue in Hartford east to beyond the highway “mixmaster” in East Hartford; north beyond Riverside Park in Hartford and south beyond Hartford’s Coltsville complex."

"The viaduct replacement will now be pushed back, the DOT says, likely frustrating those who saw a solution within reach. Even so, there had been community and elected leaders who were pushing for a more comprehensive approach."

https://www.courant.com/business/hc-biz ... story.html

[CTRailfan]

This is good news from a highway perspective, but yes, it's bad news from the perspective of CTRail.

With the FRA now allowing alternate crash worthiness standards, I wonder if they would allow a signalling system that allowed two DMU-based trains on the viaduct at the same time, but only one Amtrak or CSOR? If they replaced all the shuttles, the Valley Flyer, and CTRail with a pooled Stadler or Nippon-Sharyo DMU fleet, and dispatchers held CSOR if a passenger train needed to go through, then only A Vermonter or Springfield Regional would be able to in effect "take up" both tracks from a weight perspective.

[Backshophoss]

This is tied to the I-84 rebuild,which is not designed yet.
Until Hartford and ConnDOT come up with a good plan,NO progress

[njtmnrrbuff]

We can all enjoy the current Hartford Station as well as unfortunately accept the fact that for a while longer, Hartford Station will be one of the only bottlenecks along the SPG Line.

Isn’t there a plan to extend the double track a little south of Hartford to a little closer to the station? That would probably help.

[shadyjay]

Since the viaduct is wide enough to accommodate 4 tracks (plus 3 platforms - 2 sides and one island), couldn't the second track be added, but then both tracks signalled in such a way so that only one train occupies the elevated structure at a time? For instance, a NB train is in the station, and a SB train is waiting at a "red signal" on the north side of the viaduct. Then as soon as the NB clears, the SB pulls right in. No need to change tracks or sit at an interlocking a mile away.

The question then becomes where to lay that track. It may make more sense to incorporate it to utilize the existing platform, to eliminate requiring ADA access to a new platform, especially if its all temporary anyway (or in ConnDOT-ese, that could mean 10, 20 years).

Seems like such would be doable and a good interim solution. It would still keep one train at a time on the viaduct, but reduce the dwell time for one train waiting for the other to clear.

[Train322]

The viaduct is currently able to only hold three tracks. I think they removed part of the viaduct years ago when they brought the bus station over. The only plan is to upgrade (welded rail) the section between Oakwood Ave and Parkville. They really don't want to spend $'s on added track when it may need to be completely redone later on.

[daybeers]

I saw CTDOT's announcement of how they're changing the project scope and got so angry. Yes it's great they're actually considering CTfastrak east to Manchester, but people were talking about that 30+ years ago. I think it's just a thinly veiled attempt at kicking the can down the road another 10 years because they don't have the funding and know support is low because they're going to have to acquire land.

$60 million spent on repairs so the I-84 viaduct could last until 2040? Probably makes sense, but that's so much money! It's funny the state will spend that much on repairs to the viaduct but is dragging their feet about upgrading the Oakwood-Parkville track.

I just don't know why the * it takes so long to study a project like this in the U.S. Forget design, we're just studying the options, and have been for how long now? 6+ years?

As far as the rail viaduct goes, of course they wouldn't spend that kind of money to upgrade it. Currently the viaduct only holds one track, and I think that's all it can do. It certainly can't hold four, and I don't see how you can cram three tracks into Hartford Union Station. I suppose they could lengthen & upgrade the track from the Oakwood Avenue interlocking & crossing to the Parkville interlocking (which they should do anyway) through to just before the viaduct next to Bushnell Park, but I'm sure that would cost a bunch of cash that the state doesn't have and would still cause a single-track bottleneck.

There's no way they could get around ADA compliance, and why would they want to? There are frequently 50-100+ passengers boarding/deboarding at HFD. That takes forever on a low-level platform.

[njtmnrrbuff]

Until the highway project in Downtown Hartford gets underway as well as the construction of the new station in the trench, the current station will remain the same which includes the number of tracks remaining only one. It's been discussed many times. Hopefully in the short term, that freight siding can be reactivated that us just south of the Hartford Station. Unfortunately in the short term and even lasting until when the highway and new Hartford Station is built, the bottleneck at Hartford Station will continue, even after more double track is added on the north end of the Springfield Line. There might be more trains added to Springfield but it doesn't mean that it will be the original number that was promised.

[dha10001]

CTDOT can still manage a robust schedule through Hartford with the current setup. In the morning trains are scheduled to pass through the station in opposing directions in as little as 12 minutes, allowing for half hourly bi-directional service. That should be enough to satisfy needs on the line for many years to come, though maintaining reliability is critical (good). Activating another 1.5 miles of double track south of the station will only improve the situation.

And while some see the I-84 "reset" as a setback, I see it as good news. There needs to be a broader rethink of transportation and land use in the Hartford area that includes I-91, and that frankly is a whole lot more radical about inducing mode shift. Right now the conversation is about either incremental improvements with the trenching alternative, or Larson's deeply misguided and extremely unaffordable "big dig" (because Boston's traffic has turned out so good). A few more years of delay may help to further shift the consensus towards highway reduction or relocation that tips the scales towards rail travel and transit in the region and frees up a lot of land in Hartford, downtown and along the river, for development.

[Jeff Smith]

Having used the station frequently when I lived on Asylum Hill, worked in the federal building around the corner, and frequented Hot Tomatoes and The Federal Cafe, I can speak a bit about the situation there.

There are three track-ways there IIRC. Two are to the station building side, one of which uses the center platform, and one to the outside of the center platform.

Some time before I got there, the viaduct had been repaired. Part of that repair was paving over the outermost track.

The center track, to the inside of the center platform, is the current single track. The center platform now has a high level platform on the northern most end closest to the elevator, built over an old wooden platform (I don't know if they tore that up or not). I'm not sure how many cars it platforms; certainly not more than three. Since there's a high platform, I wonder if a gauntlet track was installed. I'd have to assume so, and that of course would cause clearance issues with the innermost track.

The innermost track I'm not even sure has rails anymore; the ties are ancient. The platform for that track is wooden. It even still has stairs from the platform to Asylum St. and Church St, which are obviously closed.

Even if the station stays there, it would be a major undertaking to reopen the other two tracks. The only way I could see them doing it is to reinstall the outermost track first, and with the concrete cover there I have no idea how that would work. That could make a decent freight bypass.

That leaves the innermost track after getting freight off the center track, and would need major work but I'm sure could be done.

Personally, I hope they stay at the current station. CTFastrak and other buses are right below, and it's a very nice station. I enjoyed using it, and watching trains from both The Federal and Hot Tomatoes (since closed). But I guess it depends on the decision they make on I-84.

[unichris]

Since there's a high platform, I wonder if a gauntlet track was installed. I'd have to assume so, and that of course would cause clearance issues with the innermost track.

I'm not sure why not, but there is no gauntlet track. Boarded there not long ago and don't remember one, just found this picture:

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi ... r_2017.JPG

And yes that really is the high level platform, the ramp visible comes up from the track level at which you exit the stairs

Also shows no rails on the trackbed closest to the station

[BandA]

That picture doesn't show a high-level boarding platform. Perhaps there is a partial-high-level behind the photographer.

[unichris]

That picture doesn't show a high-level boarding platform. Perhaps there is a partial-high-level behind the photographer.

While the tracks in the foreground seem to create an optical illusion that make the platform look at the same level (almost to the point of looking as if the tracks are above the platform), the structure in that picture is in fact the high level platform. I was standing on it less than two weeks ago myself. And as previously explained, the ramp to the left comes up from the original level.

Also, it's well known that the high level platform is at the north end - and that view is looking north.

And the title of the image is literally "New high-level platform"

Here's it in use for high level boarding: https://www.nhhsrail.com/images/improve ... ion_01.jpg

And a view looking south beyond the high level to the original level where the stairs and elevator are

https://www.nhhsrail.com/images/improve ... ion_02.jpg

[The EGE]

I took that photo, and I can confirm that I was standing on the high-level platform.

[njtmnrrbuff]

Sometime this year, I might take a trip to Hartford. I may do MNR to NHV and then switch to Ctrail or Amtrak and do the same in reverse. I would love to check out the original Hartford Station as well. I would like to give some insight of that freight siding just south of the station. Just recently, by the way, there were some Ctrail trains that used to terminate in Hartford that got extended to Windsor Locks.