Hmmmmmmm....maybe this time it just MAY happen.
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut ... 8733.story
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut ... 8733.story
Five years, $880 million
The state transportation department wants thousands of drivers to join Daniels and Maloney. Establishing a full-scale commuter train system paralleling I-91 has shot to the top of the Department of Transportation's "to do" list this year, prompted by the hope of landing federal stimulus grants to modernize the existing rail line linking New Haven, Hartford and Springfield. "It's the most important initiative we have," Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie said. "We're going to bring it to the finish line."
The plan would take at least five years, more than $880 million up front and annual subsidies after that. But the DOT says central Connecticut would get a system only a couple of notches below Metro-North's service between New Haven and Manhattan. That line carries about 58,000 riders every weekday — 58,000 people who aren't further jamming I-95 or Route 1, where rush-hour gridlock is a way of life. To transit planners, the New Haven to Springfield line looks like a long-term way to head off even more congestion on the north-south corridor. I-91 from New Haven to Hartford is already the fourth-busiest stretch of highway in Connecticut, and the DOT forecasts the congestion will steadily worsen.
BobN