Waterbury - New Haven CTRail Service?

Why not? There's a perfectly functional wye at Devon; reopen Devon Transfer. It's only another 10-12 miles. I imagine that might be a good idea, especially for those who live in the lower party of the Naugatuck valley.

I think that's worthwhile too, but PAR owns that ROW and would want a King's ransom. I'm thinking along a route where there's existing passenger service and stations (exception: Devon Transfer). Waterbury branch to New Haven is a bit roundabout to get there from "here", though, but the shoreline east of Devon could make sense.

Why do that when you could do Waterbury-Hartford, or just reopen Devon Transfer as a full time station with both-way connections?

Waterbury - Hartford: as noted, PAR owns that ROW, and you'd need new infill stations, etc. Again, worthwhile, but I'm saying Waterbury - New Haven would be a good intrastate service, with New Haven being the destination, NOT Hartford. It already has passenger service, stations (except Devon). Agree on Devon Transfer, though, to get non-rush trains off the main line with a simple overpass/platform.

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 12:52 pm I think that's worthwhile too, but PAR owns that ROW and would want a King's ransom. I'm thinking along a route where there's existing passenger service and stations (exception: Devon Transfer). Waterbury branch to New Haven is a bit roundabout to get there from "here", though, but the shoreline east of Devon could make sense.

PAR is up for sale. It might be a good time for CDOT to scoop it up for service? Just a thought.

Why not run a service from New London to Waterbury during rush hour? New Haven is not the "center of the world", let alone the Nutmeg State.

Waterbury to Providence anyone???

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_ ... d_Railroad

LOL, but I stand by my idea!

More broadly, what we are talking about is expanded intrastate rail service. I would like to see more service and new routes oriented around those trips. Envisioning CT's rail system, we have one network that feeds SW to New York City (and incidentally Stamford), we are seeing the state slowly move towards another network that feeds NE to Boston and Providence, and we could imagine a network feeding the core of the state, New Haven and Hartford, from the periphery.

As a Danbury resident, I wish we had a Danbury - New Haven service. I would use the heck out of it, and I bet it would be reasonably time competitive with the Rt 34 commute. I think there's great opportunity for ridership and station area development with routes like this as part of a robust transit network.

Well, now you got me started: viewtopic.php?f=67&t=171903

I seem to recall when I was 6 years old seeing the original SLE ex-PATrain coaches parked in the New Haven yard and for some reason thinking that they were the equipment for an actual New Haven-Waterbury train.


I doubt it will ever happen though with the East Bridgeport yard closer in proximity to Bridgeport and Devon Jct. for the branch trains to turn and rest between runs. And should Devon Transfer *and* the Waterbury yard be built I believe the plans call for a pocket track to be installed alongside the existing ROW where the WB platform would be built so there would only be a quick turnaround needed there.


It would be nifty in the future if the Highland Division was rebuilt to turn the New Haven-Hartford and Devon-Waterbury trains into continuous NHV-Devon-WTBY-HFD "loop" runs similar to what the NH and the NYC did outside of Boston to Needham and Riverside.

I did Waterbury-NHV a few times when gas was $4 a gallon considering between that and paying for parking when I got there, a RT train ticket which was about $10 was cheaper. It was a pain in the ass but it was doable and I was broke, so the price was right. If the transfer happened at Devon, it would be even better. If/when a permanent Devon is built, that's when Waterbury service can take off, since the problem isn't the branch (especially now with the sidings being built) but slots on the main line for trains.

It would require a lot less monetary investment than Waterbury to Hartford service, which, quite frankly with Connecticut's dependence on cars and general poor attitudes when it comes to public transit aside from Metro North,(after all you still have people convinced the Hartford line is a waste - must be confusing it with the busway) the service would have a steep uphill battle for people to see it as useful and actually ride it.