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Visions for the Commuter Rail


blink55184

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And while the city of Albuquerque has roughly 800,000 people, it comprises nearly its entire metro-area. Typical of cities anywhere other than Connecticut apparantly. Hartford proper is tiny in comparison--125,000--but it's metro area is actually LARGER: about 1.1 million.

The midwest and south have actually employed urban planners rather than political cronies and, surprise, surprise, their populations are booming. Just look at the difference between the City of Albuquerque website (www.cabq.gov) and Hartford's. One was actually designed by a professional--to attract citizens in the same way a busniess attracts consumers.

It drives me mad.

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I thought I would add my vision for commuter rail expansion in Connecticut.

First of all, mikel, to answer your question -- the Valley Line never extended to Union Station, only to the Hartford rail yard.

PHASE ONE:

Metro North Danbury Branch: electrify and extend to New Milford as proposed.

Metro North Waterbury Branch: electrify, construct high-level station platforms, and provide direct service to GCT!!!

Shore Line East: increase service to New London as proposed with new stations at Old Lyme and Niantic.

Springfield Line: dual track facility between New Haven and Springfield with stops in Fair Haven, North Haven, Wallingford, Meriden, Berlin, Elm Hill (where Route 174 crosses the tracks between eastern New Britain and southern Newington), Newington Junction, Elmwood, Parkville, Hartford Armory, Hartford Union Station, Wilson (at I-291), Windsor, Windsor Locks, and Enfield/Thompsonville.

Service proposal: hourly local trains between Hartford and New Haven between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. (perhaps provide 30 minute service during rush-hour). Local trains to Springfield every two hours (perhaps provide hourly service during rush hour). One AM express train from Springfield making stops in Hartford, Meriden, New Haven, Bridgeport, South Norwalk, and Stamford. One AM express train from Hartford to Stamford making the same stops above. Two PM express trains from Stamford making the same stops in reverse order.

Highland Branch of Springfield Line: single track facility between Bristol and New Britain with stops in Bristol, Forestville, Plainville, and New Britain (where Main Street crosses the track). East of the New Britain Station, New Haven-bound trains would utilize the south spur to the Berlin station (where Pan-Am runs irregularly today). Hartford-bound trains would utilize the abandoned spur to Newington Junction (proposed Busway path) with a station at East Street.

Service proposal: six AM inbound trains from Bristol making local stops to New Britian. From there, four offer express service to Hartford (one goes on express to Springfield) and two offer express service to Meriden and New Haven. Six PM outbound trains -- four from Hartford (one originating in Springfield) and two from New Haven. Express service to New Britain. Local service to Bristol.

Suffield Branch of the Springfield Line: single track facility between Windsor Locks and Bradley Airport with stations at the airport and Suffield (where the current spur crosses Suffield Street). At the airport, I propose constructing an elevated track from the existing spur over the rental car facilities to connect with the east end of the new check-in terminal.

Service proposal: hourly express shuttle service between Bradley Airport and Hartford. Continued express shuttle service to Meriden and New Haven every two hours. Suffield station would be served by two AM inbound shuttles (one to Hartford and one to New Haven) and two outbound PM shuttles (one from Hartford and one from New Haven). Express service to Springfield would be contingent on Massachusetts funding.

PHASE TWO after studies determine adequate demand exists):

Shore Line East: extend to Westerly (connect with extended MBTA) with new stations in Groton and Mystic.

Norwich Branch of Shore Line East: New London to Norwich with new stations at Quaker Hill (Waterford), Uncasville/Mohegan Sun, and Norwich.

East Highland Branch of Springfield Line: Hartford to Manchester with new stations at East Hartford, Burnside (where Long Hill Street crosses the tracks), and Buckland (I like the idea of a spur to downtown Manchester).

Highland Branch of Springfield Line: extend west to Waterbury with new stations at Pequabuck and Waterville; provide reverse commute service from Hartford and New Haven to New Britain, Bristol, and Waterbury. Maybe the Highland branches could be united in the future to offer service between Waterbury and Manchester via Hartford.

Places where I think commuter rail service is unfeasible or a long-way off in the horizon:

Manchester to Willimantic: (low-demand for heavy rail. I would provide bus transit service to a Buckland or South Manchester station).

Norwich to Worcester: (low-demand)

I know this is a rather long post. I offer it as food for thought...

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Places where I think commuter rail service is unfeasible or a long-way off in the horizon:

Manchester to Willimantic: (low-demand for heavy rail. I would provide bus transit service to a Buckland or South Manchester station).

Norwich to Worcester: (low-demand)

I know this is a rather long post. I offer it as food for thought...

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I think this is a great proposal, but I, too, believe there is also demand for rail east of the river. I would build from Hartford to Providence, and connect there to Boston. There is a train market between Hartford and Boston, and there's no better way to create the service. Meanwhile, this would hugely benefit UConn and ECSU students and faculty alike.

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I disagree about commuter rail east of Manchester for two reasons:

First, the populations of Bolton, Andover, Coventry, Mansfield, and Windham are too low to support heavy commuter rail. I would be willing to bet that -- collectively -- only a few hundred people from those towns (including ECSU and UCONN) work in downtown Hartford and only a fraction of those people would elect to take a commuter train into the city.

Second, the rail alignment between Manchester and Willimantic (currently a hiking trail) is chock full of curves. Even if commuter rail was established, I doubt the trains would be able to go very fast. I certainly don't see them taking less time to reach Hartford than motorists driving along Route 6, I-384, and I-84 -- even during rush hour.

This is why I suggest boosting bus service in these towns. These buses could connect to a future rail hub in Buckland or downtown Manchester. Or, they could run express into Hartford themselves using the HOV lanes on I-84.

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I disagree about commuter rail east of Manchester for two reasons:

First, the populations of Bolton, Andover, Coventry, Mansfield, and Windham are too low to support heavy commuter rail. I would be willing to bet that -- collectively -- only a few hundred people from those towns (including ECSU and UCONN) work in downtown Hartford and only a fraction of those people would elect to take a commuter train into the city.

Second, the rail alignment between Manchester and Willimantic (currently a hiking trail) is chock full of curves. Even if commuter rail was established, I doubt the trains would be able to go very fast. I certainly don't see them taking less time to reach Hartford than motorists driving along Route 6, I-384, and I-84 -- even during rush hour.

This is why I suggest boosting bus service in these towns. These buses could connect to a future rail hub in Buckland or downtown Manchester. Or, they could run express into Hartford themselves using the HOV lanes on I-84.

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typically, yes, you're correct. but it's also widely known that development usually increases around the stations. this could help spur some urban development between hartford and willimantic and help spur some new development in willimantic. i do think there's a bit of potential there for people to commute to hartford, given that 2 of the state's major colleges are right there, including the state's largest college.
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typically, yes, you're correct. but it's also widely known that development usually increases around the stations. this could help spur some urban development between hartford and willimantic and help spur some new development in willimantic. i do think there's a bit of potential there for people to commute to hartford, given that 2 of the state's major colleges are right there, including the state's largest college.
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Eastern is the smallest of the four in the CSU system, I wouldn't call them a major college.

As for rail line east of Hartford, I could really only see it running to about Vernon. Once you start getting past there, population thins out significantly and demand would be pretty low. I really doubt Willimantic will benefit from a rail line to Hartford, extending I-384 would be smarter (and slightly more beneficial than comm rail). Simply getting college kids in Storrs a chance to head to Hartford isn't worthy enough to actually build a line to Storrs. Let them drive to Vernon, that would be giving them a benefit compared to going all the way into the city already.

If anything, a line connecting Hartford, New Britain, Bristol, and Waterbury would be smarter than Hartford to Willimantic or Providence.

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I would build the train before the highway (out to Providence that is). The highway will contribute to the type of development the folks in Eastern CT are scared of--and the reason the highway hasn't come. A train in that direction would be the best mode of transportation available so it would offer a fabulous view of transit-oriented growth. It would also connect Hartford to Boston by rail, which right now is completely lacking; you have to go through New Haven, and UConn is trying to develop a pedestrian community. In fact, first and second year students can't get on-campus parking passes (many take up the offers of adjacent landowners to pay them to park). Rail transportation would be instrumental in getting UConn students into Hartford and Providence, especially since it would make it easier for them to take job opporunities in both cities. A train to Providence is an excellent idea.

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I would build the train before the highway (out to Providence that is). The highway will contribute to the type of development the folks in Eastern CT are scared of--and the reason the highway hasn't come. A train in that direction would be the best mode of transportation available so it would offer a fabulous view of transit-oriented growth. It would also connect Hartford to Boston by rail, which right now is completely lacking; you have to go through New Haven, and UConn is trying to develop a pedestrian community. In fact, first and second year students can't get on-campus parking passes (many take up the offers of adjacent landowners to pay them to park). Rail transportation would be instrumental in getting UConn students into Hartford and Providence, especially since it would make it easier for them to take job opporunities in both cities. A train to Providence is an excellent idea.
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you'd get new development with rail, but it'd be smaller in scale and more urban in style, much like you see around train stations in smaller towns (fairfield, milford, etc). it's walkable development.

uconn has always had a rule that you couldn't get on-campus parking until you were a junior. i don't know if it still exists (i don't see why it wouldn't), but there was a free bus to willimantic from uconn, which could easily go to a train station. this would get more development around the train station in willi and give uconn students more reason to go to willi. it would allow uconn and eastern students to get to possible internships in hartford. it would also prevent more students from bringing cars to campus.

the folks in western RI on route 6 don't want to see it turn into a highway because they like their towns small. while, i think providence and hartford need a better connection, train would be awesome since highway would just promote sprawl, while train would promote smaller urban-style development around the stations.

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i can vouch for western RI that there are plenty of commuters to providence that a train would work.

i think willimantic's population combined with uconn and eastern is enough to make it worth while to go to hartford by train. even if the other towns don't have stops (although coventry should have one, and maybe a bolton/andover stop). there need not be a stop in every town.

i think new rail is better than new highway any day. a new highway would have to take over land by eminent domain as well.

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The Willimantic/Windham area has been hurt for years by not having I-384 completed. Once the Mills left town the economy went downhill and things started getting bad. Overall the town still has plenty of things in terms of retail, dinning, and quality of live, but having a quick connection would do wonders for this area. Main st. is going to have some revitalization going on within a year or two and that should help out a lot. The town is really a nice place when not looking in from the outside.

I feel a rail link would be a great idea. Willimantic was a rail hub up until around the 1950's when passenger traffic got the raw end of the deal thanks to Hurricanes and floods. You could board a train in Willimantic and be in Waterbury, Hartford, New Haven, NYC, or Boston within 1-2 hours.

The general Rt. 6 corridor could handle some commuter rail type service I feel. The thing is could it handle 10-12 trains a day? Probably not, maybe 4-5 would be more realistic.

Also, the Willimantic city bus does continue up Storrs rd. into UConn on a daily basis with stops @ the East Brook mall. There is a commuter bus service from Willimantic into Hartford as well. I believe 2-3 departures each morning with stops in Columbia.

The old Waterbury-Hartford-Willimantic-Boston route uses the old "Air line" route from Willimantic to Boston. This route does not go through Providence, instead goes from Willimantic through Pomfret and Putnam onto Boston. From Wilimantic onto Boston I don't think commuter rail would be needed. Something more like Amtrak with 1 or 2 daily trains might be better.

I am not sure if there is any old rail lines from Danileson to Providence.

Below are some town populations along with Eastern and UConn. The area isn't that under populated as many believe.

Andover- 3,500

Bolton- 5,300

Chaplin- 2,500

Columbia- 5,500

Coventry- 12,300

E.C.S.U.- 6,000

Hampton- 2,200

Hebron- 9,300

Lebanon- 7,500

Mansfield- 24,600

Scotland- 1,800

University of Connecticut- 23,000

Windham- 24,500

Total- 128,000

Station list-

Hartford- Union Station

East Hartford- Rentschler Field

Manchester- Adams St.

Manchester- downtown area?

Bolton- I-384/Rt. 44 interchange

Andover/Coventry- Rt 6. across from Andover Post office

Columbia- Rt. 6/66 interchange

Willimantic- Downtown under footbridge where old station was

Above is what I think could work. Maybe add a stop or two.

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Here would be my proposals for a light rail system in Connecticut. It includes ones already discussed in this thread, but I add some more (Danbury to Hartford, Casino Territory).

(The map is obviously Google Maps and Microsoft Paint, everyone's favorite crudely drawn system)

ctrail.JPG

I included current systems into the fray, the Harlem Line (dark blue) and New Haven Line and New Canaan, Danbury, and Waterbury branches (red) for Metro North. Included is the planned extension to New Milford. Also included is Shoreline East (gray) and proposed(?) extension to Westerly and perhaps beyond. And then, the I-91 New Haven to Springfield via Hartford line.

My proposals in addition to all that would be a Danbury to Willimantic line (green), a east-west arterial across the state. Interior Connecticut could benefit from one, as I-84 is a heavily travelled nightmare on it's own like I-95.

Stops would include:

- Danbury (meets with Metro North branch)

- Newtown / Sandy Hook

- Southbury

- Middlebury / Exit 16?

- Waterbury (meets with Metro North branch)

- Cheshire

- Southington, two stations

- Bristol, two stations

- Plainville

- New Britain, two stations

- West Hartford, two stations

- Hartford, 2-3 stations, one meeting with the I-91 line)

- East Hartford, two stations

- Manchester, two stations ... would to have liked one near Buckland but that would leave out downtown

- Vernon Center

- Rockville

- Storrs

- Willimantic

The other one would be a branch of Shoreline East, Casino Line (pink)...

- New London (meets with Shoreline East)

- Mohegan Sun

- Norwich

- Foxwoods

maybe add 1-2 more stations as needed

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i like the map... i would continue the pink line to westerly.

in true dreaming fashion... i'd also link norwich to willimantic and willimantic to either plainfield or putnam and from there, we'd have a link to providence, which would give the connection to boston.

you could also do a line from hartford to worcester and get a link to boston through there.

that would make southern new england superbly connected by rail (we have our own commuter rail ideas in the RI forum, linking fall river and new bedford to providence, as well as newport to providence).

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I was thinking Hartford to Boston and Providence, Willimantic to Putnam and Norwich. But the problem is, seemingly nobody lives in eastern Connecticut. It's essentially the great abyss. All the towns out there, except for Willimantic and the 395 corridor only have a few thousand people in them. I'm not sure how well these rail lines would work running through these areas.

The highest priority, aside from the I-91 line, would be Vernon-Rockville to Waterbury. Extend it west to Danbury would be really nice and help out with I-84. Extend it to UConn and Willimantic just cause ... they could be suburbs of Hartford if it's built out there. Not really sold on going that far out. College students from all over the state would love a line to UConn, just to get up there and party, but they can't be the sole purpose of building a rail line out that far.

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I was thinking Hartford to Boston and Providence, Willimantic to Putnam and Norwich. But the problem is, seemingly nobody lives in eastern Connecticut. It's essentially the great abyss. All the towns out there, except for Willimantic and the 395 corridor only have a few thousand people in them. I'm not sure how well these rail lines would work running through these areas.

The highest priority, aside from the I-91 line, would be Vernon-Rockville to Waterbury. Extend it west to Danbury would be really nice and help out with I-84. Extend it to UConn and Willimantic just cause ... they could be suburbs of Hartford if it's built out there. Not really sold on going that far out. College students from all over the state would love a line to UConn, just to get up there and party, but they can't be the sole purpose of building a rail line out that far.

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