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Train Time for West Haven or Orange
New rail depot would bridge Milford-New Haven gap
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Business New Haven
2/19/2001
By: Linda G. Mele
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Between New Haven and Greenwich, West Haven and Orange are the only communities that don't have a railroad station. But that could change with what is estimated to be a $26 million project that has made its way to the drawing board.
Orange First Selectman Mitchell Goldblatt has been very aggressive in touting a site in his town that's right off Exit 41 off I-95 (Marsh Hill Road), hoping to locate a Metro North “superstation” in his town. Meanwhile, at the behest of Mayor H. Richard Borer Jr., train station in West Haven has been actively pursued since the mid-1990s.
“There are a number of issues that need to be addressed before it could ever become a reality in Orange,” Goldblatt acknowledges, “including access and acquiring development rights for the site we have in mind, which is off Marsh Hill Road near Robinson Boulevard and Conair Road.”
“We need a train station between New Haven and Milford,” Borer says. “If I had my druthers, it would be in the center of West Haven, but whether here or in Orange, it will benefit the region.”
“It would be good for the businesses that are already here and those considering locating in the area,” Borer adds.
With Orange, West Haven, businesses in both communities and the South Central Region Council of Governments (COG) supporting the effort, it just might become a reality in the not-so-distant future.
According to Herb Burstein, deputy director of the south-central COG, Bayer Corp. already provides a shuttle bus from Union Station in New Haven to its West Haven and Orange campuses for employees who commute.
When the project was first announced, Bayer executive vice president Wolfgang Plischke noted that Bayer employed almost 3,000 Connecticut residents as employees and contractors “[and]more than 15 percent of them commute - most by car - from points east of the Q Bridge.”
Wherever it's built, it will need to be able to accommodate at least 1,000 cars in a parking garage and a surface parking lot, according to officials.
The state's Department of Transportation (DOT) is looking at several mass-transit options due to the ten to 12 years it will take to rebuild the Pearl Harbor Memorial (“Q”) Bridge.
According to DOT officials, 33,000 commuters a day use the state's trains and buses.
Additionally, the Southern Connecticut Gas Co. and Dichello Distributors, both of which are headquartered on Marsh Hill Road near Exit 41 in Orange, each employ more than 200 workers.
The original plans calls for the state to acquire 7.4 acres of land from Dichello's holdings and additional acreage from six adjoining properties should Orange be chosen.
Since Bayer recently purchased one of the six parcels, the number of parcels needed in Orange has been reduced to five.
The same project in West Haven, however, would require that the state acquire as many as 26 properties based on the final location selected in that city.
Harry Harris, chief of the state's Bureau of Public Transportation, says the state needs more information about both the West Haven and Orange proposals and is in the process of having consultants review both communities.
A report and recommendation from the consultants should be completed by June, Harris says.
“We absolutely require a new station in this area if we are serious about addressing mass transit and traffic congestion in southern Connecticut,” Goldblatt says.
“While we have bus service on Route 34 and the Boston Post Road, train service would benefit the types of businesses we want to attract and the region as a whole,” Goldblatt adds.
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