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Editorial: Will Commuter Rail Get on Track?
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Business New Haven
10/27/2003
By: BNH
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New Haven-area mayors and first selectmen have voted to urge the state to commence regular commuter rail service between New Haven and Springfield, Mass. The idea is both to fuel regional economic development and to reduce auto congestion on I-91.
We're all for it.
The Springfield-to-New Haven corridor is served now by eight Amtrak trains each weekday. But what the New Haven, Hartford, Springfield Commuter Rail Steering Committee, which was set up to study the issue, envisions is full-blown commuter service.
The group's recommendation calls for stops at nine stations: New Haven's Union and State Street stations, Wallingford, Meriden, Berlin, Union Station in Hartford, Windsor, Windsor Locks and Union Station in Springfield.
At the beginning, transportation officials estimate, it would serve an estimated 1,800 daily commuter riders plus about 600 weekday Amtrak riders. It likely would have a fare structure similar to the Shore Line East service.
Much of the necessary infrastructure is already in place. However, one option the committee recommended would add a North Haven-Hamden station at Devine Street and the Rt. 40 connector, expanded parking in Wallingford and Meriden, some weekend and reverse-commute service and employ shuttle bus service rather than a rail spur to Bradley International Airport.
We hope state transportation officials will find a way to put this important infrastructure improvement on the fast track. Long-term economic-development efforts know no state boundaries, and the ability to move workers throughout the Springfield-Hartford-New Haven corridor without exacerbating I-91 auto congestion is surely a positive step for Connecticut - and Massachusetts, too.
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