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Construction To Begin On New Commuter Rail Stations In Wallingford, Meriden, Berlin [The Hartford Courant](Hartford Courant (CT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 25--The New Haven to Springfield commuter rail service that's scheduled to begin in 2016 will be called the Hartford Line, said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who announced Friday that station construction will start this fall in Wallingford, Meriden and Berlin. Running a high-frequency schedule of trains along the Amtrak route paralleling I-91 will get traffic off the highway, reduce workers' commute time, and encourage new retail and housing development around the stations up and down the line, according to Malloy and the state transportation department. The single track carries about six long-distance Amtrak trains each way daily, chiefly aimed at feeding its Northeast Corridor service between Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. Connecticut plans to add a second track along most of the route, and run 12 to 17 trains a day, mostly for commuters. The Hartford Line service will link Connecticut River Valley communities with more than a dozen others in New Haven, Fairfield and Westchester counties. Workers have been installing signals and underground cables along the New Haven-to-Hartford-to-Springfield line, and will now begin construction at three key stations. They'll add high-level platforms on both sides of the track, overhead pedestrian bridges with new elevators, snow-melting systems for the platforms, and public address and video surveillance equipment. "This is a major milestone for NHHS as it enters the construction phase at stations in Wallingford, Meriden and Berlin," Malloy said in a statement Friday. "The NHHS rail program will not only offer more frequent, convenient and faster passenger rail service, but it will also cultivate significant benefits to communities along the rail line." Most towns along the route have been eager to see construction begin, and some have revamped their zoning regulations to encourage development near the stations. Friday's announcement drew statements of praise from legislators representing both political parties. "I look forward to the upcoming improvements at the Wallingford train station and hope this revitalization creates a better opportunity for locals to travel and draws visitors to our downtown area -- supporting our local small businesses," said Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-86th District. "Improving rail access to New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield will help draw commuters and their families to Meriden, helping to attract local businesses. said Sen. Dante Bartolomeo, D-13th District. Among the station amenities will be electric vehicle charging stations, ticket vending machines, passenger information display systems, increased parking capacity, bike racks and better accessibility for the handicapped. State Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said the service will start with 17 round-trips between New Haven and Hartford, with up to 12 trains continuing north to Springfield. Most of the route south of Hartford will be double-tracked to accommodate the higher frequencies. The DOT isn't talking publicly about who will run the trains, except to say that a decision should be made sometime around December 2015. Like most states, Connecticut contracts out its day-to-day rail operations to independent vendors. The obvious choices would be either Amtrak or Metro-North. Amtrak owns the right of way and already operates a feeder connection to its Northeast Corridor line on the route. Metro-North is Connecticut's contractor for most commuter rail service, and its New Haven line connects directly with Springfield-New Haven. In recent years transit agencies have also been hiring private businesses such as Illinois-based Transdev North America or Maryland-based Keolis North America. Both are subsidiaries of European multinationals. Transdev has extensive rail contracts in Europe; in the United States, it mostly operates transit bus services but also runs a light rail system in northern San Diego and a commuter rail operation in southern Florida. Keolis runs the Virginia Rail Express system serving Washington, D.C., and in mid-summer won a $2.6 billion, eight-year contract to operate the MBTA's 14 commuter rail lines in Massachusetts. ___ (c)2014 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) Visit The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) at www.courant.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |