In the News

SPRINGFIELD -- U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal and other local dignitaries made the ceremonial first trip south Friday on CTrail from the renovated Union Station to Hartford.

"This was a wise expenditure of the public purse and those of us who voted for it had ought to defend it," Neal said upon reaching Hartford.

Reminiscent of driving the golden spike that completed the transcontinental railroad, the party from Springfield headed south to Hartford where they met up with Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy and a party of Connecticut officials headed north from New Haven.

Duke Ellington's "Take the A Train" played as they entered the Hartford station.

"This is a system that moves people the way they want to be moved into the future," Malloy said.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., added,  "Our federal government should take a lesson from Connecticut. Investment in rail makes sense." 

CTrail's Hartford Line will begin service on Saturday at Union Station with stops in Windsor Locks (with express bus connections to Bradley International Airport), Windsor, Hartford, Berlin, Meriden and Wallingford before reaching New Haven.

Between the new CTrail and Amtrak, trains will provide a total of 34 daily trips on weekdays, including 11 Springfield-to-New Haven and 12 New Haven-to-Springfield trips.

There will be 12 trips on Saturdays (eight each Springfield-to-New Haven and New Haven-to-Springfield), and 13 trips on Sundays and holidays (nine each Springfield-New Haven in both directions).

It's Connecticut's first new train service in more than 20 years.

It comes 14 years after the first feasibility study and three years of construction. 

Deputy Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Anna M. Barry said her state has seen $400 million in residential and commercial development near stations on the Hartford Line.

"People see the value in transit-oriented development, " she said.

The Springfield Redevelopment Authority oversaw the $103 million redevelopment of Union Station.

"Now we can see this place become what it was meant to be -- a transport hub," said Bill Macgregor of the SRA board.

CTrail will be just the first step in a planned future rail expansion involving Union Station.

Earlier this week, Massachusetts officials announced a deal to, starting in 2019, run two  northbound and two southbound Amtrak trains from the New -Haven-to-Springfield service further north to Greenfield, Northampton and Holyoke.

The state of Massachusetts will also study expanded Boston-Springfield-Pittsfield rail service.

The expanded weekday service means there will be a train once every 45 minutes during the morning and evening peak periods.  

Amtrak trains operating on the Hartford Line will be able to reach speeds of up to 110 mph on portions of track  in Berlin, Newington, New Britain and West Hartford and speeds up to 100 mph between Meriden and Berlin. 

CTrail trains travel at speeds of up to 80 mph.  

The trip from Springfield to New Haven is expected to take as little as 81 minutes. The trip to Hartford takes just more than 34 minutes.