AMTRAK NEC: Springfield Shuttle/Regional/Valley Flyer/Inland Routing

Pointed this out on the MN forum but-- Berlin has better highway access than Meriden. The CT 9 expressway provides a direct link from the Berlin station to New Britain, Farmington and the Farmington Valley suburbs west of Hartford. The CT-9/I-91 combo feeds in Rocky Hill and Wethersfield. If you're traveling to NY from any of those places, downtown Hartford is out of the way. Think of it as serving (on a smaller scale) the same purpose as Route 128 on the NE Corridor.

Re: Springfield Line Upgrade in CT
Post by asull85 » 18 Nov 2014, 10:35
viewtopic.php?f=46&t=156555&hilit=Berli ... 0#p1303553

asull85 wrote:

The EGE wrote:Why the heck would they even bother with 110mph? The station spacing is very close, and the straightest sections are in grade crossing hell at station stops.

The timing of the crossings would be changed to reflect the speed upgrades. Additionally, some crossings are going to be removed. Not all trains will stop at every station.

NH2060 wrote: Plus aren't the Mafersa cars restricted to 80mph?

Yes

NH2060 wrote: IF Amtrak were to only run New Haven-Meriden-Hartford-Springfield (skipping all other current stops) then I can see the reasoning for 110mph. Long term that's what they should do. Regional passengers have to transfer to/from the shuttles @ NHV anyway so it wouldn't necessarily be a "downgrade" to having Wallingford, Berlin, Windsor, etc. be only served by not-as-comfy, but far more frequent commuter rail service. Once the Hartford Line goes online with 16-17 round trips it won't make much sense to have those all 6 shuttle, 1-2 Regional and Vermonter round trips continue to make the same stops that those 15+ (35+ with the eventual full build out) trains will do in spades.

I believe the plan is for the Regionals and Vermonter to make SPG, HFD, BER, NHV. Some shuttles will also stop at WNL, WND, MDN, WFD but not all. It depends on the time of day. There was talk of putting 473/486 back on. Who knows when/if that will actually happen. The Hartford Line commuter trains will stop in SPG, Enfield, WNL, WND, HFD, Newington, BER, MDN, WFD, North Haven, State St, NHV.

I've been hearing some mumbling that the bustituted shuttles will be returning soon and crews may start qualifying to Greenfield.

Are the shuttles about to get extended?

From the Hartford line thread in MNRR (the part of it that pertains to Amtrak):

http://nhhsrail.com/pdfs/nhhs%20rail%20 ... 0final.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Newsletter Snips (Fair-Use Exception: Government and News Release):

...I am also pleased to report the final stages of Hartford Line station construction. Wallingford and Meriden stations will be completed this fall with State Street station following by years end and Berlin station in early 2018. Existing Amtrak service passengers will be able to utilize the new stations prior to Hartford Line service launch next spring.
...
-James P Reddeker

Windsor double-tracking expedited:

Hartford Line Service Launching May 2018

A new date has been set for launch of the CTrail Hartford Line service. Previously scheduled for January 2018, the service will now launch in May 2018. This is a result of the recent allocation of $50 million in state funding to install four additional miles of track between Hartford and Windsor.

asull85 wrote:I've been hearing some mumbling that the bustituted shuttles will be returning soon and crews may start qualifying to Greenfield.

Greenfield. Interesting. MA find some money?

What is the funding model for Springfield shuttles? At what point does extending them north trigger PRIIA obligations?

Jeff Smith wrote:From the Hartford line thread in MNRR :

http://nhhsrail.com/pdfs/nhhs%20rail%20 ... 0final.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... the final stages of Hartford Line station construction. Wallingford and Meriden will be completed this fall with State Street following by years end and Berlin in early 2018.

A new date ... the CTrail Hartford Line service ... will now launch in May 2018. ... a result of the recent allocation of $50 million in state funding to install four additional miles of track between Hartford and Windsor.

Nice link filled with info, a map and everything. (I love maps. LOL. Rich info that I can understand and remember.)

Sorry to see that all the commotion will only save 8 minutes on the run time of the commuter trains on the segment, from 89 to 81 minutes New Haven to Springfield, end to end. I'd been hoping for a little more speed for the Vermonter, the Regionals, and the Shuttles. Of course, Amtrak's trains will make fewer stops and could go a little faster. Then more big bucks to make further upgrades in the future, thru Hartford and then more north into Springfield, etc.

But every bit helps, even 8 or 10 minutes. And the increased frequencies, counting the commuter trains, could make this sleepy little corridor move into the big time like the Albany Empire and Keystone corridors.

Hartford is still going to be a single-track bottleneck, unfortunately, but the extra 4 miles of double track ahead of "Phase II" will be nice.

Woody wrote:
But every bit helps, even 8 or 10 minutes. And the increased frequencies, counting the commuter trains, could make this sleepy little corridor move into the big time like the Albany Empire and Keystone corridors.

I've always been a bit surprised this corridor hasn't been as big as the Empire Service. Definitely steps in the right direction.

Does anyone know if Amtrak re assigned some track personnel to the NYPS repairs there by delaying this work ?

Take a look at some old Amtrak timetables for the Springfield Line and you will see that it once was a much more important line. Current service is at an all time low, partially due to the line's reconstruction and partially due to Amtrak lack of interest in the line - from what I can see.

I haven't looked all the way back, but I don't recall more than perhaps 8-12 Amtrak trains daily on this route during its peak. What was the peak number?

According to this archived brochure from October 1980 there were 14 trains in each direction between New Haven and Springfield Monday through Friday (until at least sometime in 1981). This included the thru trains to New York and Washington as well as the Connecticut Valley Service "shuttle" trains of which there were 12 weekday round trips. (Document is available for download)

https://history.amtrak.com/archives/con ... table-1980" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Given that the 12 SPV-2000s (1 other was used on the Danbury and Waterbury branches) were to make up a good chunk of the equipment pool to provide these RTs it's no wonder service got reduced when the cars were taken out of service altogether if there weren't enough extra Amfleets and Heritage coaches to go around. A lot of ommuters probably gave up on the line anyway with the SPVs going kaput all too often.