Hartford Line CtDOT New Haven-Springfield - NHHS (Before Launch of Service)

daybeers wrote:

Palmer5RR wrote:Can anybody give me ballpark figures what has been spent on this operation? Including track work, engineering, environmental impact, etc. Has any equipment been bought and paid-for just for this route? (locomotives & passenger cars) What is the split between Federal Money and Connecticut Sate money so far?

I don't know how accurate or recent the figures are on the website, but they are stated in the FAQ section of the NHHSRail Program website: http://nhhsrail.com/stay_informed/faqs.aspx

From what I can gather from the website above:
"The total project budget is currently $769 million....the federal government (paid) in 2009 and 2010 ... $160 million" (Therefore CT paid $609 million)

And from news releases:
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) ...contracts with TASI/ACI. TASI/ACI entered into a $45 million contract with CTDOT for five years,... (CTDOT will purchase rolling stock)

It seems like when CT is planning to cut existing rail service and the State doesn't have money to painting lines on the highways, CTrail needs to be postponed 18 months or 2 years. Cancel the TASI/ACI contract and get back as much of the 45 million as possible plus cancel all equipment purchases. The main political reason for the project was to stimulate the economy. This has been accomplished through the track and station construction.
In a couple of years the economy will have improved and CT tax revenue will increase. In the meantime Amtrak (Springfield Line) will provide additional service using the extra track capacity.

deathtopumpkins wrote:Every time I see CTrail though I always have to stop myself from pronouncing it "See Trail".

It would have been a lot better if they had at least capitalized the R (CTRail). That would help immensely with my brain actually interpreting it as "CT Rail" not "C Trail".

Unfortunately this is the same state that gave birth to such depressingly clunky transit branding as "Shore Line East" and "Metro-North Commuter Railroad", so the bar was set awfully low for naming that rolls crisply off the tongue.

Ct branded Metro North commuter rail ??? I seriously doubt your misinformation.

DutchRailnut wrote:Ct branded Metro North commuter rail ??? I seriously doubt your misinformation.

Yes, that is factually accurate. The 1982 decision on branding for the '83 launch was a joint MTA-CDOT pick. That's extremely well-documented. There's at least 2 old threads on this subforum detailing the etymology (check your own posting history in them), and the NY Times had a 30th anniversary article several years back tracing the name's somewhat brain-dead "copypasta" origins from the 1970's Metro-North Commuter Council advisory committee that briefly acted as an MTA-Conrail go-between.

Regardless, the blame does not rest squarely on the shoulders of Newington for MNCR so don't paint it as such...

Keep in mind Ct has no say in MN matters, they have no member in MTA board , Ct is just customer , having a contract with MN to provide Ct services.

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:As the linguistic gods mercifully set aside Connecticut as an oasis of pronunciational sanity from all the silly regional accents that surround it on all sides, it's pretty much exactly as spelled: "See Tee Rail". Similar to how the CTtransit bus system is "See Tee Transit".

*cough* A-beetz? *cough*

Have to say I think the name is silly. Of course "Conn Rail" would probably be trademark infringement but still- they could have done better.

Saw somewhere that they'll roll out a new non-McGinnis livery for this. Anyone seen a rendering?

I'd be very surprised if anything were repainted soon, given that SLE and NHHS will share a common equipment pool for the foreseeable future.

But then again, this is ConnDOT we're talking about...

Ridgefielder wrote:Have to say I think the name is silly. Of course "Conn Rail" would probably be trademark infringement but still- they could have done better.

Saw somewhere that they'll roll out a new non-McGinnis livery for this. Anyone seen a rendering?

Yeah I'm not a fan of the "CTrail" branding for SLE and The Hartford Line either though I do completely understand the reasoning behind the DOT making the move. Branding everything as CTfastrak, CTrail, CTtransit, et al is good marketing and good imaging for bundling all forms of public transportation together.


I don't know if there is a rendering available but I'll admit I'm looking forward to seeing the new livery on the Geeps when they start to return next month (per a news report on WTNH). I just hope it looks better than the "faux Alpert" BL20GH scheme with that ridiculous slant and the black outline on the lettering. Of course after seeing photos of those beat up "patch job" P40s anything will be welcome when the time comes for them to get rebuilt

deathtopumpkins wrote:I'd be very surprised if anything were repainted soon, given that SLE and NHHS will share a common equipment pool for the foreseeable future.

I'm sure the MAFERSAs will not be getting a repaint (though a touchup would be nice) as overall they still look great after 10 years of service. If additional coaches have been purchased second hand those would definitely get new paint/decals.

Looking around the new hartford line website I saw this in one spot in one FAQ question "CTrail New Haven Line (operated by Metro-North)." Could they be planning on trying to use that branding that also?

no, Metro-North has no interest in running the hartford line, it would open labor nightmare as Amtrak employees would get rights into MN seniority rosters.
Also as per former president of MN, we have enough problems on MN and do not need to add more.

Ridgefielder wrote:*cough* A-beetz? *cough*

That's simply a rendering of the true Neapolitan dialect pronunciation of the relevant word. Has nothing to do with Connecticut, and everything to do with the fact that many Italian immigrants came to Connecticut from the Naples region at the time when Neapolitan dialect was still the predominant mode of speech. The relevant dialect tends to chop off the terminal vowels that most people think of as a definitive feature of the Italian language...and so nowadays seems to provoke misunderstanding.

However, certainly...Connecticut does have its own variety of strange accents...they've just been diluted by incomers, as is often the case with these things...

lordsigma12345 wrote:Looking around the new hartford line website I saw this in one spot in one FAQ question "CTrail New Haven Line (operated by Metro-North)." Could they be planning on trying to use that branding that also?

I hope they don't actually think that name for the New Haven line will catch on, because I guarantee it won't lol

I think they're just referring to the SLE service west of New Haven. If Hartford Line ever extended west past NH, then it would be MNRR crews as with SLE.

I reported a discrepancy to the Hartford Line webmasters that the PDF schedule showed an additional train that the Web schedule did not - proposed Amtrak southbound 451. It appears the PDF was right and they corrected the website. Glad to see that as I think a Shuttle running even earlier than the existing 141 train and connecting to Acela 2151 would be a great addition - would give New Haven - Springfield line riders the ability to get to New York before 9 and DC before noon. Would also allow commuters - provided the joint ticketing comes to fruition - to catch the 6:48AM Metro North.