CTDOT: Hartford Line

I think it is OK to emphasize that a W is literally not intrinsic to the train.

Ridgefielder wrote: Pointed this out on the Amtrak forum but-- this guy's house is also under the landing pattern for Bradley. He's about 3.5 miles from the end of the nearest runway. Hard to believe the trains are more bothersome than the 737's and A320's (let alone the C-130's from the Air National Guard base) coming over ~1,000' off the deck.

My place is in the flight path of at least one, if not all of the New York City airports, the planes aren't even that low and it's still annoying AF.

ACSES now operational as of today on the line.

track and train? signal only or all of ACSES (PTC) including stop signs etc.
how bout them that old MBB cars ?

I am not sure if 100% of components are active but I had heard they have been testing and that was the beginning of live PTC operation. From what I heard locally it is active for both Amtrak and CTrail trains.

DutchRailnut wrote:track and train? signal only or all of ACSES (PTC) including stop signs etc.
how bout them that old MBB cars ?

Everything active except for the freight guys.

MBB cars were already ACSES equipped and the ones still in service on their home railroad are set up to work with PTC.

psst ACSES is PTC.

DutchRailnut wrote:how bout them that old MBB cars ?

Psst. It's the answer to your question.

http://www.wnpr.org/post/connecticut-ca ... ain-policy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

The state of Connecticut and Amtrak do not have a shared agreement that makes tickets bought through the rail giant and ones purchased by local students and CTrail passengers equal.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation has said since September that policy dictates that Amtrak conductors can’t ask CTrail and student-ticketed passengers to exit trains that are full on the Hartford line.

But Connecticut Public Radio’s examination of the contract between the two shows in fact that there is no formal “One Ticket, Any Train” agreement between Amtrak and the DOT.

“The challenge that we’re faced with is we have more customers wanting to use the service than available seats,” said Rich Andreski, DOT’s bureau chief of public transportation. “The bottom line is we need to provide more seats for customers.”
...

"The term of this Agreement shall be from October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2016"

The article is referencing an old contract, so unless that EXACT agreement was extended, the claims in the article are invalid. I'm sure these terms were worked out before the service started because if not, the ticketed prices for both services (CTrail & Amtrak Shuttles) would not be the same. Amtrak would've kept the old pricing.


And if you want to use the old contract then these 2 sections can be referenced;

( c) The Section 209 Vermonter and the Section 209 Shuttles and Through Trains shall operate as Base-Increment NEC Corridor Trains as that term is defined in the Agreed 209 Methodology. As Base-Increment NEC Corridor Trains, the Section 209 Vermonter and the Section 209 Shuttles and Through Trains will make use of Amtrak-owned equipment and the costs of maintaining that equipment will be shared as called for in the Agreed 209 Methodology. Under normal operating conditions, Amtrak will operate train consists for the Section 209 Vermonter and the Section 209 Shuttles and Through Trains as specified in Appendix IA. In the event that one or more States provide their own equipment for use on the Section 209 Vermonter and/or the Section 209 Shuttles and Through Trains, Amtrak shall have the sole and exclusive right to approve or reject use of that equipment for the Section 209 Vermonter and/or Section 209 Shuttles and Through Trains. Amtrak agrees that it will not unreasonably delay, condition, or withhold said approval. CTDOT represents and warrants to Amtrak that any equipment provided by CTDOT will comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. CTDOT shall also be responsible for obtaining the prior approval of the owner of any railroad(s) over which such equipment provided by CTDOT is to be operated. CTDOT may request that Amtrak increase or decrease the Service or the amount of Amtrak equipment used in the Service. Amtrak will review the request and provide CTDOT with the feasibility, and if feasible, a proposed implementation schedule where appropriate, and associated costs. Amtrak agrees that it will not unreasonably delay or withhold approval of the request.

(d) In the event that the Service may, from time to time, be fully utilized by the traveling public, the States may request that Amtrak provide additional rail passenger equipment to support the Service. Amtrak shall endeavor to provide additional rail passenger service equipment from its available resources commensurate with the funding requirements of the Agreed 209 Methodology. Except in an operational exigency, Amtrak will not modify the consist size set forth in Appendix IA without the States' prior written approval.



Im sure the state has already put in this request, because it seemed to be honored for about a month. The state also has enough cars/ engines at this moment to offer a trainset for Amtrak to use, which has been done in the past (last month) but as per the provided contract, Amtrak does have the right to deny use.

I'd say hold suggestions and comments until the current contract can be viewed.

There is a thread on this same topic on Amtrak unlimited. User "rspenmoll" mentioned this in response to the article:

"I got in touch with the author of the story on Twitter, and he clarified that the current contract, which wasn't uploaded by WNPR on the website for some reason, simply incorporates the previous contract by reference and then mentions changes to the terms of the contract from the previous version, and that the amendments listed for the current contact do not contain the "one ticket, any train" clause that Connecticut has said it does. (the two links collectively contain the full exchange)."

If the "one ticket, any train" clause isn't there then why is it honored? CTrail tickets are honored on Amtrak and Amtrak tickets are honored on CTrail. The Amtrak prices for stations along the line were also lowered when the service started so something has to be in the current contract or there has to be some other agreement/ paperwork outlines this. Someone is missing something.

Let me throw another ticket type into the mix: MNR UniRail, which is the type I use about 99% of the time. I've never had a problem boarding either flavor of HL train with it so far BUT I'm going to guess that Amtrak sees it as just another "non-Amtrak" ticket. I'd be curious to know how those UniRail tickets are officially treated, if anyone has seen them mentioned in the contract.

For now though, I think the safest bet-especially around rush hour-is to just buy your ticket through the Amtrak app.

Unirail is treated the same as CTrail tickets as far as Amtrak is concerned. They will honor them except there is a capacity issue. Would agree though safest bet right now is to buy from Amtrak app or counter if at SPG/HFD/NHV.