Time for CT - New plan to boost speeds on the NHL

I've only made 1 round-trip on the New Haven Line so I am not an expert, but it felt like they were operating it like a glorified and longer version of a heavy-rail subway line

Basically.

Appears CT Gov. Lamont is serious about cutting about 25 min from a GCT-NH trip
https://portal.ct.gov/DOT/News-from-the ... ES-GARDNER
No details. Should be interesting to see what they plan.
Andy

How about boosting speeds on the New Haven line to 125 or 150 instead of limiting everything (including the Acela) to 79? And better yet, how about restoring service from New Haven to Providence via Hartford?

Sure, would be nice to see the NHL up to 125 or 150, but realistically, never going to happen. It would take massive land acquisitions to get that, and at that point, you'd be better off building a whole new right of way. FWIR, the tracks are too close to allow for proper full tilt into curves, the signal blocks would have to be altered, and MN has no need to go anywhere close to that fast and they are the ones who maintain the line. I believe they had a stretch of 90 mph track that they did cut back to 79 mph so they didn't have to keep the track in a higher class for just a couple miles. 79 vs 90 mph on a commuter train doesn't make that big of a difference anyway. Now if Amtrak owned the NHL, then perhaps they would have different plans. High speeds has never been the NHL's forte... that honor has gone to the Shore Line since the 1900s.

New Haven to Providence via Hartford? That hasn't happened since the NHRR days, and there probably never was such a direct service. Hartford to Providence would require pretty much almost an entirely new right of way. The existing line which is now a rail trail from Manchester to Willimantic has quite the curve in it, traveling north then looping back south to go east... blame the topography of the region. New Haven to Boston via Hartford/SPG is more realistic.

This possibility probably would never happen but: CT pass a law designating the blockage of any new work in a HrSR alignment corridor ROW. As well any sale of property in that corridor would give CT first right to purchase. Utility work in that corridor would have to be fully compatible of work. Once enough property was acquired the rest could be by eminent domain. That could be done in maybe just 10-mile segments.

Just getting rights to property inside of some curves would work.

This would probably be a 50 year long range project. Speeds would increase to what maybe 110 -125 MPH. That would give MNRR and Amtrak ability to be under 1 hour New Haven <> New Rochelle within the 56 miles and 1 stop.
Eventually New Haven <> NYP of 1 hour.

EDIT: this would be as well additional track spacing for HrSR.

My one trip on the NH Line, I was impressed with the brand-spanking new M8s and easy parking at West Haven, but two-hour runtime (about 1.5 hours for Amtrak). I understand the reasons (busy, constricted ROW with lots of stations), and it is more or less competitive with highway travel, but gee whiz 40MPH is like a glorified subway line!