Hartford - Middletown CT Passenger Service (proposed to study by CT Legislature)

Thoughts?

https://www.ctpost.com/politics/article ... 895076.php

...
In addition to the projects included by lawmakers, the bill would also direct DOT to study the feasibility of future rail projects, such as establishing a connection between Hartford and Middletown and running hybrid diesel-electric trains on the Danbury Line.
...

I was just looking at the state rail map and it looks like the state owns the line, they must lease it to P&W. I wonder what kind of upgrades/modifications could be made to accommodate passenger traffic on the line?
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DOT/docum ... 013pdf.pdf

If anything materialized from this it would be cool if the state could rehab the remainder of the VRR route so the steam trains could connect with CT Rail trains, I think that would be a huge boost for ridership to both groups (as well as opening up another north-south corridor through the state).

The line passes through pretty dense areas. Could do stops at Cromwell, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and South End. The problem is getting into Hartford. Either you build a new platform along the river, or you have to backtrack into Hartford Union.

NaugyRR wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 11:10 am I was just looking at the state rail map and it looks like the state owns the line, they must lease it to P&W. I wonder what kind of upgrades/modifications could be made to accommodate passenger traffic on the line?
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DOT/docum ... 013pdf.pdf

If anything materialized from this it would be cool if the state could rehab the remainder of the VRR route so the steam trains could connect with CT Rail trains, I think that would be a huge boost for ridership to both groups (as well as opening up another north-south corridor through the state).

You'd be looking at a total rebuild from Middletown to Hartford. When P&W reopened the line several years ago, I don't think they ever got the old Conrail Express agreements flushed out. There was one customer from Portland that P&W was shipping up to Hartford, but when that business closed, that was essentially it. I believe now there's a customer at Rocky Hill (7D?) but outside of that, I don't think anything runs between Rocky Hill and the market area of Hartford (Brainard area). So you'd need a major major tie replacement, new rail, ballasting/ditching/etc, all crossings upgraded (only 1 has any sort of protection and that's Route 3), and stations.

So where do the stations go? Intermediates would be Cromwell, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, and presumably, somehow, something in Hartford's south end (perhaps near the Colt building?). And to get to Union, I'm not sure if there's a connecting track from Valley NB->Hartford SB, or if it just feeds straight into Hartford yard. Finding a spot in Middletown to put a station would be tough... if you want some sort of parking, it would have to be along Route 9/deKoven Drive (perhaps you could get Middletown to go in with riverfront development and close a portion of deKoven Drive just south of Washington St where there is a good sized city lot and an existing "transportation center" of sorts). The Union Station site lacks any parking and access... you'd have to cross over a leg of the diamond to get to it.

As far as connecting at Middletown with the VRR, that's a ways off... there's still 10 miles of unrestored VRR track and then another 5 miles of ConnDOT-owned/P&W leased track that needs even more of a complete rebuild than north of Middletown. The last train on that track was sometime in the early CCCL days (1990?) and some of it is completely overgrown.

I used to think the end of Aircraft Rd in Middletown (by the "other" P&W) would be a good spot for a park & ride station for those coming up Route 9. But its 5 miles to the end of Aircraft Rd, which ends at a security checkpoint. Then its 5 miles by rail from there to Middletown proper. The traffic on Route 9 isn't THAT bad to warrant a 10 mile detour to get on a train, and an act of congress to get to the lost city of Maromas.

Hm, an interesting proposal for sure.

I had wondered for years why there was never either a New Haven-Middletown-Portland, Hartford-Bloomfield-Windsor (CNZR Griffin Line), or NH-Hartford-Manchester commuter rail service so a Middletown-Hartford train is intriguing to say the least.

Unfortunately it not only doesn’t come near Union Station but -in spite of running right near the part of downtown Hartford near the riverfront- runs either underneath the maze of elevated highways at ground level or in a trench with seemingly little to no room for so much as a platform without *at least* some significant reconstruction. The trains could easily layover between runs in the yard north of the track to Manchester though.

As a side question: when did that freight customer in Portland close? Is the swing bridge now technically abandoned?

The swing bridge in Middletown/Portland is not abandoned... there was a customer over in Portland that went out of business (or relocated elsewhere) when their building's roof collapsed in the snow/ice, IIRC, years ago. There is still a customer over there today, I believe its "Red Technologies". I've seen the bridge closed (ie - open for rail service) a few times in the past few months (granted I'm only up that way during "business hours" once a month, if that), but as far as I know they do get regular service.

Back to reality, or the "line in question".... I think Hartford-Middletown is a pipe dream, realistically, and think that the state should focus more on completing its other lines... double-platforming Madison, infill station(s) east of OSB towards New London, double-tracking north of Windsor & infill stations on the Hartford Line, etc. Basically getting the state's existing commuter services in a state of good repair, and then expand, but I'd start with the Danbury-New Milford section first.


RE: Hartford Union Station and the Valley Line...
Going by Google Maps, it appears there may be a connection "possible".... in this view,
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7769145 ... a=!3m1!1e3
the Valley Line leaves Hartford Yard, ducks under the Rev Moody Overpass, and heads to bottom right. The Hartford Line is the double track line at far left. The decrepit remains of Hartford Tower are just out of view at lower left. Union Station is only 1/2 mile or so beyond that. The line from center to upper right is the Highland Line out to Manchester (and beyond once to Willimantic). Looks like just a stretch of asphalt could connect the Valley Line to the Highland Line which meets the Hartford Line at the tower. So there could theoretically be a connection constructed.

It could be fueled by the Middletown Route 9 reconfiguration project. But most of the optimal land for a station along deKoven (opposite the municipal parking lot and pedestrian tunnel) is already "tentatively" earmarked for the acceleration lane south of Washington St - 2017 Map

If you wanted to reduce the AM Northbound rush and PM southbound rush on Route 9 through this construction area, hopefully some track will need to be rebuilt and a new ROW spur on the Valley RR side, maybe pulling a Park & Ride on the Eastern Drive (somewhere near Connecticut Valley Hospital, if the grades allow). Even putting a station down in the area of the old sewage treatment plant may work, but would have to be worked through the redevelopment of that area of the riverfront.


At Hartford Union, there may not be much capacity for additional trains with the current one track station, with a potential for a 4 track station after the I-84-dig, this may have more merits.

nomis wrote: ↑Fri Apr 21, 2023 6:52 am It could be fueled by the Middletown Route 9 reconfiguration project. But most of the optimal land for a station along deKoven (opposite the municipal parking lot and pedestrian tunnel) is already "tentatively" earmarked for the acceleration lane south of Washington St - 2017 Map

I still can't believe that alternative is the preferred option. I saw nothing wrong with the left exit over to Rapallo Ave (over the diamond), especially since it gives more room for Rt 17 traffic to cut over to continue north. But, I digress...

I was referring to actually eliminating deKoven Drive from Washington St, south to Court St. Then, you could do a second track on the deKoven side, and a platform and station building between the platform and the area adjacent to the existing tunnel. That part of deKoven isn't heavily trafficked (per se). And you could have expanded parking by replacing the surface lot just off Washington with a garage.

And come to think of it, wasn't that historic house on the corner of Washington & deKoven once the original CVRR Middletown station?

shadyjay wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 8:47 pm The swing bridge in Middletown/Portland is not abandoned... there was a customer over in Portland that went out of business (or relocated elsewhere) when their building's roof collapsed in the snow/ice, IIRC, years ago. There is still a customer over there today, I believe its "Red Technologies". I've seen the bridge closed (ie - open for rail service) a few times in the past few months (granted I'm only up that way during "business hours" once a month, if that), but as far as I know they do get regular service.

Back to reality, or the "line in question".... I think Hartford-Middletown is a pipe dream, realistically, and think that the state should focus more on completing its other lines... double-platforming Madison, infill station(s) east of OSB towards New London, double-tracking north of Windsor & infill stations on the Hartford Line, etc. Basically getting the state's existing commuter services in a state of good repair, and then expand, but I'd start with the Danbury-New Milford section first.

I have never seen the need for Danbury-New Milford. There's an expressway adjacent to the line, and most people commuting to Danbury aren't commuting to the downtown area, they're commuting to office parks spread around the area. The region would be better served by a Harlem Line extension that terminates near Federal Rd/Exit 7 off 84.

I agree with you that Middletown-Hartford service isn't particularly necessary, and you'd have to build a new station in Hartford (or have a massive, slow detour). Niantic Station should've been built a long time ago.

I would love to see commuter rail in the Hartford area, not Hartford Line, but Griffin to Bradley, Hartford to Manchester, Hartford to East Windsor, New Britain to Hartford (really Waterbury to Hartford). 84 is getting crowded, so why not add commuter rail?

Commuter rail aside from the Springfield line (called Hartford) is very unlikely for a long time.
They still need to rebuild I 84 which could mean a realignment of the rail line and the Hartford station.
Also, Middletown to Hartford, which ended between 1930 and 1935, isn't coming back so soon. It makes more sense to use existing bus transportation on the road network.
Same with the other proposed routes. Makes no sense to spend $$$ on land to run Hartford to Griffin to BDL. Let the bus to Windsor Locks station be started and if demand is high enough and CT really wants to promote BDL, the existing rail line can be upgraded (at high cost) to cover shuttle trains from Windsor Locks or even through service from New Haven. As far as any other possible restoration, perhaps Berlin to Bristol (with some through trains to New Haven) but even that would be a high cost option. It would need to be justified as a trigger to help the economy of New Britain, Plainville and Bristol. Perhaps it can be paid for by increases in property taxes on new TOD properties.

If Brightline's Orlando operations prove successful, then reviving the Suffield industrial track and BDL spur ought to be studied. BDL could capture business in the Conn. river valley from New Haven to Greenfield and even beyond.

There is a very big difference between Orlando (the #1 tourist destination in the USA and a large metro area) and Bradley (metro area of more than a million, but not at all the same scale). There is a big difference between Miami (5 million people) and the Conn River valley (500,000 people).

There are two ways to get to Bradley: via the Suffield industrial track or via an extension of the Griffith Branch (which used to continue north once).

There was a time when Bradley had intercity buses connecting to Springfield, operated by Connecticut Limousine. That service vanished decades ago. There is now two local bus lines operated by CTransit (one from Windsor Locks Station that seems to be close to empty) and an express bus from Hartford Union Station (that seems quite well patronized).

There is a very big difference between Orlando (the #1 tourist destination in the USA and a large metro area) and Bradley (metro area of more than a million, but not at all the same scale). There is a big difference between Miami (5 million people) and the Conn River valley (500,000 people).

That's true! But it will take a few million dollars of "study" to see whether things pencil out or not. Long money in residential real estate appears to be interested in water rich, mountainous New England. Data still too noisy to confirm this hunch, so FWIW.

- Portland ... saw a couple of Highrail trucks on Middletown-Portland bridge last week.
- Valley RxR to Middletown: The Friends of valley have cleared the ROW north of Goodspeed & run peddle power speeders up line in two spots. From Goodspeed & Haddam Meadows. The dinner train also goes north of Goodspeed a mile or so.
- Middletown - Hartford: Would be nice for a LRV (gas powered single or double car). As has been said, even as a low cost start up ROW would probably have to be redone. Cost could be kept low with single track except for passing tract at each station.