Connecticut has launched TIME-1, the first phase of a major infrastructure project on the New Haven Line.
It’s part of a multi-year project to modernize critical sections of the New Haven Line that will deliver faster, more frequent and more reliable rail service, said Governor Ned Lamont at the groundbreaking ceremony in Stratford on Monday.
He said it will speed up passenger travel time to New York by 25 minutes.
“Very soon Stratford/Bridgeport will be as close to New York City as Stamford is today,” Lamont said.
The improvements will also affect branch lines like Waterbury and Hartford.
“New Haven to Hartford, there we’ll be able to get it down close to half an hour,” Lamont added.
“We are not talking about new high-speed rail service here,” said Jim Cameron, a commuter advocate. He is skeptical of the promise.
“We are talking about trying to get back to the speeds that we used to enjoy before there was a derailment in Bridgeport, before the Federal Railroad Administration came in and announced that Metro North was not taking care of its tracks," Cameron said.
“Good for the money being spent, but please don’t overpromise to us that we are suddenly going to have 90-mile-an-hour trains for our journey into New York City,” he said.
He expressed concern that only the first phase of the $1.6 billion multi-year project has been funded.
That’s $340 million for a three-mile section of track between Bridgeport and Stratford.
Federal and state funding has yet to be secured for phase 2 to begin in 2030 and phase 3 in 2031.
