(The following column by Rick Green appeared on the Hartford Courant website on January 12.)
HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut’s top transportation planners are now telling state legislators that limited commuter rail between Springfield and New Haven could begin as soon as the state can work out a deal with Amtrak, which owns the tracks.
Transportation Commissioner Joseph Marie — a self-described “public transit” guy — told the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee Monday afternoon that a “high class, high quality commuter rail line between Springfield and New Haven is a good thing to do.”
“We need to do more to divert traffic off of our roadways.”
This sort of Metro-North style commuter line is years off, Marie said. But adding two or three trains in the morning and evening could be an interim and more immediate solution.
There was no discussion of the cost of any of the rail options. A comprehensive plan could include extensive improvements to train stations along the existing rail line. During Monday’s hearing at the capitol, some legislators questioned why the state was moving forward with the $500 million “busway” between New Britain and Hartford when support for rail travel is building. Marie also said his department would be more supportive of bicycle and pedestrian travel along roadways.