Hartford Train Launches From Union Station

The first new passenger rail line to open in Connecticut in nearly three decades made its inaugural ride from New Haven to Hartford, carrying with it promises from the governor and the top state transit official of an economic and quality-of-life ​“renaissance” for future state residents.

The inaugural ride took place Friday morning, as dozens of city and state officials, including Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, state Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner James Redeker, and New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, boarded the new CTrail Hartford Line for its maiden voyage from New Haven’s Union Station to Hartford’s Union Station. A train carrying Massachusetts politicians and Hartford Line supporters left Springfield, Mass., for Hartford at around the same time.

The two trains converged in Hartford just before noon, where Malloy and Redeker held a formal celebration of a new passenger train line that took over a decade and $700 million of public money to build, and that connects New Haven, Hartford, Springfield, and a handful of smaller Connecticut towns in between.

The Hartford Line officially opens to the public on Saturday. Passengers will be able to ride the trains free of charge this weekend. Full weekday service will begin on Monday, June 18. The last new passenger rail service to open in the state was the Shoreline East, which opened in 1990.

During weekdays, Hartford Line trains will make 17 daily round trips between New Haven and Hartford. They will make 12 daily round trips between New Haven and Springfield.

The one-way fare for traveling between New Haven and Hartford will be $8. According to the state DOT, Hartford Line trains will travel at speeds of up to 110 miles per hour, and will take 46 minutes to get from New Haven to Hartford.

The current stops on the line, from south to north, are New Haven Union Station, New Haven State Street Station, Wallingford, Meriden, Berlin, Hartford, Windsor, Windsor Locks, and Springfield, Mass. (One analyst points out that the state has some scheduling work to do to make the new line truly accessible to New Haven-to-Hartford commuters.)

At Union Station on Friday, Malloy joined Redeker, Harp, New Haven State Sen. Martin Looney and New Haven State Rep. Toni Walker on platform 3 for an official ribbon cutting, and to herald a swell of residential and commercial transit-oriented development in the cities and towns up and down the I‑91 corridor that this train line touches.

“What we can start to think about in Connecticut because of this train,” Malloy said, ​“is not a New Haven labor market and a Hartford labor market and smaller markets in between, but a unified state that you can use a rail system to get to most of its major cities.”

He and Redeker said the state has already seen upwards of $400 million-worth of development in and around the train stops from New Haven to Hartford, even before the official opening of the train line. They pointed to hundreds of new apartments coming on line near train stations in Meriden, Wallingford, and Berlin.

Earlier this week the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) heard a pitch from a New Haven developer who wants to build a new 60-unit apartment complex on top of a vacant parking lot on State Street, just a block away from the recently revamped State Street station.

“It will change how we think about ourselves,” Malloy said about the Hartford Line. ​“This is about change. And this is about building an economy that will be competitive in the future.”

Mayor Harp touted the rail service as meaning fewer cars on the state’s roads and highways, which will in turn relieve roadway congestion and result in improved air quality and reduced wear and tear on transit infrastructure.

The state DOT estimates 700,000 annual passenger trips on the Hartford Line, which it estimates will reduce around 1.5 million vehicles from traveling on I‑91.

Aboard the train, city officials and local businesspeople explored the cars and discussed how the new rail line will both improve commutes for existing workers and provide access to a larger labor pool for businesses looking to hire.

“This is a bridge to more easily access talent outside of New Haven,” said Keivon Jones, the 32-year-old chief creative officer of Fitscript, a Science Park-based start up that digitally delivers exercise and educational videos to people living with diabetes. He said Fitscript, which was founded in 2013, currently has 25 employees, but that he hopes to grow his business by bringing in new employees and customers between New Haven and Hartford.

“One of the biggest reasons why we’re in the Ninth Square,” said SeeClickFix CEO Ben Berkowitz, ​“is because of the trains.” He said increased rail service to Union Station and State Street station will allow current employees who live north of New Haven to commute to work by rail rather than by car. He also said Hartford is a hot spot for workers with technical expertise, and that he hopes that this new line allows his company to tap into that talent base.

Hamden State Rep. Josh Elliott praised the Hartford Line as not just a vehicle for economic development, but for providing easier access to affordable housing outside of city centers for people who may work in New Haven or Hamden.

“As cities gentrify and push people out,” he said, ​“public transportation allows people who need affordable housing to live in other areas.”

City transit chief Doug Hausladen and Deputy Economic Development Director Michael Piscitelli said this new lines fortifies New Haven as the center point of Connecticut’s passenger rail service. New Haven will now be the terminus for three rail lines, the Hartford Line, Shoreline East, and Metro North’s New Haven Line. New Haven’s Union Station is also a stop for Amtrak Acela and Northeast Regional rail services.

“When you look at low-income families,” New Haven State Rep. Robyn Porter said, ​“they don’t always have cars.” She said improved rail frequency to and from New Haven will only serve to better connect city residents with jobs up and down the north-south axis of the state. ​“Plus,” she said, ​“it lets you take a break from being behind the wheel.”

Up at Hartford’s Union Station, hundreds of people gathered to listen in as Malloy, Redeker, U.S. Sen. Blumenthal, and a bevy of other local, state and federal politicians celebrated the launch of the Hartford Line.

Redeker said the first feasibility study for this rail line happened 14 years ago, and construction first began three years ago. ​“This is a defining moment in Connecticut’s history, and a game changer for all of New England,” he said. He said people will look back and recognize this day as the beginning of a ​“renaissance for our state.”

“We should be proud as Connecticut residents that our state made this investment,” Malloy said. According to the DOT, the construction of the Hartford Line cost $755 million: $564 million in state bonding, and $191 million in federal dollars, primarily given through the Recovery Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009 in the wake of the economic depression.

Malloy thanked Connecticut’s residents and legislators for allowing him to pursue this massive transportation project.

“You allowed me,” he said, ​“to invest your money to get this job done.”

Click here to learn more about the Hartford Line. Click on the Facebook Live video below to watch the New Haven press conference.