CT: More than $16M in rail improvements will mean more trains in the New Haven-to-Springfield corridor

With a backdrop of the historic Union Station, where daily rail service on the Hartford line will become more frequent between New Haven and Springfield, state officials led by Gov. Ned Lamont on Monday announced more than $16 million in some of the last federal grants from the Biden administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law before Donald Trump becomes president next week.

Lamont was joined by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, and state Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto, as well as state lawmakers to announce that the infrastructure grants in recent years have topped $7.4 billion in transit projects alone.

Grants announced Monday include $11.6 million to increase weekday round-trip service to and from Union Station in downtown Hartford, including more stops in a renovated Windsor Locks station and $2.4 million to study street-level train crossings along the Danbury Branch line that links Norwalk to Danbury.

"It's going to continue to grow the competitiveness of this region," said Arulampalam, noting that for decades the primarily minority residents of Hartford's North End neighborhoods have been disconnected. "It's so important to the future of this city. This state will be more competitive in the long run because of it."

"As we have increased service on the Danbury Branch line, we want to make sure that those are the safest crossings possible, to avoid any crashes from happening there," Eucalitto said, adding that another crossing being addressed is Wallingford's intersection of Route 5 and Tolles Road, which federal authorities said is one of the most-hazardous.

Eucalitto said the added trains will make it easier for commuters to plan, particularly on the Hartford line, which had record ridership in 2024. "We are a rail state, probably more than any other state in the country and we continue to rely on passenger rail to make our economy move," he said.

"We know that riders are choosing trains more often because of their efficiency," and also because they can get other things done while riding and get out of traffic, said state Sen. Christine Cohen, D- Guilford, co-chairwoman of the legislative Transportation Committee. "We want to make sure people feel more connected to their workplaces, their communities and we're getting them there in a safer, more-accessible manner."

"We fought very hard for these improvements," Hayes said during a noontime press conference. The congresswoman said her constituents in both Danbury and Meriden will see improvements through the infrastructure awards. In particular, Hayes pointed to the fatal June 2023 crash at the Commerce Street train crossing in Norwalk.

"Today we're delivering dollars," said Blumenthal, noting that his planned afternoon flight to Washington being delayed underscored the value of rail transit. "This investment in Connecticut is possible and important because of local leadership. The feds are delivering the dollars, but local and state leadership are providing the impetus and the direction for how that money is used. That money is going to be a force multiplier. It's going to bind communities closer together, reconnect neighborhoods, connect people and do it in a way with transportation that is safer, more-reliable, quicker and longer-lasting."

"The infrastructure bill was truly a bipartisan one," said state Rep. Tony Hwang of Fairfield, a ranking Republican on the legislative Transportation Committee.

Mark Boughton, the state commissioner of Revenue Services who has been designated by Lamont as a transportation czar, said that when the federal infrastructure law was first enacted, the state estimated about $6 billion in federal support. As Biden leaves next week, Connecticut has received $9.6 billion in support in a variety of areas, including public health, he said. Under Eucalitto, 200 state bridges have been replaced under the program.

"He's only got six more days in office, but 'AMTRAK' Joe Biden has made an enormous difference for infrastructure and rail across this country and in particular in this state," Lamont said. "The rail service between Boston and New Haven and New York is getting speeded up dramatically thanks to his good works. This is a rail state. It's going to be transformative for the state over the next 10 years. By 2035 you're going to see an enormous difference."

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