OT: High Speed Rail Through Storrs?

[CL82]

Jealous of the students who will get to use this.

Could you imagine that train going into NYC for the BET? Now, can you imagine it coming back?



Now think about how easy recruiting becomes when you can tell NYC guards that it's just a 50 minute ride for their parents to come up and see games. It would totally under cut the UConn is nice but out in the sticks argument.

That said...

 

[Edward Sargent]

Coming from a railroad family, Grandfather, Father, Brother and Uncle they are all smiling from heaven!! At one time if you took the NY, NH and Hartford train from Danbury to NYC my Grandfather was the engineer, my Uncle was the conductor and my Father was the trainman! I love trains and I think this would be a financial boon to the Northeast.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Good luck with that....many of you were not here when I-84 was proposed and designed to go from Hartford, thru Manchester and Willimantic to Providence in the mid-70s. I worked on the route thru Willimantic as the contractor's project engineer. The route was stopped cold in its tracks going east of Willimantic due to opposition from the farming communities to the east and because of "environmental" concerns. That was then when the environmental standards were less severe than they are today and I suspect that there would be similar opposition from the communities to the east as there was then. Getting thru the Environmental Impact Study phase will take years at a snail's pace.

Note that I support such an endeavor, but the obstacles will be monumental and so would the cost.

I think you mean I-384. Which was a drag strip (and we used it as one) highway to nowhere when I was growing up in Manchester. Ran from one end of the town to the other. Hadn’t been connected to 84 yet. It was supposed to follow most of what is now RT 6 from the Bolton/ Manchester line through Willimantic to Providence. It would have helped both cities, and certainly Willimantic.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

I am all for this and would probably use it multiple times a month. NYC-Hartford-Providence-Boston in less than 2 hours would be fantastic. Unfortunately, the more stops like Storrs or Danbury, the less likely it would actually happen.

Still a 30 minute bus ride to Hartford then a 50 minute ride to NYC or Boston is fantastic. Boston would be roughly the same as driving but ideal for people wanting to go in for an evening and enjoy a few drinks.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

hows aboot we finish rt 11? it's only been close to 3/4's of a century... it's the red line on the map:

'The Route 11 extension has been a political football for politicians and town officials alike since its inception in 1953. Since then, millions in taxpayer dollars have been spent on numerous studies, preliminary engineering and contractual/Department of Transportation (DOT) activities, trying to complete the vision of G. Albert Hill, Connecticut’s State Highway Commissioner in 1953'
Connecticut’s Road to Nowhere: A History of Route 11 | Yankee Institute for Public Policy

 

[UCLJ0211]

Who needs high speed rail when you can have this?

 

[Waquoit]

A single CT hub in New Haven makes most sense.

To who?

 

[alphasigko]

Coming from a railroad family, Grandfather, Father, Brother and Uncle they are all smiling from heaven!! At one time if you took the NY, NH and Hartford train from Danbury to NYC my Grandfather was the engineer, my Uncle was the conductor and my Father was the trainman! I love trains and I think this would be a financial boon to the Northeast.

Being from Danbury I took that train many times in the 60s and early 70s.... Having to xfer in Norwalk to NYC... In later years I would drive to Brewster and take the train into NYC from there

 

[alphasigko]

I think you mean I-384. Which was a drag strip (and we used it as one) highway to nowhere when I was growing up in Manchester. Ran from one end of the town to the other. Hadn’t been connected to 84 yet. It was supposed to follow most of what is now RT 6 from the Bolton/ Manchester line through Willimantic to Providence. It would have helped both cities, and certainly Willimantic.

It all was I-84 when it was built and then when the extension to Providence was squashed they renamed it I-384

 

[HCCForever]

It all was I-84 when it was built and then when the extension to Providence was squashed they renamed it I-384

Wasn't that when they renamed what was once I-84 to I-86 and then back again to I-84? I remember getting on the drag strip now known as I-384 from Silver Lane. I was driving over a 100 miles an hour and hit a bird in mid air. I heard a thud and when I got home I saw the poor bird stuck in my grill.

Another problem with rail transit is that they converted past rail lines to bike paths and other linear parks. When I moved to central Florida I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Virgin Trains/Brightline is building a rail line from Orlando (along Beachline Expressway) connecting to the existing tracks on the Florida East Coast Railroad near Cocoa. This will make train trips possible from Orlando east and south to a recently opened West Palm Beach station and beyond. I am not sure if this will be a good option for me since they have not decided if they will build a train station in Cocoa. The price tag is close to $2 billion.

 

[alphasigko]

Wasn't that when they renamed what was once I-84 to I-86 and then back again to I-84? I remember getting on the drag strip now known as I-384 from Silver Lane. I was driving over a 100 miles an hour and hit a bird in mid air. I heard a thud and when I got home I saw the poor bird stuck in my grill.

Another problem with rail transit is that they converted past rail lines to bike paths and other linear parks. When I moved to central Florida I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Virgin Trains/Brightline is building a rail line from Orlando (along Beachline Expressway) connecting to the existing tracks on the Florida East Coast Railroad near Cocoa. This will make train trips possible from Orlando east and south to a recently opened West Palm Beach station and beyond. I am not sure if this will be a good option for me since they have not decided if they will build a train station in Cocoa. The price tag is close to $2 billion.

Exactly! And yes, the cost of building new rail lines is generally pretty damn high! It was the same thing with the Transcontinental Railroad. A great book to read about that is "Nothing Like It in the World" by Stephen Ambrose. Not his best written book, but it's full of amazing details on how that was constructed in only 4 years without the use of heavy machinery or power tools from 1865 to 1869..

 

[jdb50]

You are going to have to take homes to do this project in the CT corridor. The thing I am surprised at is there are no windmills in Storrs on campus which is a very windy place as well as very little solar on campus to help save money on utilities. There are windmills in Providence harbor and just west of I-295. We are way behind in CT.

 

[HCCForever]

Exactly! And yes, the cost of building new rail lines is generally pretty damn high! It was the same thing with the Transcontinental Railroad. A great book to read about that is "Nothing Like It in the World" by Stephen Ambrose. Not his best written book, but it's full of amazing details on how that was constructed in only 4 years without the use of heavy machinery or power tools from 1865 to 1869..

I agree on the cost factor. The Brightline is expensive and they had most of the right of way already. They bought a portion of land just south of the Beachline Expressway from the very large Deseret ranch. They are spending a lot of money on improving rail crossings and bridges and building a tunnel.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Wasn't that when they renamed what was once I-84 to I-86 and then back again to I-84? I remember getting on the drag strip now known as I-384 from Silver Lane. I was driving over a 100 miles an hour and hit a bird in mid air. I heard a thud and when I got home I saw the poor bird stuck in my grill.

Another problem with rail transit is that they converted past rail lines to bike paths and other linear parks. When I moved to central Florida I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Virgin Trains/Brightline is building a rail line from Orlando (along Beachline Expressway) connecting to the existing tracks on the Florida East Coast Railroad near Cocoa. This will make train trips possible from Orlando east and south to a recently opened West Palm Beach station and beyond. I am not sure if this will be a good option for me since they have not decided if they will build a train station in Cocoa. The price tag is close to $2 billion.

We hit 105 in my friends 65 Thunderbird and then the first hood latch popped open. Not good. He slammed on those old drum brakes. Manchester in the early 80s was muscle car city. Sadly my 1970 Cutlass Convertible with a Hurst 3 speed never really got a good run on that stretch.

 

[HuskyV]

To who?

The millions of people that live in megalopolis, the majority of which will want to get to DC, Philly, NYC or Boston quickly.

We can print bumper stickers and get a web site - but I do not think Tolland/Storrs will be a top 25 stops.

 

[WrenchFan69]

hows aboot we finish rt 11? it's only been close to 3/4's of a century... it's the red line on the map:

'The Route 11 extension has been a political football for politicians and town officials alike since its inception in 1953. Since then, millions in taxpayer dollars have been spent on numerous studies, preliminary engineering and contractual/Department of Transportation (DOT) activities, trying to complete the vision of G. Albert Hill, Connecticut’s State Highway Commissioner in 1953'
Connecticut’s Road to Nowhere: A History of Route 11 | Yankee Institute for Public Policy

Finishing Route 11 would be a waste at this point imo. They should take the speed limit off and give CT an autobahn, just to see what would happen

 

[coloradohusky]

Article says the high speed rail would take 100 minutes to go from NYC to Boston, with stops in Hartford, Storrs, and Providence. This would be possibly the wisest decision the university could make it they can help pull this off. Being 50 minutes from NYC or Boston by train to Storrs would be one of the best recruiting angles we have.

Also, us Hartford county folks only a 50 minute train ride from the Big East Tournament? Yes please

h/t @Storrs South

Oh man, I thought this thread was about cocaine...this is much better!

 

[pepband99]

I think you mean I-384. Which was a drag strip (and we used it as one) highway to nowhere when I was growing up in Manchester. Ran from one end of the town to the other. Hadn’t been connected to 84 yet. It was supposed to follow most of what is now RT 6 from the Bolton/ Manchester line through Willimantic to Providence. It would have helped both cities, and certainly Willimantic.

yes, question the project engineer - great idea!

Interstate 384 (Connecticut)

Descriptive history and current conditions on Interstate 384 in central Connecticut. Includes history of the unbuilt US 6 Expressway in eastern Connecticut.

www.nycroads.com

 

[HuskyHawk]

yes, question the project engineer - great idea!

Interstate 384 (Connecticut)

Descriptive history and current conditions on Interstate 384 in central Connecticut. Includes history of the unbuilt US 6 Expressway in eastern Connecticut.

www.nycroads.com

Except that that validates everything I said. The numbering is a quibble either way, because what is 84 was renamed 86 then back to 84. The only piece of the proposed 84 that became part of the interstate highway system is 384. I admit I had forgotten the 84 to 86 and back to 84 name changes.

 

[BPT2Storrs]

Might be a good idea in theory, but no chance this gets off the ground, it will be both costly and controversial. Even minor transportation Capital projects take years - planning, design, permitting, funding, construction. Throw a tunnel under LIS and include years of litigation to that as well.

Connecticut needs to focus on existing infrastructure before we plan for anything else. Problem is nobody wants to pay for it and if there is a way, nobody wants any changes in their backyard.

The Land of Steady Habits.

 

[Exit 4]

As someone that lives 1/3 mile from metro north and has a nyc commuter hh and occasionally takes a amtrack from Stamford to points south I can tell you with great confidence that trains are a wonderful mode of transportation but even with the greatest train network one could devise for America they will never be more than a mode for commuting to work and the very occasional leisure trip. Why? Because taking a family on a train is damn expensive and nothing in America that you really care to see is built within walking distance of train stations at the destination. I’ve tried to use the train for non work commuting and it just sucks and it’s expensive. Especially when taking the family along.

Other nations have great rail because;
1) Landowners have fewer rights and their governments took property needed to make straight lines to make efficient rail. Must have straight lines or nothing of value is achieved. Curvy lines with trains topping out at 80 does nothing. Need straight lines and speeds well over 140 to create real time benefit. This will never happen on the eastern seaboard or near coast areas without a serious change in attitudes about development.
2) They have older cities that maintained great central density. Lots of stuff of use is located within a 30 min walk in their cities. While we have been trying harder to accomplish the same here, it still stands that so much of great use is just not near rail.
3) The most overlooked reason rail works in other counties better is so simple. American cities tend to have plenty of parking, European and Japanese cities do not. When you increase the cost and reduce the availability of parking it’s amazing how quickly you start thinking about that rail option.

I’m very interested to see us improve the existing Boston to DC rail corridor. Unfortunately I am afraid we have already spent our capital as a society of other stuff- what that is IDK- just looking at our widening national deficit.

There just isn’t the real political will to actually execute an emanate domain program that necessary to make the straight lines (think about the disparate impact and environment impact arguments alone which would take decades to play out in court). And if there ever is such a will they will start with NYC to DC because it impacts more people and more states (ie Senators).

Lastly, we have to see what travel habits become post COVid. Rail ridership is off something like 90% on the Metronorth. It seems COVid helped accelerate two existing trends, the demise of street retail and the demise of the central office. I see a lot of urban professionals dropping their commutes forever with zoom. I see a lot of others moving to a 3 days in office, 2 days from home routine. We shall see. Of course rail has long term benefits that will never cease as people will always travel, but the near term decline of commuting will serve to undermine the economics and that is meaningful to the discussion.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I think you mean I-384. Which was a drag strip (and we used it as one) highway to nowhere when I was growing up in Manchester. Ran from one end of the town to the other. Hadn’t been connected to 84 yet. It was supposed to follow most of what is now RT 6 from the Bolton/ Manchester line through Willimantic to Providence. It would have helped both cities, and certainly Willimantic.

I love how when you got on 384 by the old East Hartford Cinema the sign says “to Providence” like ok buddy

 

[Excalibur]

Good luck with that....many of you were not here when I-84 was proposed and designed to go from Hartford, thru Manchester and Willimantic to Providence in the mid-70s. I worked on the route thru Willimantic as the contractor's project engineer. The route was stopped cold in its tracks going east of Willimantic due to opposition from the farming communities to the east and because of "environmental" concerns. That was then when the environmental standards were less severe than they are today and I suspect that there would be similar opposition from the communities to the east as there was then. Getting thru the Environmental Impact Study phase will take years at a snail's pace.

Note that I support such an endeavor, but the obstacles will be monumental and so would the cost.

That opposition was from RI, who didn’t want it going through the lakes/reservoirs just across the border. When it became clear that the route would not happen, what is now 384 was hastily terminated at Bolton Notch.

It is incredible to me that there is no highway from Hartford to Providence.

 

[mussels]

Who needs high speed rail when you can have this?

Would have never made it home from a single Big East Tournament. Train please.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

That opposition was from RI, who didn’t want it going through the lakes/reservoirs just across the border. When it became clear that the route would not happen, what is now 384 was hastily terminated at Bolton Notch.

It is incredible to me that there is no highway from Hartford to Providence.

What is the route from central CT to Providence? Just putter along Rt 6? Go up to Worcester and down 395? Rt 44? Go down the shore to 95?

 

[pepband99]

What is the route from central CT to Providence? Just putter along Rt 6? Go up to Worcester and down 395? Rt 44? Go down the shore to 95?

Yes.

Jon Persky's 44 Ways from Hartford to Providence

Jon Persky's essay on the many different routes across eastern Connecticut

www.kurumi.com

 

[Excalibur]

What is the route from central CT to Providence? Just putter along Rt 6? Go up to Worcester and down 395? Rt 44? Go down the shore to 95?

I used to go 2 to 395 to 6. When we lived in Norwich we'd take 165 through Griswold.

 

[HuskyHawk]

What is the route from central CT to Providence? Just putter along Rt 6? Go up to Worcester and down 395? Rt 44? Go down the shore to 95?

Yes, it sucks. I decided to go that way when we visited UConn in fall 2019. Just miserable. Rt. 6 is an awful road east of 295. Hilly and riddled with potholes. Quite a few lights, and people stopping to turn left. I won’t likely go that way again. It would have been a very useful road. Somehow they managed to build 395 from Worcester to New London, but they couldn’t do Hartford to Providence?

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Yes, it sucks. I decided to go that way when we visited UConn in fall 2019. Just miserable. Rt. 6 is an awful road east of 295. Hilly and riddled with potholes. Quite a few lights, and people stopping to turn left. I won’t likely go that way again. It would have been a very useful road. Somehow they managed to build 395 from Worcester to New London, but they couldn’t do Hartford to Providence?

We took the 44 Rt from Storrs to visit a friend who was at Bryant. It was the longest drive of my life.

 

[HuskyHawk]

We took the 44 Rt from Storrs to visit a friend who was at Bryant. It was the longest drive of my life.

I live 9 miles from Bryant. So I feel your pain. As stupid as it seems to go up 495 to the Mass Pike and all the way to 84 then south, then go back east again, it’s the best route.