OT: High Speed Rail Through Storrs?

[Exit 4]

Acela is great....often sold out....very popular for people in NYC area to get around the corridor. There are only two types of people on Acela; 90% business folk and 10% college/trust fund kids moving about.

The amazing thing is that the Acela service with its high costs actually makes $ for Amtrak. Imagine that, a government run transportation service that delivers positive cash flow and that people like rather than resent. New Acela trains are set to be delivered in the coming years replacing the current fleet.

The problem with Acela is not just the density along the lines reducing max speed, its the fact that its a shared line - shared with regular Amtrak and every local metro commuter rail service in the respective cities it passes through. The sharing means the tracks are crowded and thus Acela must navigate with caution.

The existing corridor, particularly from NYC to DC could be reworked. The challenge would be for society to go w/o rail for like 3-4 years while the system is rebuilt.

The NYC to Boston connection is challenged by hills, rivers, marshes, deltas, beaches, cute towns, etc etc. Reworking the line through CT at the moment seems politically impossible. The inland route means miles after miles after miles of arguments about ruining towns via a bisecting rail line. The shore route means environmental challenges up the wahzoo, and it means expensive upgrades that wont achieve meaningful time improvement. The cost to upgrade the New England track is dramatically higher than the NYC-DC stretch. Which Gov and Sen is going to be the face of literally railroading their way through CT? No one. But in the mean time the drawings and press releases are fun.

Look for the NYC-DC line to eventually get that dramatic upgrade. That is possible.

 

[JohnFSilver]

farming in Connecticut is on an explosive growth curve in the past few years.
here, have a brand new 'harvest' industry, just getting started:
The Day - CT Sea Grant awarded major federal grant to help fledgling domestic kelp industry - News from southeastern Connecticut

The Fairfield train station opened in the 1890s. At that time, the time it took to get from Fairfield to Grand Central was about ten minutes LESS than it is 130 years later.

My point — I’ll believe you can get from New York to Boston by train in two hours when I see it. And I’m not going to lose sleep waiting for it.

No idea on Farming.

As far as the fairfield train. SMH. What is wrong with out city planners. The new haven line is a joke with its speed.

I will say the NB/Hartford busway is an excellent service. I don't know why people hate it, probably because they wont use it. My biggest beef is lack of parking at some of the stations.

 

[UConnDad]

Haven’t tried Acela but I’ve used Amtrak 3 times in the past year. Bridgeport to DC. Way better than driving.

 

[8893]

Haven’t tried Acela but I’ve used Amtrak 3 times in the past year. Bridgeport to DC. Way better than driving.

Yeah, having one daughter living in Baltimore and another in DC, we've used Amtrak's regular service literally dozens of times the past few years. No issues, except the pricing varies wildly based on demand, which means last-minute changes can be costly or impossible during peak times.

 

[UConnDad]

Yeah, having one daughter living in Baltimore and another in DC, we've used Amtrak's regular service literally dozens of times the past few years. No issues, except the pricing varies wildly based on demand, which means last-minute changes can be costly or impossible during peak times.

Same here. Daughter lives in Arlington. For the first trip didn’t realize booking way in advance was much cheaper. Thought it was always the same like Metronorth.

 

[Waquoit]

I will say the NB/Hartford busway is an excellent service. I don't know why people hate it, probably because they wont use it. My biggest beef is lack of parking at some of the stations.

I just read about development and apartments being built near the busway. So it's working.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Yeah, having one daughter living in Baltimore and another in DC, we've used Amtrak's regular service literally dozens of times the past few years. No issues, except the pricing varies wildly based on demand, which means last-minute changes can be costly or impossible during peak times.

I've taken Amtrak from Stamford to Philly several times and the ride is much more enjoyable than staring at brake lights as far as the eye can see driving through lower Fairfield and Westchester Counties. Acela costs a bit more depending on how far in advance you get a ticket because it's faster/nicer but knowing that I won't have to battle traffic on the GWB and other various areas is worth it alone. I can also get some work done and/or catch up on TV shows on the ride as well.

 

[TJT]

RI pretty much killed Route 84. The most prominent reason given was due to environmental concerns because it would go near the Scituate Reservoir which supplies 60% of the state's drinking water. There was also not much demand in RI for a quick route to Hartford. Route 84 was far more supported in CT with much of it tied to a far faster and direct route for Hartford metro residents to their vacation homes on Cape Cod.