The coalition behind the bipartisan infrastructure bill is fragile, and the money it promises rail is both historic and inadequate.
Amtrak
Posted inTransportation
Murphy, Blumenthal press for more money for Amtrak in stimulus bill
Because ridership has plummeted, Amtrak is seeking at least $1.5 billion in new federal pandemic funds.
Posted inTransportation
Blumenthal leads effort to end Amtrak’s shield from lawsuits
Amtrak changed the boilerplate language on its tickets to prevent passengers from suing the company in court.
Posted inTransportation
DOT valued expertise over price in Hartford rail competition
Connecticut rejected the lowest of five bidders for the contract to operate train service on the new Hartford Line, instead picking the overall top scorer in a ranking system that valued expertise and experience over price, according to scoring sheets released Thursday by the Department of Transportation.
Posted inTransportation
Amtrak loses bid to operate new Hartford commuter rail
A joint venture of TransitAmerica Services and Alternate Concepts was chosen over Amtrak and three other bidders Monday as operator of the Hartford Line, a commuter rail service to New Haven and Springfield that will open next year with a deep federal operating subsidy.
Posted inPolitics
Rail overhaul plan is both a winner and a loser in CT
WASHINGTON — Connecticut officials have been more critical than those in any other state of the Federal Railroad Administration’s plan to overhaul train service in the Northeast Corridor, yet some of its strongest critics admit they like much of the plan.
Posted inTransportation
Feds’ undisclosed ‘preferred route’ for rail lines sparks outrage
WASHINGTON – While the federal government was spending months soliciting feedback from the public on several alternatives for overhauling the railroads in the Northeast corridor, it had already identified a preferred plan that would dramatically change rail travel in Connecticut.
Posted inTransportation
Opponents organizing to derail new route for high-speed trains
OLD LYME — As federal officials near a decision on a railroad proposal residents are calling destructive and wasteful, about 70 people from across the southeastern Connecticut’s shoreline gathered Friday with local, state and federal lawmakers at a forum at Old Lyme Town Hall to find out how they could help stop it “dead in its tracks.”
Posted inTransportation
CT split on rail overhaul; Malloy says repairs should come first
WASHINGTON — There is split opinion in Connecticut on ambitious proposals to overhaul rail service in the Northeast Corridor, with some preferring to put resources into a coastal route to Boston and others backing an inland route that runs through Hartford with a new stop near Storrs.
Posted inTransportation
Amtrak favors one rail overhaul plan, Old Lyme pans another
WASHINGTON – Amtrak is backing an ambitious plan proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration to overhaul rail transportation in the Northeast corridor, a proposal that would cost more than $300 billion. An alternative proposal for a new line through Old Lyme and other shoreline towns drew opposition.
Posted inTransportation
Senate would allow Amtrak to keep profits in Northeast Corridor
WASHINGTON — Congress will fall short of approving the $1.9 billion President Obama sought to subsidize Amtrak’s nationwide operations, but it is, for the first time, moving to rope off money for the Northeast corridor, the only profitable routes for the passenger rail line.
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
New federal transportation bill would boost funding to CT
WASHINGTON – In a long-awaited compromise, Congress unveiled a final, five-year transportation bill on Tuesday that would boost money to the states and change the way Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor routes are funded.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Transportation
New federal study proposes overhaul of CT railroads — at a cost
WASHINGTON – To tackle congestion in the Northeast Corridor, the Federal Railroad Administration has released an environmental study on ambitious proposals to overhaul Connecticut’s railroad system – possibly adding new routes, high-speed rails and a rail tunnel under Long Island Sound.
Posted inNews
Train safety, gun checks, Medicare premiums among issues affecting Connecticut
Congress delayed for years the deadline for implementing a train safety system and passed a two-year budget that will help Connecticut defense contractors and Medicare recipients. Connecticut students received a mixed report card from the U.S. Department of Education, and whether Pratt & Whitney won a big engine contract remained a military secret.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy, Amtrak, feds vow progress, cooperation on Hartford Line
Washington – Gov. Dannel Malloy met with to Amtrak and federal transportation officials Thursday, and agreed to keep talking about key issues that have delayed completion of a New Haven-Hartford-Springfield line, but this time with less rancor.