WASHINGTON — Bowing to local pressure, the Federal Railroad Administration has dropped plans for a controversial new rail line along the eastern Connecticut shore from its ambitious project to overhaul the railroad system in the Northeast corridor.
Northeast Corridor
Posted inTransportation
His grassroots rebellion stops a federal railroad plan in its tracks
Greg Stroud is a quiet, thoughtful academic with limited experience in civic engagement; but he transformed into a relentless community organizer and grass roots lobbyist after learning of a federal proposal that would route a high-speed rail line through historic Old Lyme. Using social media, he rallied his neighbors to get the plan changed — and he did not stop there.
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
Fed plan for Northeast Corridor rail includes new shoreline route
Updated at 5:20 p.m.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration on Friday released its ambitious vision for an overhaul of Northeast Corridor railroads, a plan that would create a new route through Old Lyme and other shoreline towns and upgrade the rail line from New Haven to Hartford and Springfield, Mass. Connecticut officials immediately vowed to fight realignment of the shoreline route.
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 inEnergy & Environment
Massive rail plan leaves Connecticut hopeful but mystified
Proposals to reinvent the Northeast Corridor rail system could impact Connecticut more than any other state. But a lack of detail in the plans is causing exasperation even among those who have been pushing for rail improvements for decades, and it has environmentalists worrying whether losses will outweigh the benefits.
Posted inPolitics
Short week for Congress yields defense funding, railroad revival
The U.S. House of Representatives was out and the Senate had a shortened work week because of the Veterans Day holiday, but there was still plenty of activity in Congress. The Senate approved a final defense bill that authorizes billions of dollars in spending on weapon systems developed in Connecticut. The Federal Railroad Administration took a big step forward on an ambitious overhaul of the rail system in the Northeast Corridor.
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 inPolitics
Connecticut risks federal fines for slow adoption of rail-safety system
The Federal Railroad Administration said Wednesday it would fine railroad companies and railroad track owners, like the state of Connecticut, if they don’t implement a safety technology known as positive train control by a Dec. 31 deadline.
Posted inPolitics
House approves Amtrak subsidy, study of high-speed service skipping CT
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill that would authorize the spending of billions of dollars to shore up Amtrak and require the passenger rail company to study the feasibility of a high-speed service from Washington, D.C., to Boston that would make no stops in Connecticut.