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Amtrak Hartford Line

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New Haven–Springfield Shuttle
Train #470, a single-car train, sits at New Haven awaiting Train 170 from New York.
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusOperating
LocaleConnecticut and Massachusetts
Current operator(s)Amtrak
Annual ridership270,353 (FY16)[1]
Route
TerminiUnion Station, New Haven, Connecticut
Union Station, Springfield, Massachusetts
Stops7
Distance travelled62 miles (100 km)
Average journey time1 hour 20 minutes
Service frequencyEight weekday round trips
Six–seven weekend round trips
Train number(s)405, 409, 412, 416, 417, 432,
450, 451, 460, 461, 463, 464,
465, 467, 470, 471, 473, 474,
475, 476, 478, 479, 488, 490,
494, 495, 497
Technical
Rolling stockGE P42DC & P40DC locomotives, Amfleet coach cars, and ex-Metroliner cab cars
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speedUp to 110 mph (180 km/h)[2]
Track owner(s)Amtrak
Route map
Legend
Vermonter to St. Albans,
Valley Flyer to Greenfield
Lake Shore Limited
Left arrow Chicago │ Boston Right arrow
0 mi
 Springfield enlarge…
Hartford Line Springfield Union Station (Massachusetts)#Bus operations
Massachusetts
Connecticut
15 mi
24 km
 Windsor Locks
Hartford Line Bradley International Airport
19 mi
31 km
 Windsor
Hartford Line Connecticut Transit Hartford
25 mi
40 km
 Hartford
Hartford Line CTfastrak Hartford Union Station#Bus
36 mi
58 km
 Berlin
Hartford Line Connecticut Transit New Britain and Bristol
43 mi
69 km
 Meriden
Hartford Line Meriden Transit Center#Connections
49 mi
79 km
 Wallingford
Hartford Line Northeast Transportation Company#Wallingford
Northeast Corridor to Boston
61 mi
98 km
New Haven
State Street
Shore Line East Hartford Line Connecticut Transit New Haven
62 mi
100 km
New Haven
Union Station
Shore Line East Hartford Line
Northeast Corridor to New York
This diagram:

New Haven–Springfield Shuttles are shuttle trains run by Amtrak between Springfield, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut, along Amtrak's New Haven–Springfield Line. These shuttles connect with Northeast Regional and Metro-North New Haven Line service at New Haven's Union Station, using usually a cross-platform or same platform transfer.

During fiscal year (FY) 2016, the Shuttle service carried 270,353 passengers, a decrease of 23.0% over FY2015.[1] The service had a total revenue of $9,504,113 in FY2016, an 18.0% increase over FY2015.[1] The drop in both ridership and revenue was primarily due to bus substitutions of trains to accommodate track work for the new Hartford Line commuter rail service.

The Shuttle service as well as the Northeast Regional through trains that terminate in Springfield are state-supported routes within Amtrak's system. Amtrak receives funding from the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Massachusetts Department of Transportation to operate these trains.

History

A shuttle train of Budd SPV-2000 stock at Windsor Locks in 1980

Until electrification was extended to Boston along the Shore Line portion of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in 2000, Springfield Shuttle trains operated as "sections" of regular NortheastDirect trains. New Haven marked the end of electrification which required an engine change for all Amtrak trains passing through. On trains going to Boston, one or two cars would be uncoupled from the rear, containing the passengers wishing to travel through to points between New Haven and Springfield. After the Boston portion of the train continued along its way, a diesel engine would attach to the left-behind cars and pull them to Springfield. Trains from Springfield would platform, then pull forward to a relay track, leaving the passenger cars to wait for the train to arrive from Boston. An electric locomotive would then couple to the Springfield-bound cars and push them onto the front of the arriving southbound train.

When the power change was eliminated at New Haven, this cumbersome splitting and re-combination procedure was abandoned in favor of a dedicated shuttle train that would meet each through train at the same platform. Former Metroliner cab cars were obtained from other parts of the system, and the Shuttles began to operate in push–pull format, eliminating the need to wye or loop the trainsets at New Haven and Springfield. The new Amtrak president, David L. Gunn then re-launched the Springfield Shuttle service with increased number of round trips and much-lower "commuter" level fares, turning the shuttle into a service in its own right, instead of just a connection for through travelers along the Northeast Corridor.

Until August 2015, daily service in each direction on the Springfield Line consisted of four Shuttles, the Vermonter, and one or two Northeast Regional trains.[3] Between August 3, 2015 and December 31, 2017, several round trips on weekdays were replaced by buses to accommodate double track construction for the Hartford Line commuter service.[4]

On June 9, 2018, the service began offering three additional round trips on weekdays and some other smaller schedule changes were made as part of expanded service on the line. The changes also now allow some connections with Amtrak's premium Acela Express service in New Haven. Two southbound trains on weekdays and one northbound train on Mondays through Thursdays and Sundays can connect with Acela trains. On June 12, 2018, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that two round trips would be extended to Greenfield in 2019 as a pilot program.[5]

On September 10, 2018, as part of a schedule change made to Hartford Line trains, all Amtrak Shuttles started stopping at New Haven's State Street station.[6]

Mail service

Mail cars on Shuttle Train 490 at Meriden in 2002

Until Amtrak discontinued all mail-hauling operations in 2005, the postal distribution center in Springfield, MA, was a significant customer. Up until about the year 2000, Springfield was served by a dedicated mail train which would run overnight up the Inland Route to Springfield. After this train was canceled, mail cars were instead added to the early morning Train 190, to make pickups at large cities along the Northeast Corridor. At New Haven these mail cars would be removed from the rear of Train 190 and added to Shuttle Train 490, sometimes sandwiching the locomotive in the middle of the train.

Operation

The Shuttles are numbered in the 400 series, usually denoting by the last two digits which Regional train the train is connecting with.[7] Typical consists run in push-pull configuration with a General Electric P40DC locomotive pulling an Amfleet coach and a 9600-series ex-Metroliner cab car. Normally the ex-Budd Metroliner leads northbound trains, while the GE Genesis usually leads most southbound trains. Crew bases are at Springfield and New Haven, with diesel locomotive servicing taking place at New Haven.

The New Haven–Springfield corridor is served by all Northeast Regional trains in the 140 series (except trains 145 and 149) as well as trains 136 and 157. These trains run from Springfield to Washington, D.C. or Virginia without the need to change trains. The corridor is also served by Amtrak's Vermonter.

Hartford Line

Main article: Hartford Line

New commuter rail service on the line began on June 16, 2018.[8] Expanded Amtrak Shuttle service on the line launched one week earlier on June 9, 2018.[9] Connecticut DOT provides eight round trip commuter trains on weekdays under its new CTrail branding that are operated by its new contractor, a joint venture between TransitAmerica Services and Alternate Concepts Inc.[10] Five of these trains operate between New Haven and Hartford, with the other three running the whole line between New Haven and Springfield. Amtrak has also added three new Shuttle round trips on top of its previous service. This brings the total round trips on the line to sixteen between New Haven and Hartford, with eleven of them operating along the full line to Springfield. On weekends and holidays, CTrail operates six New Haven–Hartford round trips and two New Haven–Springfield round trips. Amtrak continues to offer its existing weekend service with some minor schedule changes. Together, twelve–thirteen round trips are offered on weekends.[11] Amtrak accepts CTrail commuter tickets aboard the trains in the Shuttle series and has adjusted its own fares to match CTrail for trips between New Haven and Springfield.[12]

Stations

Milepost[13] State Town/city Station[14] Connections
0 MA Springfield Springfield Union Station Amtrak: Lake Shore Limited, Northeast Regional, Vermonter
Bus transport PVTA Bus: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11E, 12E, 14, 17, 20, 20E, 21, 21E, 92
14.6 CT Windsor Locks Windsor Locks Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Vermonter
Bus transport CTtransit Hartford: 905W
Bradley International Airport, 3 miles (4.8 km) NW
19.1 Windsor Windsor, CT Amtrak: Northeast Regional
Bus transport CTtransit Hartford: 32, 34, 36
25.3 Hartford Hartford Union Station Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Vermonter
Bus transport CTtransit Hartford: 30, 60, 62, 64, 66, 72, 74, 76, 82, 83, 84, 901, 903, 904, 905, 906, 907, 910, 913, 914, 918, 921, 950, dash
Bus transport CTfastrak: 101, 102, 128, 923, 924, 925, 928
35.9 Berlin Berlin Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Vermonter
Bus transport CTtransit New Britain: 512
43.3 Meriden Meriden Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Vermonter
Bus transport CTtransit Hartford: 919
Bus transport CTtransit New Haven: 215M
Bus transport CTtransit Meriden: 561, 563, 564, 565, 566
Bus transport Middletown Area Transit: M-Link
49.0 Wallingford Wallingford Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Vermonter
Bus transport CTtransit New Haven: 215M/W
Bus transport CTtransit Wallingford: 292
61.4 New Haven State Street CTrail: Shore Line East
Metro-North Railroad: New Haven Line (limited service)
Amtrak: Northeast Regional
Bus transport CTtransit New Haven
62.0 Union Station Amtrak: Acela Express, Northeast Regional, Vermonter
CTrail: Shore Line East
Metro-North Railroad: New Haven Line
Bus transport CTtransit New Haven: 271, 272, 278, 950, Union Station Shuttle
Bus transport Greyhound Lines
Bus transport Megabus
Bus transport Peter Pan Bus Lines
Bus transport Yale University Shuttle

References

  1. ^ a b c "Amtrak FY16 Ridership and Revenue Fact Sheet" (PDF). Amtrak. April 17, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  2. ^ "AMTRAK RUNS TEST TRAINS OF UP TO 110 MPH IN PREPARATION FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE HARTFORD LINE ON JUNE 16" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  3. ^ "NRPC Form W4–200M–1/12/15: Northeast Corridor Boston / Springfield and Washington, D.C." (PDF). National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2015.
  4. ^ "Amtrak Begins Substitute Bus Operation to Facilitate Construction on Hartford Line" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. July 31, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  5. ^ Tuthill, Paul (June 12, 2018). "Commuter Trains To Run North Of Springfield Starting In 2019". WAMC. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  6. ^ "CTDOT Announces Hartford Line Service Changes for Weekend of September 7-10, 2018 and a New Schedule Effective September 10, to Accommodate Track Work" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018. Effective September 10, 2018, a new Hartford Line train schedule will take effect through September 30th to accommodate continuing track work. Along with this new schedule, all Hartford Line trains will now stop at New Haven State Street Station.
  7. ^ "Northeast Corridor Boston/Springfield–Washington, D.C. Schedule" (PDF). Amtrak. March 10, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  8. ^ Porter, Mikaela; Owens, David (June 17, 2018). "Thousands Take A Free Ride On Hartford Line's Inaugural Run". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  9. ^ "Connecticut DOT gears up for Hartford Line testing". June 6, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  10. ^ "Gov. Malloy Announces TransitAmerica Services and Alternate Concepts Selected as Service Provider for the Hartford Line". The Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy (Press release). Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  11. ^ "Hartford Line Official Inaugural Schedule" (PDF). Hartford Line. June 16, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  12. ^ "Tickets & Fares". Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  13. ^ "Executive Summary" (PDF). Connecticut Department of Transportation. p. 4. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  14. ^ "CTrail Hartford Line Schedules: Effective September 10, 2018" (PDF). Hartford Line. September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
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