Connecticut State Rail Plan

1 DRAFT. 2012 Connecticut State rail plan . _____. THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY BLANK. Page 1. DRAFT. 2012 Connecticut State rail plan . _____. State of Connecticut Department of Transportation 2012-2016. Connecticut State rail plan Prepared by: BUREAU OF PUBLIC TRANSPORATION, OFFICE OF rail . Connecticut DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. 50 UNION AVENUE, FOURTH FLOOR WEST. NEW HAVEN, Connecticut 06519. Page 2. DRAFT. 2012 Connecticut State rail plan . _____. TABLE OF CONTENTS. LIST OF 5. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .. 7. CHAPTER 1 State rail VISION, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES .. 9. MISSION STATEMENT, VISION, AND VALUES .. 9. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR rail SERVICE IN Connecticut .. 10. CHAPTER 2 FEDERAL AND State MANDATES .. 13. FEDERAL LEGISLATION AND PLANNING REQUIREMENTS .. 14. State LEGISLATION AND PLANNING REQUIREMENTS .. 15. CHAPTER 3 DESCRIPTION OF rail SYSTEM IN Connecticut .

2 18. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE rail SYSTEM .. 18. HISTORY OF Connecticut RAILROADS - SUMMARY .. 20. CHAPTER 4 COMMUTER PASSENGER rail NETWORK .. 23. INVENTORY OF COMMUTER rail NETWORK .. 24. COMMUTER rail SERVICE OVERVIEW .. 26. COMMUTER rail FACILITIES, SYSTEMS, AND EQUIPMENT .. 27. COMMUTER rail ASSET CONDITION AND NEEDS .. 38. STUDIES AND SERVICE EXPANSION PLANNING .. 46. INITIATION OF SERVICE AND NEW STATION PLANNING .. 51. CHAPTER 5 INTERCITY PASSENGER rail NETWORK .. 58. INTERCITY PASSENGER rail SERVICE OVERVIEW .. 58. INVENTORY OF INTERCITY PASSENGER rail 59. INTERCITY PASSENGER rail 62. INTERCITY PASSENGER rail ASSET CONDITION AND NEEDS .. 62. NORTHEAST CORRIDOR AND HIGH-SPEED rail AND PLANNING .. 63. CHAPTER 6 FREIGHT rail NETWORK .. 68. FREIGHT rail SERVICE OVERVIEW AND FACILITIES .. 68. INVENTORY OF FREIGHT rail NETWORK .. 75. FREIGHT rail ASSET CONDITION AND NEEDS.

3 82. FREIGHT rail OPERATORS' CONCERNS .. 91. rail LINE ABANDONMENTS AND REOPENINGS .. 94. REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY AND CORRIDOR PLANNING .. 95. CHAPTER 7 - INTERMODAL rail CONNECTIONS AND FACILITIES .. 98. MAJOR PASSENGER rail INTERMODAL CONNECTIONS AND FACILITIES .. 99. MAJOR FREIGHT rail INTERMODAL CONNECTIONS AND FACILITIES .. 103. CHAPTER 8 ECONOMIC IMPACT AND 112. REVIEW OF DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS AND PLANNING DATA .. 112. ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF 119. MODELING Connecticut WITHOUT rail TRANSPORT .. 124. CHAPTER 9 ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT .. 127. ENERGY USE .. 128. AIR QUALITY .. 129. LAND USE AND COMMUNITY IMPACTS .. 133. Page 3. DRAFT. 2012 Connecticut State rail plan . _____. CHAPTER 10 - SAFETY AND SECURITY .. 137. rail SAFETY .. 137. SECURING THE rail SYSTEM .. 143. CHAPTER 11 LONG-RANGE SERVICE AND INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND. PROGRAMS .. 150. INVESTMENT STRATEGIES.

4 150. NEAR TERM ACTIONS .. 153. CHAPTER 12 PUBLIC FUNDING FOR rail PROJECTS AND SERVICES .. 156. CAPITAL PLANNING PROCESS .. 156. FEDERAL rail PROGRAM FUNDING .. 157. State rail PROGRAM FUNDING .. 158. FREIGHT CAPITAL INVESTMENT 167. CHAPTER 13 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF COMMUTER rail .. 170. CHAPTER 14 plan OUTREACH AND DEVELOPMENT 179. APPENDIX A - LONG-RANGE SERVICE AND INVESTMENT PROGRAM FUNDING. TABLES .. 184. APPENDIX B - LONG RANGE SERVICE AND INVESTMENT PROGRAM PROJECT. DESCRIPTIONS .. 219. APPENDIX C - LIST OF 256. Page 4. DRAFT. 2012 Connecticut State rail plan . _____. LIST OF FIGURES. Figure 1. Growth Management Principles in Conservation & Development Policies plan ..16. Figure 2. Development Area Policies (In order of priority) ..16. Figure 3. Conservation Area Policies (In order of priority) ..16. Figure 4. Connecticut rail Ownership and Service Map.

5 19. Figure 5. Passenger rail Services in the State ..23. Figure 6. Operating Statistics ..27. Figure 7. New Haven Line - Main Line Parking Statistics ..29. Figure 8. New Haven Line - Branch Lines Parking Statistics ..30. Figure 9. Shore Line East Parking Statistics ..31. Figure 10. Connecticut Railroad Bridge Inventory ..34. Figure 11. Connecticut -Owned rail Rolling Stock Unit Summary ..35. Figure 12. M-8 rail Car Figure 13. Bride Condition Figure 14. Railroad Bridge Condition Rating by Location ..44. Figure 15. Average Age of Connecticut -Owned rail Fleet in 2010 ..45. Figure 16. NHHS Corridor Map ..51. Figure 17. NHHS Map - Regional Figure 18. Amtrak Ridership in Connecticut by Figure 19. Amtrak Acela Service (photograph) ..59. Figure 20. NEC Core Network and Feeder Lines ..60. Figure 21. Amtrak Train Traversing the Connecticut River Bridge - Figure 22.

6 Designated High-Speed rail Corridors Map ..64. Figure 23. Northern New England Corridor Map ..65. Figure 24. Freight Railroad Rights of Way Miles in Connecticut ..76. Figure 25. rail Line Mileages in Connecticut ..80. Figure 26. Annual rail Freight Tonnage ..82. Figure 27. Railroad Freight Car Weight Limits and Goals ..85. Figure 28. Freight Railroad Weight Limit Routes and Priority Segments for Upgrade Map ..86. Figure 29. FRA Class of Track and Operating Speeds ..88. Figure 30. rail Line Segments Not In Service ..95. Figure 31. New Britain - Hartford Busway Route and Stops Map ..101. Figure 32. New London Harbor Admiral Harold E. Shear State Pier Photograph ..104. Figure 33. New Haven Harbor Port of New Haven Photograph ..107. Figure 34. Port of Bridgeport Bridgeport Harbor Photograph ..110. Figure 35. Population Growth in Connecticut .

7 113. Figure 36. Employment in Connecticut , 1960-2040 ..114. Figure 37. Employment Data by Planning Region, 2000-2040 ..115. Figure 38. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in Connecticut ..116. Figure 39. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by Figure 40. Means of Transportation to Work in 1990 and 2000 ..118. Figure 41. Freight Shipments To, From, and Within Connecticut Shipments by Weight: 2002. and 2035 ..122. Figure 42. REMI Results Average Annual Level and Percent Changes in Selected Economic Variables ..125. Figure 43. Energy Consumption per Passenger Mile by Mode ..128. Figure 44. Avoidable Emissions on EPA Mobile Model Basis ..131. Figure 45. Current List of Railroad/Highway Grade Crossing Projects ..139. Figure 46. Railroad/Highway At-Grade Crossing Accidents in Connecticut (Statistical Graph)..142. Page 5. DRAFT. 2012 Connecticut State rail plan .

8 _____. Figure 47. Railroad Fatalities in Connecticut (Statistical Graph) ..142. Figure 48. Railroad Fatalities in Connecticut by Figure 49. Public Awareness Campaign Poster ..146. Figure 50. ConnDOT's Operating Budget for SFY 2011 ..160. Figure 51. Expenditures from Special Transportation Fund SFY 2011 ..161. Figure 52. Mean Distance Between Failures for rail Equipment 2008 through 2011 1st Quarter ..172. Figure 53. Graph of Quarter Comparison of NHL Ridership 2008 - Q1 2011 ..173. Figure 54. Graph of Quarter Comparisons of SLE Ridership 2008-Q1 2011 ..174. Figure 55. Graph of On-Time Performance 2008-Q1 2011 NHL ..175. Figure 56. Graph of On-Time Performance 2008-Q1 2011 SLE ..175. Figure 57. Overall Satisfaction with Shore Line East 2011 Survey ..177. Figure 58. Preferences for Future Improvements of Shore Line East 2011 Survey ..178.

9 Page 6. DRAFT. 2012 Connecticut State rail plan . _____. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. The Connecticut State rail plan 2012-2016 (SRP) is produced in compliance with the guidelines of the Passenger rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA), Public Law 110-432. The SRP contains the Connecticut Department of Transportation's (Department). mission, vision, and values for rail transportation in Connecticut . The vision for rail transportation in Connecticut is a system that provides high-speed, intercity, regional commuter and freight services that will be a catalyst for smart growth, encourage greater mobility, promote the State and regional competitive advantage in the global economy, decrease highway and aviation congestion, reduce energy use, and improve air quality. Connecticut is a State situated in a critical part of the northeast transportation network, in a region dealing with congestion on the existing transportation network.

10 The volume to capacity ratio of highways is projected to grow at a faster pace than the rate at which the State can fund and add lane-miles to the highways. rail offers a safer, greener, and healthier alternative to highway travel, one that requires 35 percent less energy per passenger-mile and generates corresponding lower levels of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The SRP provides an overview and inventory of the commuter, intercity, and freight rail system and facilities in Connecticut , the services provided, and the asset condition and constraints. It aims to support Connecticut 's role in developing a growing, interconnected rail system with adjoining states , and with the New York and Boston metropolitan centers. Intermodal connections to maritime, air, bus transit, and highway modes as well as improved transit and bike/pedestrian links are important elements of an efficient and effective rail transportation system.