Meridan wants it

The Meriden Record-Journal wrote an update about the NHHS line, available through this link.

To ride from Meriden to Hartford would cost about $4, based on the 2005 study and adjusted for inflation. On Amtrak, that ride costs $6 or $8, depending on the time of day.A monthly pass from Wallingford to New Haven costs $90 on Amtrak, but would be about $65 on the commuter rail.Riders would also likely be able to buy combined passes with Metro-North, something that provides additional savings for Shoreline East travelers."

"[Greater Meriden Chamber of Commerce president and a member of the state's Transportation Strategy Board Sean Moore] says commuter rail is coming; the question is simply how soon.

The legislature has approved the estimated $300 million it will take to get the trains up and running, and Rell, who supports the idea, will decide when to bond it. [Stephen] Delpapa, [supervising transportation planner at the DOT] said [CT Governor Jodi] Rell [photo left] has mentioned ways to speed up the process, such as phasing in the construction and starting service before the three new stations are built."

About 40 people commute daily via the two buses that travel weekday mornings and afternoons, said Joseph Zajac, administrator of Meriden's Transit District. That's down from 60-70 people on three buses during the middle 1990s.The service costs $100 per month, $44 less than Amtrak, but slightly more than is estimated for the rail line.Zajac thinks there will still be a market for the bus, given that most rail commuters would either have to walk to work or take another bus from Hartford's station.

He supports the commuter railroad though, and the transportation hub, which could bring interstate bus service back to Meriden for the first time since early 2006.


Corporations and the federal government also support mass transit through pre-tax payroll deductions for commuting expenses, subsidies and other incentives. With parking at a premium in urban cores, companies such as Aetna offer monthly payments to employees who don't drive to work.


Aetna employees receive $50 per month if they don't park on Aetna's Hartford campus, where spots range from $25 to $125 per month.
(Aetna Home office photo right)

The company will move 3,600 employees from Middletown to Hartford by 2010, including Stephen T. Zerio, a former Meriden City Councilor who works at the insurance giant. Zerio said he would definitely examine the train as an option to get to Hartford. "It's got to have a lot of flexibility," he said. "I think of rail lines like Metro-North. You know that if you miss a train, there'll be another one half an hour later. Right now if you miss the bus or train, you're out of luck."


Zerio, who chaired the council's Economic Development, Housing and Zoning Committee, also likes the service's potential in Meriden."More rail creates more foot traffic," he said. "I could stop past a luncheonette on my way to work, or pick up some fresh bread on the way home. There would be more opportunities for places in Meriden to open up during rush hour traffic morning and night.


"Then there's the savings on gas." Partridge, of Wallingford, said rising gas prices and parking fees at her employer, the Yale Medical Group in New Haven, prompted her to start taking the train in late 2006. Now she's comfortable with her commute, which takes about the same amount of time as when she drove. A shuttle bus takes her to work and back from New Haven's Union Station.
(Union Station photo, right, from Bridge & Tunnel Club --more photos at site...and also here ).


"It works out for me," Partridge said, although there have been some delays on evening trains coming home. Amtrak said its New Haven to Springfield service was 75 percent on-time last year. For Metro-North, it was 97.7 percent. Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said track improvements are underway, which would increase on-time performance.


Mass transit users often gain other benefits, such as a less stressful commute. On a train, there's time to work, relax or socialize, as Partridge, Brainard and Sobral typically do."The truth is, (employees) will arrive significantly more prepared to work, as opposed to arriving completely stressed out having fought traffic the entire time," Moore said. "I hear that on a regular basis."
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