Objectives & Scope

An Expanded Regional Intermodal Network

Trains serving Vermont (and eventually Montreal), and trains operating to and from Boston on the Inland Route via Springfield, must travel north of New Haven on the NHHS rail corridor.  As a result, this rail line serves as the passenger rail gateway to New England.  Implementation of the NHHS Rail project is a necessary pre-condition for plans by both Vermont and Massachusetts to substantially increase passenger rail service in New England.

NHHS rail service will consist of both expanded Amtrak service and new regional trains operated by Connecticut DOT.  In all, some 25 daily trains in each direction are planned by 2030.  In addition, a new shuttle bus connection is planned at the Windsor Locks station to provide direct service to Bradley International Airport.  Trains will also operate faster than under current schedules.  For example, travel between Hartford and New York Penn Station currently takes about two hours and 45 minutes.  In the future, it will take less than two hours and ten minutes.