Objectives & Scope

Funding

Connecticut has been very successful to date in securing both Federal and state funding for the NHHS Rail Program. In 2009, Connecticut was awarded $40 million in Federal funding under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to add a second track (or “double track”) along a 10.5 mile segment of the NHHS corridor between Meriden and Newington. In 2010, Connecticut was awarded another $120.9 million for double tracking the remainder of the corridor south of Hartford as well as station improvements in Wallingford, Meriden, Berlin and Hartford. In May 2011, Connecticut was awarded another $30 million for double tracking in Hartford. Additional funding will be required to complete the remainder of the improvements. Connecticut intends to aggressively pursue additional federal funding to support the full implementation of the Program. In addition, Connecticut has approved the use of up to $280 million in state bond proceeds to invest in NHHS Rail Corridor improvements. This represents a significant investment by the state in the Program and an important commitment to the future of this corridor.

Budget

The NHHS Rail Program consists of three state and federally funded phases.  The total project budget is currently estimated at $365.6 million.

These project phases are as follows:

Project Phase	Location	Cost	Federal Share	State Share	Status
Phase I	Meriden-Newington	$60 million	$40 million	$20 million	Awarded and Obligated
Phase 2	New Haven-Hartford	$263 million	$121 million	$142 million	Awarded and Obligated
Phase 3A	Hartford	$43 million	$30 million requested	$13 million	Awarded and Obligated

The NHHS Rail Service can be launched in 2016 with the funding that has already been awarded.

Connecticut intends to seek additional funding from the FRA and the Federal Transit Administration for future phases of the Program, which include the following improvements to the NHHS rail line:

• Adding the second track between north of Windsor to Springfield
• New train equipment
• Future regional service stations at North Haven, Newington, West Hartford and Enfield
• Long-term improvements to the Hartford Viaduct and the Connecticut River bridge at Windsor Locks
• Additional long-term parking at most stations