Objectives & Scope

Infrastructure Upgrades

Reliability is the key to a successful passenger rail service. To accommodate the significant increase in service and to provide the safest, most reliable service, the rail corridor, owned by Amtrak, must be substantially rebuilt.  To accommodate two tracks and to enhance safety, at-grade crossings must be improved or re-designed; stations must have high-level platforms on both sides of the tracks and an overpass connecting them; and bridges, drainage, and the signal system all must be upgraded.  This work must be constructed in stages over several years.

The following infrastructure improvements will be built as part of the currently funded Phases: 

Track

• 27 miles of additional double track on existing single track sections
• 2 miles of new passing sidings
• 5 new interlockings (so trains can change tracks)
• Signaling and control systems, including Positive Train Control
• Repair, rehabilitation and replacement of bridges and culverts 

Crossings

• Improvements at at-grade crossings  

Stations

• High-level platforms, pedestrian overpasses, parking, and other amenities at: 
  
  - Wallingford
  - Meriden
  - Berlin
  - Hartford (high-level platform only)
  
  

Equipment

• New train equipment to augment Amtrak’s fleet and build Connecticut's regional train fleet