Hartford Line
The Hartford Line is a commuter rail service between New Haven, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, using the Amtrak-owned New Haven–Springfield Line. The project is a joint venture between the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts, with support from the federal government as well. CT Rail-branded trains provide service along the corridor, and riders can use Hartford Line tickets to travel on board most Amtrak trains along the corridor at the same prices. The service launched on June 16, 2018.
Operation
Fares and service
The Connecticut Department of Transportation provides commuter train service on the line under its new CTrail branding; these trains are currently operated by TransitAmerica Services and Alternate Concepts Inc., operating as a joint venture, under a 5-year, $45 million contract. Amtrak also operates intercity rail trains on this corridor; Amtrak fares along the corridor are equal to their CTrail equivalents, and passengers can use CTrail tickets to ride Amtrak Hartford Line trains..Tickets from New Haven to Hartford are $8 and from New Haven to Springfield $12.75, both roughly half as much as what Amtrak's fares were before Hartford Line service began in June 2018. Discounts for bulk purchases of tickets and commuter passes are also offered. CTrail tickets can be purchased at ticket vending machines at all stations and on the CTrail eTix app. Alternatively for Amtrak operated trains, local tickets at the same price as CTrail can be purchased from Amtrak’s ticket windows at New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield or online. Passengers boarding an Amtrak Hartford Line train at Windsor must pre-purchase an Amtrak ticket before boarding over the phone or online on a smart phone or mobile device to avoid an onboard surcharge. The ticket machine at Windsor Locks was installed by November 2018, with Windsor installed in 2019.
Ten round-trips on weekdays are operated under the CTrail brand, with four New Haven–Hartford round-trips, six New Haven–Springfield round-trips, and one Windsor Locks–New Haven trip. Amtrak provides an additional eight New Haven-Springfield round-trips, two of which were added to the schedule upon launch of the Hartford Line in June 2018. Amtrak’s eight round-trips include all of their local 400 series Hartford Line and Valley Flyer trains, along with their Northeast Regional through trains that terminate in Springfield. This makes for a total of eighteen round-trips between New Haven and Hartford, fourteen of which operate the full line to Springfield. On weekends and holidays, CTrail operates two New Haven–Hartford round-trips and four New Haven–Springfield round-trips; along with Amtrak's pre-existing schedule, making for a total of twelve-thirteen round-trips offered on weekends and holidays.
On September 14, 2020, Amtrak began requiring reserved tickets for Springfield-terminating Northeast Regional trains as part of a new policy requiring reservations for all Northeast Regional trips. Fares for these trips remained the same as other Hartford Line trains.
Ridership
On June 18, 2018, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy announced that the line carried 21,850 riders over opening weekend, with 10,300 on Saturday, June 16, and 11,550 on Sunday. On June 26, it was announced that 10,719 customers rode the line during the first full week of operation, June 18 to 24. Average daily ridership has exceeded initial projections, with an estimated 2,400 daily passengers on weekdays and 1,200 on weekends. The line carried its millionth passenger during the Thanksgiving holiday in November 2019.| Year | Ridership |
| 2018 | 344,320 |
| 2019 | 731,239 |
| 2020 | 279,600 |
| 2021 | 357,897 |
| 2022 | 513,283 |
| 2023 | ~658,000 |
| 2024 | >750,000 |
Connecting services
Connecting bus service is available to CT Transit regional buses at New Haven and Hartford stations and to Pioneer Valley Transit Authority buses at Springfield. Shuttle bus service is also available between Hartford station and Bradley International Airport. Although Windsor Locks station is geographically the closest Hartford Line station to the airport, Hartford station is the official connection point for rail-bus-airport transfers due to the limited facilities and low level platform at Windsor Locks.Rolling stock
In December 2017, Connecticut signed an agreement to lease 16 MBB coaches from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for three years, at a cost of $4.54 million, with options to extend the lease for up to three more years. The 16 cars were operated in four-car consists in a push-pull configuration with GP40-3H locomotives transferred over from Shore Line East. The railcars required significant repair and repainting before entering service, leading the Connecticut DOT to request $2.3 million from the state legislature in April 2018.Mafersa coaches largely replaced the MBB coaches on the line in 2022, after M8 cars replaced the Mafersa coaches on Shore Line East. The MBB coaches were completely withdrawn from service in early 2023. In August 2023, CTDOT approved a contract with Alstom for 60 single-level passenger cars, which will replace the Mafersa coaches in Hartford Line service beginning in 2026.
Current
Retired
Stations
All stations are ADA-compliant.| State | Station | Milepost | Service began | Connections / notes |
| MA | Springfield | June 16, 2018 | :,,,, PVTA, Greyhound, Peter Pan | |
| CT | ' | 2027 | ||
| CT | June 16, 2018 | : Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer, Vermonter | ||
| CT | June 16, 2018 | : Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer | ||
| CT | June 16, 2018 | : Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer, Vermonter CTtransit, Greyhound, Peter Pan, FlixBus | ||
| CT | ' | Future station | ||
| CT | ' | Future station | ||
| CT | June 16, 2018 | : Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer CTtransit | ||
| CT | June 16, 2018 | : Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer, Vermonter CTtransit, Middletown Area Transit | ||
| CT | June 16, 2018 | : Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer CTtransit | ||
| CT | ' | 2025 | ||
| CT | State Street | June 16, 2018 | : Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer : : Shore Line East CTtransit | |
| CT | New Haven Union Station | June 16, 2018 | : Acela, Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer, Vermonter : : Shore Line East CTtransit, Greyhound Lines, Peter Pan Bus Lines, FlixBus |
History
Background
During the mid-1980s, due to the high cost of operating the New Haven–Springfield Line and the competing newly-constructed expressways, Amtrak removed of track, turning the line from a double-track line to a line with a single track with passing sidings. Of the between New Haven and Springfield, of double track and of single track were left.In 1994, the Connecticut Department of Transportation conducted a feasibility study for a New Haven–Hartford service which envisaged three trips in the morning and three in the afternoon. It estimated that capital costs would be $4.4 million and that it would require an annual subsidy of $2.5 million. Ridership was projected at 1,000 per day. A revised and expanded proposal in 2001 contemplated service to Springfield and hourly service, with half-hourly service during peak periods. This would require $249 million in capital costs, both for rolling stock and to restore double tracking to the line. The service would require a yearly subsidy of $13 million but would carry 1,800–2,000 passengers daily.
Various delays initially prevented the service. One source was a lack of widespread support in the New Haven region. Although reestablishing service was briefly mentioned in the South Central Regional Council of Government's January 2001 Long Range Mobility Plan, it was not until 2003 that the commuter service provision began to be consistently listed among key transportation priorities in the annual Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Legislative Agenda.
The New Haven–Hartford–Springfield Commuter Rail Implementation Study, released in 2005 by ConnDOT, recommended half-hour peak service, with new stations at North Haven/Hamden, Newington, and Enfield. No action was taken following the study, as proposed schedules did not link well with those of the New Haven Line and ridership projections were low.