Bridges and Boats

Since the trains, rails, parking, platforms, and station are all here, the primary impediment to initiating Phase Two of the Shore Line East expansion plan concerns the bridge closings over the three movable railroad bridges between Old Saybrook and New London.

Train crossings over these bridges are regulated by agreement from multiple parties. The DEP governs bridge traffic via the Federal Water Quality Act, Amtrak owns the rails and the Connecticut Marine Trades Association represents the interests of the Connecticut recreational boating industry.

During the electrification of the northeast corridor in the mid 1990’s, the DOT reached an agreement with Amtrak, the DEP, and the CMTA to allow 44 trains per day to travel between Old Saybrook and New London on weekdays (34 Amtrak and 10 SLE). In 2003, total train crossings were reduced to 41 (39 Amtrak and 2 SLE).

Some in the Connecticut Marine Trades Association oppose increased SLE service because more trains would mean more bridge closings at the Connecticut and Niantic Rivers as well as Shaws Cove in New London. Train crossings inconvenience boaters whose boats cannot fit under the closed bridges. The CT River bridge has a closed clearance of 19’ at high tide and the Niantic River bridge has a closed clearance of 11’. No boats can fit under the Shaws Cove bridge when it is closed.

Informal surveys by the CMTA in 1996 and the Shore Line East Coalition in 2008 suggest that there are approximately 3500 boats docked or moored above all 3 movable bridges and 1500 of those are too big to pass under their respective bridges when closed. This number of course does not represent actual traffic under the bridges (some boats rarely leave their slip; other boats travel under the bridges but are moored elsewhere).

An example of actual traffic:

During prime commuting hours on a warm, sunny day at the CT River Bridge…

  • 60 boats passed under between 4:05 to 8:05 PM.
  • Only 9 of these required an open bridge to pass—all were between 4:05 and 6:35 PM.

While boating is predominantly a summertime activity with the heaviest concentration of boaters on Saturday and Sunday, commuter rail service is a year-round transportation service and there should be a balance struck between the needs of the traveling public and boaters.

Parking

A busy commuter rail station needs parking spaces. The current parking crisis at the Old Saybrook rail station is a very real example of what happens when there is not enough available parking.

New London has ample parking available to accommodate Shore Line East riders. Since a typical Shore Line East Station requires 200-250 parking spots, New London’s 1400 spaces available between the two parking garages within walking distance of Union Railroad Station means no new parking needs to be funded. And Shore Line East Service to New London will help reduce the parking crisis at the Old Saybrook (and New Haven) station.

Currently, Old Saybrook is the final stop on Shore Line East which means that travelers from Southeastern Connecticut drive to Old Saybrook to ride SLE. If Shore Line East were extended one more stop, Southeastern Connecticut SLE users would board trains in New London—where there are more than enough parking spaces already! The same scenario holds true for the New Haven parking crisis as many Southeastern Connecticut riders now travel to New Haven to catch MetroNorth.

New London’s available parking is a tremendous asset and an important reason to extend Shore Line East. The construction of a new parking garage in New Haven will cost at least $15,000 per space Building a new surface lot in Old Saybrook will cost $2,000,000, IF the land is available!

Amtrak

Currently Amtrak will accept SLE multi-ride tickets on 6 trains stopping in New London. The question is sometimes asked: Why not just use Amtrak as the commuter rail service and forget about SLE?

Amtrak is a long haul carrier throughout the region and across the country. It was not designed to accommodate commuters.

Specifically, the impediments to using Amtrak as a surrogate for SLE are – scheduling, reliability and flexibility.

Scheduling

  • Amtrak’s NorthEast Corridor schedule is based on arrival and departure times at more than 25 stations between Washington DC and Boston MA. There would be no possibility of scheduling stops at Madison or Clinton for residents who may want to spend a day at the Mystic Seaport or an evening at the Garde Arts Center in New London.
  • Also, the SLE schedule is specifically designed so that all but one SLE train has a 15 minute or less connection with MetroNorth in New Haven. This coordinated scheduling is a necessity for a commuter rail but is impossible with Amtrak’s schedule.

Reliability

  • Since Amtrak trains originate from such great distances away, the prospects of on-time arrivals and departures is compromised. A snow storm in Philadelphia should not impede your ability to get home from New Haven. A locomotive breaking down in Boston should not cause a computer consultant based in New London to miss a sales appointment in Madison. On-time arrivals with SLE (94%) and MetroNorth(97%) are substantially higher than Amtrak(79%). And when the commuter lines are late, it is typically by minutes, not hours, as can be the case with Amtrak. SLE and MetroNorth have a 6 minute grace period for on-time arrival. Amtrak considers arrivals within 10-30 minutes of schedule as on time

Flexibility

  • Amtrak is generally unable to quickly adapt to change. For example, during the Thames River Railroad bridge renovation Amtrak simply canceled service between New Haven and Providence. If extended SLE service had been in operation in New London, many passengers would have been able to get all the way to New London.
  • Amtrak’s flexibility to supply additional service for regional events such as OpSail 2000 or slightly alter arrival and departures to improve the effectiveness (i.e. to increase ridership) is negligible. Amtrak is constrained by money and rolling stock. In addition, over the next decade Amtrak’s limited resources will be concentrated on other growing rail corridors across the country such as the Portland-Seattle and the Sacramento-San Jose rail corridors

The current Amtrak/SLE strategy of only accepting pre-paid, multi-ride passes is beneficial to a very limited class of passengers. If a Yale University employee has to work late and misses the Amtrak/SLE train, they are totally out of alternatives. A monthly pass has no value to a family that wants to enjoy a Connecticut Staycation and visit Sailfest or the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival.

Amtrak is a national organization. Their priorities extend as far as their rail service does—well beyond the Connecticut border. For these reasons, Amtrak cannot be depended upon for frequent and reliable commuter rail service (nor should we expect them to provide this).

Southeastern Connecticut needs its own reliable commuter rail service. Extending Shore Line East is the answer. Amtrak is not an alternative.