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.