This Independence Day weekend, many Shore Line East riders were able to celebrate freedom from traffic, thanks to Gov. Rell and ConnDOT. July 4 marked the beginning of year-round weekend and holiday Shore Line East service between New Haven and Old Saybrook. This recent move stems from a successful test run of weekend service during the 2007 holiday season. According to Gov. Rell’s office, the test service provided more than 3,600 passenger rides in a seven-week period in November and December.
While the Shore Line East expansion affects service only between New Haven and Old Saybrook, a recent agreement between Amtrak and ConnDOT will also increase the number of Amtrak trains running between New Haven and New London from 4 to 6 per day. Amtrak honors Shore Line East monthly passes, but not other types of ticket.
This is welcome news for the region, and especially for residents of Southeastern Connecticut, who have often complained of the dearth of transit service between New Haven and points east. Most recently, area elected officials called for expanded transit service in an open letter. (The officials also called for widenings of I-95 and Route 11, projects TSTC opposes.)
These capacity improvements are coming as Shore Line East ridership has hit record levels, with more than 1,900 average weekday riders thus far in 2008, according to The Day. Earlier this year, Tri-State argued that increased transit ridership in Connecticut was due to greater investment from ConnDOT as well as soaring gas prices. Hopefully these further investments will help ridership continue to increase.
[…] the Southeast Connecticut state delegation (the letter was first published in The Day and recapped here and here). In July, the state and federal governments released $5 million for work on Route 11 […]
[…] Connecticut. However, the response from Connecticut’s elected officials was mixed. Shore Line East service was expanded to weekends and holidays, but increased bus funding, approved during the […]