Connecticut Looks At Upgrading Waterbury Rail Service

Seen in the Courant:

Metro-North has gradually beefed up service on the [Bridgeport-Waterbury], but Naugatuck Valley commuters have insisted that ridership would rocket if the schedule were expanded. There’s no simple way to add trains, the railroad says, because the relatively antiquated line is already maxxed out at morning and afternoon rush hours. Only one train at a time can operate because there are no signals and only a single set of tracks with nowhere for oncoming trains to pass. Also, the branch can accommodate only diesel service, so Metro-North can’t pull trains from its heavily traveled and electrified New Haven-to- Manhattan main line.

Given the national economic downturn, some of the big-ticket improvements — adding overhead catenaries for electric service, or laying down a second set of tracks — seem very improbable in the near future, Senate Pro Tem Donald DeFronzo, D- New Britain, said Wednesday.[…]

Despite the deep recession, the state this year, or in 2010, might be willing to fast-track some less costly alternatives, such as a short rail siding that would enable northbound and southbound trains to operate simultaneously, DeFronzo said.

I realize that I just posted a rant about irresponsible state spending…but trains do have a special place in my heart.  Also, bolstering commuter rail capabilities does potentially address the continuing congestion on Connecticut’s I-95 corridor.   Why, if bus service at the various commuter rail stations were improved and de-stigmatized in the minds of Nutmeggers, improvements to commuter rail might do something about traffic congestion off I-95 too.