The Central Corridor Coalition urges the initiation of passenger train service between Brattleboro, Amherst, Palmer, Storrs, Willimantic, New London, a route with existing freight tracks available to make a larger contribution to the region’s economic development.
The route serves:
- Two large state universities: U-Mass and U-Conn, whose 52,000 students account for 35% of the total New England student population.
- 11 smaller colleges like Amherst College and Connecticut College (the tracks run thr
ough both campuses) - Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino: Destination for more than 1 million visitors
- Commuters who travel between Willimantic, Norwich and New London
- Regional travelers from and to the area and nearby cities reached by existing or planned connecting trains and ferries to Long Island.
Please sign up at right for our mailing list stay in touch about further developments and opportunities to support this regional priority. We urge you to write a letter to the editor and to contact your elected representatives with your support. Thank you!
Courtesy Phil Opielowski, sevenrailroads.com
Feeding an otherwise smaller (for the coastal cities) New London with its unique (for top US rail line; Boston-Washington) on-the-dock station location, might also be more important to (true) High Speed and yes, even major freight rail plans for all of Connecticut and New England in the long run then anyone has imagined because of a superior Next Generation NECorridor concept I am developing. Cheaper, freight line based feeder lines that can be running in a few years are the way to build off of and support Amtrak and beyond as well as long, and importantly shorter haul, intermodal–This is especially the case when they can be done on presumably friendly, yet large enough, regional shortlines like you propose and I was already looking for there!
–Scott W Maits, VP -Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers
Scott, you really need an editor. That is a nearly unreadable piece of writing.