Phase One of Rail Project Will Start in Berlin

When Gov. Dannel Malloy gave his go-ahead and then asked for a huge chunk of unused federal money from Florida, the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Rail Project really came to life.

The project will be a broad partnership between the state, Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration as well as the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.

The goal of the project is to give those passengers working in or living near New Haven, Hartford and Springfield a high speed train that will be equal in speed and quality to any in the country.

The hope is that the project will be completed in its entirety by 2015. That would mean construction could start in Berlin in late 2012 or early 2013. A section from Meriden to Newington, passing through Berlin, has been designated as Phase One.

"It kind of fits in perfectly with the renovations and upgrades we are making at the Berlin Railroad Station," Berlin Economic Director Jim Mahoney said. "We are making improvements but this project will take it one step further. For example, the project calls for almost 250 parking places at the railroad station. That is a lot more than we had planned."

Mark Alexander, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation echoed Mahoney sentiments about the Berlin stations and other stations like Meriden Amtrak.

"We are going to compliment the efforts of the Town of Berlin to make their railroad stop much improved from what it is now," Alexander said. "We have talked about high level platforms and up and over walkways which would be a significant improvement."

Phase One of the project will be done on a stretch from Meriden to Newington. In spots where there is one line, a second track will be added. Berlin took out its second track in the recent past. That second track will be put back in. There is plenty of room for the track and the underpass bridge over Farmington Ave. can handle two tracks, as well.

Unlike the shoreline rail route, this route will not be electrified according to Alexander.

"We are not planning on electrifying the route," he said. "It is not in the design plans at the present time and hasn't been looked at as a future project."

The new service would connect the existing Metro-North commuter rail and the Amtrak Acela high speed rail service to the New Haven Line to New York and on to the Northeast corridor to New London and Boston.

"There are a lot of things swirling around this project," Mahoney said. "There has been a lot of action and there will be more action depending on the funding for the project."

Alexander said that the project will have little impact on any of the homeowners who live near the rails.

"We may need to do some widening near and on bridges but we have no plan to increase the setbacks or intrude on homeowners who live near the lines," Alexander said. "If we're working on a bridge, there may be some traffic delays but since there is room for a second track in most of phase one, we expect the impact on residents to be very minimal."

Mahoney said the project, along with other projects the town is working on, could revive a Farmington Avenue where residents see more foot traffic and more activities around the depot.

"We think that the ridership of the trains will be up and it will boost activity in the commerce in that area," Mahoney said. "This goes also with our streetscape project and the beautification of Farmington Ave. We are always looking for more redevelopment in the area of the train station and Farmington Ave."

For more information on the project, go to www.nhhsrail.com.