Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that an economic analysis
performed on the Governor's proposed upgrades to the New Haven Line
demonstrates that the economic benefits of replacing the commuter rail
system is more than twice the cost of the project upgrades, and will be a
major factor in being able to attract and retain businesses and grow
jobs.
The analysis determined that while the proposed upgrades
have an estimated cost of $3.9 billion, its future benefits amount to
$9.7 billion - a net gain of $5.8 billion, amounting to a benefit/cost
ratio of 2.51.
Further, the study found that on a long-term basis,
the investments will result in over $6.2 billion in long-term
cumulative business sales and output - $3.9 billion in additional gross
state product and $2.8 billion in additional wage income. The project
is expected to support 4,000 to 6,000 construction jobs during the
construction phase. For every year following the opening of the new
structure, the improved transportation efficiency and lower travel and
shipping costs will support the creation of 2,000 to 3,100 jobs over the
life of the new facility.
Also see: http://tinyurl.com/jls9btx
Environmental impact include Fleet Mix, Vehicle Miles Traveled, Congestion
As part of Governor Malloy's "Let's Go
CT!" transportation initiative, he has proposed major upgrades to
service on the New Haven Line, in order to provide more frequent and
faster service. This includes increasing the track capacity to
full-service of four tracks, as opposed to the current two to three
tracks that are in service at any given time. He's also proposed a
reconfiguration and upgrade of the Connecticut system to improve the
frequency and speed of service, including upgrades to sections of track,
the signal system, the communication system, and reconfiguration of
several stations to provide express train service on the two inner
tracks, and local train service on the two outer tracks.
The resulting upgrades will lead to:
- Doubling peak-hour service
- Increasing the number of express trains per hour between New Haven and New York City from two to at least four and possibly as many as eight express trains per hour
- Reduction of express service travel time between New Haven and New York City by an average of 15 minutes
- Increasing local service (non-express) trains from the current rate of approximately every 20 minutes during peak service, to about every four to eight minutes
"The New Haven Line has the potential to
carry thousands of additional commuters, and do so at a faster and more
frequent rates. That means we will be far more attractive to businesses
-- our economy will benefit greatly from these investments," Governor
Malloy said. "Inaction is not an option. Improving the New Haven Line
is critical to our economic success, not just because it will attract
new businesses and grow jobs, but improve quality of life. Everyone
should be able to live in Connecticut with a car-or without one."
"Over
the last several years, we have invested literally billions of dollars
in the New Haven Line and now have an excellent system on which to
build," Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner James P.
Redeker said. "Our customers have given us high marks for these
investments, especially on the state-of-the-art M-8 rail cars. Now is
not the time to pull back. Now is the time to maintain and enhance
these investments."
The New Haven Line is the busiest rail line in
the country, with about 125,000 daily rider trips and about 39 million
passengers per year.
State of Connecticut http://portal.ct.gov
Press Release dated November 20, 2015
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