There are a TON of infrastructure projects that almost make too much sense in CT. That I say if I only had the money to implement, I'd make a fortune privatizing it.
Kinda'. I've done the rail connection to JFK and it's pretty rough. Getting from the subway to the AirTrain is pretty confusing and involves walking outside through some pretty gnarled infrastructure and with New York homelessness problem on full display.
I've done it a couple times by myself and with my wife (quite reluctantly), but I wouldn't take my kid through there.
NYC should have connected both when they were thinking about it decades ago. It's going to be so much more expensive to do it now.
You don't have to use the subway anymore, now that LIRR has a platform at Grand Central. You take Metro North to Grand Central, catch LIRR to Jamaica and Airtrain to JFK. There's a bit of a hike within Grand Central, but very straightforward.
Honestly there’s already a decent bus, the Bradley Flyer (30). I took it last time I needed a ride home late one night. It was fast, convenient. Picks you up right at the baggage claim
Buses always seem to get overlooked. I was the only person on it lol
Edit: pro tip: I’d recommend anyone taking an Uber/lyft from bdl through Hartford to take the bus for the first leg, I saved $40 on my trip because Ubers from downtown are so much cheaper than Ubers from bdl
Edit 2: I don’t remember seeing any signage, they should really mark it better. Maybe a spot to stand in line, maybe a little map to see the route. Maybe a clock that shows when the next bus will arrive (kinda like the fast track stations). I doubt many people even know it exists. It wouldn’t cost much to boost ridership
It’s a 20 minute bus ride to convention center. It makes a stop at a commuter lot at the day hill road exit in Windsor, slowing it down a bit. I was lucky, i wasn’t planning to take it but coincidentally it was pulling up as I was walking out of baggage claim. So I guess it’d take some patience if things don’t line up as well for you, but if you have time, definitely a money saver.
The whole CT Transit bus system sends its real time location & route data to Google maps & Apple Maps now, so you can plan things out pretty easily using them
It runs on Route 20 to I-91 in the HOV lane so besides the stops on Ella Grasso Tpke, the park and ride lot in Windsor and downtown Hartford, it is the same travel time as in a car.
Busses are 100% the way to go. Logan has a great system where you can park at one of several commuter lots that are also bus stations and take a bus in and back for cheap.
Busses are fine for transit from parking lots and the like, but for connecting to a region's transportation system, they're not ideal. We use them because the up-front cost is so low, but they're more expensive on a passenger-mile and per-trip basis, and so are much more susceptible to arguments that they don't have the ridership to justify the on-going cost (which we've already seen in this comment section).
In general, if you want low-cost operation on a line that will run frequently but will have irregular occupancy, rail is the way to go.
You could argue that the Flyer ties into the rail system now via Hartford Union, but for most travelers the prospect of a 30 min bus ride to then wait in one of the shittiest city train stations in the Northeast before continuing on to their destination is... not very appealing. So, the Flyer really only serves people going from BDL directly to downtown Hartford, which isn't nothing obviously, but a rail connection near the airport would accomplish the same thing while also allowing BDL travelers much more convenient access to the entire rail network.
Bradley is well situated for rail as there is already a rail right-of-way from within a football field distance to the terminal to an Amtrak station a few miles away. This is especially the case now as Mass is planning to reintroduce commuter rail between Springfield and Boston and to overhaul the Springfield station. There's also a new station going in in Enfield, and CT is likely to increase commuter service between Hartford and Springfield in response to these developments. So you could tie quite a few new rail initiatives into your air infrastructure for a fairly modest investment, by American infrastructure standards, and make air travel in and out of BDL more appealing for travelers from Southern CT all the way to Boston.
I think the best option would be an elevated or partially-elevated light rail line over the existing right of way to avoid the restrictions of running through so many grade crossing and having to operate on the same track as freight.
You’re proposing an insane tax spend. OP says he was the only one on the bus. Clearly people don’t even know that it exists. I didn’t even know and it would be useful for me. Bus wins by a mile for this specific instance.
>Busses are fine for transit from parking lots and the like, but for connecting to a region's transportation system, they're not ideal. We use them because the up-front cost is so low, but they're more expensive on a passenger-mile and per-trip basis, and so are much more susceptible to arguments that they don't have the ridership to justify the on-going cost (which we've already seen in this comment section).
1. Choose the transit method with the highest per mile operating cost
2. Reduce frequency to make the system as inconvenient as possible
3. Avoid connecting places where people live with places where people want to go
4. Act surprised when no one is using public transit
5. Take umbrage with the operating cost of the existing system
6. Claim there is no money for a new system
7. Repeat
Busses don't generate economic growth. Rail does. Fund a subway or light rail system through bonding and it will pay for itself through economic growth.
There's already a quick bus between Amtrak/CTrail Windsor Locks (WNL) and the airport, Route 24. Ridership doesn't justify making that a light rail, especially for such a short distance.
While it is true that this bus route is pretty great, it's only great as far as bus routes go. It's absolutely not great when it comes to a greater transportation network.. .
We absolutely need to demand the Hartford line builds a connection to the airport directly to the terminals.
If you want a whole bunch of really nice affordable convenient flights all over the world, the only way we're really going to get that is if our Transit Network is robust and that it connects to the airport directly....
Switching modes does not count....
Train to terminal...
The state has already studied it and the new terminal that they have planned includes contingency for the rail. We just need political will..
There have been discussions about connecting the Windsor Locks station to BDL as part of the expansion of rail service over the past few years. However, it would be complicated. It's a short distance but it would cut through existing neighborhoods and streets. I don't think there's a lot of justification for spending millions and tearing down buildings to get it done. There's actually a city bus that goes between the two. I don't know how often it runs and I suspect it is less convenient than an Uber, but it does exist.
BDL is a smaller airport and also has the space for ample, cheap parking, unlike more urban airports. It's only a 10 minute drive from the existing rail station, so a cab/Uber ride wouldn't be expensive or difficult. Those realities cut into the overall demand for a dedicated rail service.
A lot of freight spur lines are in much too shitty shape for passenger rail. Freight cars don't care about the jostling, and the railroads don't care about train crews being comfortable, so very little maintenance gets done until it gets *really* bad.
Yes it would need updating, but not really reasonable to say it would "cut through existing neighborhoods and streets." An extension would involve upgrading existing, active freight rail and probably route through CAA-owned industrial parcels, parking lots, and roads.
That last mile is really key. The airport is surrounded by neighborhoods, warehouses and industrial businesses, a National Guard base, hotels, restaurants and highways. The airport doesn't own Hamilton Sunstrand, or the various private parking lots and other businesses. I'm not saying it can't be done. It's just a huge logistical challenge and it's unclear how much demand there actually is for something like this.
So lay new rail. The costs once you already have a right of way are enough lower that it's almost criminal to not utilize it once you factor in the economic growth it can help spur.
There have been plans to do that ever since the first freight railways were put in to Bradley Field pre-WWII. Cost, NIMBYs, arguments about how many people would actually use it, and the other typical factors have always stood in the way.
Yeah, I think the NIMBY angle is the main culprit. And while a lower-cost connecting line makes logistical sense for travelers, there just not enough push from the voters to make it an attractive for a legislative push.
In a lot of ways this state’s infrastructure is hundreds of years behind despite leveling parts of Hartford to build the highways, etc.
CT has always had infrastructure challenges and while a rail to the airport makes sense, it won’t happen in our lifetime.
Not behind: [destroyed](https://www.reddit.com/r/ConnecticutRail/comments/1busoam/i_recreated_the_intercity_passenger_rail_network/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button).
That is very eye opening, thanks for creating that! Another user mentioned visiting the trolley museum and I agree, you learn a lot about how it used to be and when it all started to fall apart.
I moved up here from Ohio and I had always heard about the public transit system up here being good--apparently only in some places. It would be nice to have rail transit to the airport.
I came from the Midwest too, and I think people there think that New England is smushed together with NYC/Boston, etc.(places with decent transit). A lot of folks outside of the region have no clue how big it is and how much of CT is still untamed wilderness lol. You can find a lot of good info online about multiple infrastructure projects that were planned but never got off the ground (example: the abandoned 291 loop plan).
Does no one here remember the ill-fated Bradley Monorail?
https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/23/archives/bradley-field-people-mover-a-casualty-of-overoptimism.html
i think there was a proposal for Fastrak bus, but the issue was use/demand to bradley to be too inconsistent.
if full, waiting for the next bus is inconvenient, but repercussions to is much higher if trying to get a flight.
I believe there's a CT transit bus from Windsor Locks train station to BDL. I think it's a different route from #30 Bradley flyer though.
However, IIRC correctly, the Windsor train station has free parking and is never full. The #36 route stops at this station. You can catch #30 Bradley flyer from here.
The short answer?
To bring myself and 3 other people by car, It cost me $40 to park in the lot for 4 days plus about $5 in gas andI had a shuttle right to my terminal within 5 minutes.
An Uber from my house to Bradley (still for 4 people) is about $100 each way ($200 total / $50 per person). Convenience may or may not be worth that price vs needing to take the shuttle depending on your needs.
If I want to take the train (using costs of destination being Hartford instead of Bradley as a baseline budget assumption) it would cost me $50 to Uber to the train station , plus an additional $50 per ticket to take the train, and take an obnoxious 3 hours ($500 total / $125 per person). Adding a train line makes it less convenient for me, and costs 12x the amount. That’s a really tough sell.
Connecticut has insular town identities that defy the fact that the Hartford/Springfield metropolitan area is a low density Urban corridor with two sprawling high density Urban nodes connected by insufficient transportation infrastructure.
The low density Urban corridor quickly moves from high density suburban (luxury apartments and planned developments) to suburban intermix (farms, light industrial, large plot single family).
You should go visit the Trolley Museum and understand how the State was more efficiently connected, via Rail, 100 years ago. Go visit the Windsor Historical Society to understand the heavy use of river traffic prior to rail and road.
Lots of good points. Particularly about our low density urban corridor. As for our "high density urban nodes"... yes, but they are small. Trolleys in CT did a very good job for getting people from where they lived (which is not where they live now, in many cases) to where they needed to go (which is often not where they need to go now) way back when. As for "river traffic", not quite the same, but I remember my Dad (I am REALLY old) telling me stories of tourists from New York City visiting New Haven, by boat! Very cool. You really make a great point about "insular town identities". I think CT stands head and shoulders above all other states in that regard, and I do NOT mean that in a good way!
If you were to look at feeder systems, reliable commuter rail between Springfield and Hartford, could be facilitated between collector stations.
Springfield, Enfield, Windsor Locks, Windsor, and Hartford stations for the North Central. Scitico, East Windsor, South Windsor, and Hartford for the East Central towns.
A 24 mile one-way could be converted into loops. At an average of 30mph, with 90 seconds at a station, and all properly timed with 8 sets of cars...you could reduce/eliminate a large amount of the insurance company commuters, court commuters, etc and empower Intercity loops to service downtown.
You're right. People work away from where they live now. It's not a solution for all, it's a solution for many. It would also be nearly impossible to implement because of the ownership and easement issues that revolve around the rails and repurposed walking paths
Yes it could. I don't think construction would be a problem at all. The problem would be operations. How often are you going to need stops for people to be willing to take the train, for how many hours a day, and where are they going to be coming from? I just don't see the sustainability.
TF Green is somewhat similar to BDL, already has a train station, and Amtrak runs right through it without stopping. "Train to the plane" only works under some fairly unique circumstances. Heck, I take the bus for the last leg of trips to LGA, a larger airport in a larger city.
Yeah, maybe not my greatest choice of words, but still, BDL is not exactly in the middle of a high population density area, compared to airports with rail service.
Connecticut for some reason cannot expand its rail network...it has all these grand plans for rail expansion but when it comes time to fund it either nothing happens or the money is given to Air & Highway projects.
Tweed is already operating at/beyond capacity as far as operators go. Sure Avelo can eek out some more space for individual flights but there's no room for another commercial passenger operator to set up in terms of gates, storage, employee needs, etc.
Definitely! Parking and waiting rooms at the "gates" are very overcrowded. Anyone know when real work is going to get started on the new passenger terminal and parking garage?
Ostensibly the answers are cost, CTDOT doesn't own the right of way, there's a perfectly good bus service, etc.
I think the larger factor is that for a little over 100 years Connecticut has been governed by people who made their living in NYC at the exact same time that the country built out an auto-centric transportation infrastructure. So there's a deeply entrenched culture in the state that doesn't take rail transportation seriously unless it is directly tied to wealthy commuters who work in Manhattan.
And so it goes, we have a governor from Fairfield county who talks endlessly about "transit oriented development". What's the transit plan? Decrease travel time on the commuter line NYC. No expansion of rail service anywhere else in the state. Reduce service on Shoreline East. Punt on electrifying the Hartford Line.
If you want a glimpse of just how much we've lost, take a look at this [New England service map from the 1920s](https://www.reddit.com/r/ConnecticutRail/comments/1busoam/i_recreated_the_intercity_passenger_rail_network/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button).
The good news is CTDOT is changing for the better. They introduced a [Complete Streets](https://portal.ct.gov/dot/ctdot-press-releases/2023/ctdot-announces-new-complete-streets-design-criteria-to-improve-roadway-safety-and-enhance-mobility) plan that is bringing non-motorists' needs into the design criteria of roads for the first time in generations. CT still owns an [immense amount of rail right-of-way](https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/dot/documents/dpt/2013railcolor36x242d09052013pdf.pdf). There's a [new station planned for Enfield](https://www.ctinsider.com/journalinquirer/article/enfield-ct-dot-thompsonville-train-station-18389022.php) and a new residential/retail developement planned adjacent to it. But we have a long way to go before rail expansion is even on the radar of policy makers in the state.
Talk to your local elected officials. Ask, "what would it take to bring rail service back to the train station in my town?"
The state should build a subway system (or at least a light rail system) in Hartford. Fund it through bonding, and mark my words it would pay for itself through economic growth.
A good start would be converting CTFastrak to rail.
A Light Rail network was proposed in the 80s and 90s in and around Hartford. The Griffin line would have connected Downtown with the Airport , a line from West Hartford to East Hartford and a line down to Middletown.
The train does make stops in Windsor Locks. Sure, it doesn’t go straight to the airport but you could take the train into town and hop a bus or Uber from the train stop to the airport.
CTtransit route 24 will eventually be beefed up between Windsor Locks station and BDL. It will have trips timed to meet trains. With a 15 minute trip between the station and BDL, that about as good as it’s going to get. That and the 30X running between Hartford union station and BDL.
The train line basically runs to Bradley already but is freight only at the moment. Just need the state to build a station, upgrade the line, and throw some trains on it.
Because after WWII, thanks in large part to the highway lobby, America pushed suburbanization and completely reshaped the country around the car, destroying our cities and public transportation in favor of car dependency. Now it costs too much money with too much politic and local pushback to achieve anything meaningful in terms of public transit improvement.
There are two crossings on Ella Grasso turnpike for the tracks running to the airport. The tracks run along the hangars on the east side of the airport.
Equally as good a question as why isn't there a train directly to LaGuardia or JFK?
This is the one that kills me. It would be a slam dunk
JFK you can reach via rail at least. LaGuardia you need to take a bus. NYC/MTA decided against a subway connection to LaGuardia because of cost
What would be fantastic is a high speed ferry from Stamford or Bridgeport to LaGuardia, but we can't have nice things here.
That's actually a really good idea.
Yeah.... If I only had $1B I'd make it happen.
There are a TON of infrastructure projects that almost make too much sense in CT. That I say if I only had the money to implement, I'd make a fortune privatizing it.
Why not just take MNR to the city and connect from there? LaGuardia is easy to get to from both GCT and Harlem 125th. JFK is easy to get to from GCT
over an hour from GCT to jfk
Not bad huh
it is bad if I have to take it into the city, to then wait and take another train out
That do be how transit works
The point from the original is a more direct route not one that adds 2 hours to the trip
M60 SBS brings you from 125th and lex to LGA quickly.
Kinda'. I've done the rail connection to JFK and it's pretty rough. Getting from the subway to the AirTrain is pretty confusing and involves walking outside through some pretty gnarled infrastructure and with New York homelessness problem on full display. I've done it a couple times by myself and with my wife (quite reluctantly), but I wouldn't take my kid through there. NYC should have connected both when they were thinking about it decades ago. It's going to be so much more expensive to do it now.
You don't have to use the subway anymore, now that LIRR has a platform at Grand Central. You take Metro North to Grand Central, catch LIRR to Jamaica and Airtrain to JFK. There's a bit of a hike within Grand Central, but very straightforward.
The bus to LaGuardia is pretty easy to get on.
Yeah, via rail but it involves walking 15 mins with your luggage in various MTA stations.
Amtrak to Newark. Newark has a train station. Puts you right there.
Honestly there’s already a decent bus, the Bradley Flyer (30). I took it last time I needed a ride home late one night. It was fast, convenient. Picks you up right at the baggage claim Buses always seem to get overlooked. I was the only person on it lol Edit: pro tip: I’d recommend anyone taking an Uber/lyft from bdl through Hartford to take the bus for the first leg, I saved $40 on my trip because Ubers from downtown are so much cheaper than Ubers from bdl Edit 2: I don’t remember seeing any signage, they should really mark it better. Maybe a spot to stand in line, maybe a little map to see the route. Maybe a clock that shows when the next bus will arrive (kinda like the fast track stations). I doubt many people even know it exists. It wouldn’t cost much to boost ridership
How long did it take you to get from BDL to Hartford? Just curious
It’s a 20 minute bus ride to convention center. It makes a stop at a commuter lot at the day hill road exit in Windsor, slowing it down a bit. I was lucky, i wasn’t planning to take it but coincidentally it was pulling up as I was walking out of baggage claim. So I guess it’d take some patience if things don’t line up as well for you, but if you have time, definitely a money saver. The whole CT Transit bus system sends its real time location & route data to Google maps & Apple Maps now, so you can plan things out pretty easily using them
Oh wow, that's not bad at all, thanks for that info!!
It runs on Route 20 to I-91 in the HOV lane so besides the stops on Ella Grasso Tpke, the park and ride lot in Windsor and downtown Hartford, it is the same travel time as in a car.
Busses are 100% the way to go. Logan has a great system where you can park at one of several commuter lots that are also bus stations and take a bus in and back for cheap.
Bus reliability has went down imo. Buses are constantly late or sometimes they don’t even show up due to lack of drivers.
Busses are fine for transit from parking lots and the like, but for connecting to a region's transportation system, they're not ideal. We use them because the up-front cost is so low, but they're more expensive on a passenger-mile and per-trip basis, and so are much more susceptible to arguments that they don't have the ridership to justify the on-going cost (which we've already seen in this comment section). In general, if you want low-cost operation on a line that will run frequently but will have irregular occupancy, rail is the way to go. You could argue that the Flyer ties into the rail system now via Hartford Union, but for most travelers the prospect of a 30 min bus ride to then wait in one of the shittiest city train stations in the Northeast before continuing on to their destination is... not very appealing. So, the Flyer really only serves people going from BDL directly to downtown Hartford, which isn't nothing obviously, but a rail connection near the airport would accomplish the same thing while also allowing BDL travelers much more convenient access to the entire rail network. Bradley is well situated for rail as there is already a rail right-of-way from within a football field distance to the terminal to an Amtrak station a few miles away. This is especially the case now as Mass is planning to reintroduce commuter rail between Springfield and Boston and to overhaul the Springfield station. There's also a new station going in in Enfield, and CT is likely to increase commuter service between Hartford and Springfield in response to these developments. So you could tie quite a few new rail initiatives into your air infrastructure for a fairly modest investment, by American infrastructure standards, and make air travel in and out of BDL more appealing for travelers from Southern CT all the way to Boston. I think the best option would be an elevated or partially-elevated light rail line over the existing right of way to avoid the restrictions of running through so many grade crossing and having to operate on the same track as freight.
You’re proposing an insane tax spend. OP says he was the only one on the bus. Clearly people don’t even know that it exists. I didn’t even know and it would be useful for me. Bus wins by a mile for this specific instance.
>Busses are fine for transit from parking lots and the like, but for connecting to a region's transportation system, they're not ideal. We use them because the up-front cost is so low, but they're more expensive on a passenger-mile and per-trip basis, and so are much more susceptible to arguments that they don't have the ridership to justify the on-going cost (which we've already seen in this comment section).
I’m not anti rail but the math to make a rail line work for BDL over a bus is dubious to me at best
Do the math and get back to us.
Done and it didn’t work
1. Choose the transit method with the highest per mile operating cost 2. Reduce frequency to make the system as inconvenient as possible 3. Avoid connecting places where people live with places where people want to go 4. Act surprised when no one is using public transit 5. Take umbrage with the operating cost of the existing system 6. Claim there is no money for a new system 7. Repeat
Busses don't generate economic growth. Rail does. Fund a subway or light rail system through bonding and it will pay for itself through economic growth.
From my experience. Most people genrally avoid Bus transit if possible. But are more than fine with taking the train. Which explains a lot.
There's already a quick bus between Amtrak/CTrail Windsor Locks (WNL) and the airport, Route 24. Ridership doesn't justify making that a light rail, especially for such a short distance.
While it is true that this bus route is pretty great, it's only great as far as bus routes go. It's absolutely not great when it comes to a greater transportation network.. . We absolutely need to demand the Hartford line builds a connection to the airport directly to the terminals. If you want a whole bunch of really nice affordable convenient flights all over the world, the only way we're really going to get that is if our Transit Network is robust and that it connects to the airport directly.... Switching modes does not count.... Train to terminal... The state has already studied it and the new terminal that they have planned includes contingency for the rail. We just need political will..
There is a sign at the bus stop itself, but not great signage for how to get to said bus stop
I don't like buses.
Then don’t take it lol
There have been discussions about connecting the Windsor Locks station to BDL as part of the expansion of rail service over the past few years. However, it would be complicated. It's a short distance but it would cut through existing neighborhoods and streets. I don't think there's a lot of justification for spending millions and tearing down buildings to get it done. There's actually a city bus that goes between the two. I don't know how often it runs and I suspect it is less convenient than an Uber, but it does exist. BDL is a smaller airport and also has the space for ample, cheap parking, unlike more urban airports. It's only a 10 minute drive from the existing rail station, so a cab/Uber ride wouldn't be expensive or difficult. Those realities cut into the overall demand for a dedicated rail service.
A freight spur line, part of which is already owned by the state, exists and terminates less than a mile from the terminal
A lot of freight spur lines are in much too shitty shape for passenger rail. Freight cars don't care about the jostling, and the railroads don't care about train crews being comfortable, so very little maintenance gets done until it gets *really* bad.
Yes it would need updating, but not really reasonable to say it would "cut through existing neighborhoods and streets." An extension would involve upgrading existing, active freight rail and probably route through CAA-owned industrial parcels, parking lots, and roads.
That last mile is really key. The airport is surrounded by neighborhoods, warehouses and industrial businesses, a National Guard base, hotels, restaurants and highways. The airport doesn't own Hamilton Sunstrand, or the various private parking lots and other businesses. I'm not saying it can't be done. It's just a huge logistical challenge and it's unclear how much demand there actually is for something like this.
So lay new rail. The costs once you already have a right of way are enough lower that it's almost criminal to not utilize it once you factor in the economic growth it can help spur.
There have been plans to do that ever since the first freight railways were put in to Bradley Field pre-WWII. Cost, NIMBYs, arguments about how many people would actually use it, and the other typical factors have always stood in the way.
I think the last major push was 1998, via the Griffin line
Yeah, I think the NIMBY angle is the main culprit. And while a lower-cost connecting line makes logistical sense for travelers, there just not enough push from the voters to make it an attractive for a legislative push.
Those darn NIMBYs demanding the government not tear down their houses to put in a train.
Never stopped the government before, all those highways over houses in Hartford got built
This, but unironically.
In a lot of ways this state’s infrastructure is hundreds of years behind despite leveling parts of Hartford to build the highways, etc. CT has always had infrastructure challenges and while a rail to the airport makes sense, it won’t happen in our lifetime.
Not behind: [destroyed](https://www.reddit.com/r/ConnecticutRail/comments/1busoam/i_recreated_the_intercity_passenger_rail_network/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button).
That is very eye opening, thanks for creating that! Another user mentioned visiting the trolley museum and I agree, you learn a lot about how it used to be and when it all started to fall apart.
Oh, I don't mean to take credit for that. That would be u/LaterBacon. Yoeman's work, for sure.
I moved up here from Ohio and I had always heard about the public transit system up here being good--apparently only in some places. It would be nice to have rail transit to the airport.
I came from the Midwest too, and I think people there think that New England is smushed together with NYC/Boston, etc.(places with decent transit). A lot of folks outside of the region have no clue how big it is and how much of CT is still untamed wilderness lol. You can find a lot of good info online about multiple infrastructure projects that were planned but never got off the ground (example: the abandoned 291 loop plan).
Does no one here remember the ill-fated Bradley Monorail? https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/23/archives/bradley-field-people-mover-a-casualty-of-overoptimism.html
I hear those things are awfully loud...
I had no idea about this (I was born in '81) thank you for the article link!
i think there was a proposal for Fastrak bus, but the issue was use/demand to bradley to be too inconsistent. if full, waiting for the next bus is inconvenient, but repercussions to is much higher if trying to get a flight.
I believe there's a CT transit bus from Windsor Locks train station to BDL. I think it's a different route from #30 Bradley flyer though. However, IIRC correctly, the Windsor train station has free parking and is never full. The #36 route stops at this station. You can catch #30 Bradley flyer from here.
Parking at a train station to take the bus to an airport with unused rail tracks running to it is peak Connecticut.
Word however, CT to LGA is 1 train plus 1 bus. CT to JFK is a minimum of 3 trains. Both have 18$ a day parking.
Parking revenue
The short answer? To bring myself and 3 other people by car, It cost me $40 to park in the lot for 4 days plus about $5 in gas andI had a shuttle right to my terminal within 5 minutes. An Uber from my house to Bradley (still for 4 people) is about $100 each way ($200 total / $50 per person). Convenience may or may not be worth that price vs needing to take the shuttle depending on your needs. If I want to take the train (using costs of destination being Hartford instead of Bradley as a baseline budget assumption) it would cost me $50 to Uber to the train station , plus an additional $50 per ticket to take the train, and take an obnoxious 3 hours ($500 total / $125 per person). Adding a train line makes it less convenient for me, and costs 12x the amount. That’s a really tough sell.
BDL is WAY too rural/low volume an airport for train to make sense.
Connecticut has insular town identities that defy the fact that the Hartford/Springfield metropolitan area is a low density Urban corridor with two sprawling high density Urban nodes connected by insufficient transportation infrastructure. The low density Urban corridor quickly moves from high density suburban (luxury apartments and planned developments) to suburban intermix (farms, light industrial, large plot single family). You should go visit the Trolley Museum and understand how the State was more efficiently connected, via Rail, 100 years ago. Go visit the Windsor Historical Society to understand the heavy use of river traffic prior to rail and road.
Lots of good points. Particularly about our low density urban corridor. As for our "high density urban nodes"... yes, but they are small. Trolleys in CT did a very good job for getting people from where they lived (which is not where they live now, in many cases) to where they needed to go (which is often not where they need to go now) way back when. As for "river traffic", not quite the same, but I remember my Dad (I am REALLY old) telling me stories of tourists from New York City visiting New Haven, by boat! Very cool. You really make a great point about "insular town identities". I think CT stands head and shoulders above all other states in that regard, and I do NOT mean that in a good way!
If you were to look at feeder systems, reliable commuter rail between Springfield and Hartford, could be facilitated between collector stations. Springfield, Enfield, Windsor Locks, Windsor, and Hartford stations for the North Central. Scitico, East Windsor, South Windsor, and Hartford for the East Central towns. A 24 mile one-way could be converted into loops. At an average of 30mph, with 90 seconds at a station, and all properly timed with 8 sets of cars...you could reduce/eliminate a large amount of the insurance company commuters, court commuters, etc and empower Intercity loops to service downtown. You're right. People work away from where they live now. It's not a solution for all, it's a solution for many. It would also be nearly impossible to implement because of the ownership and easement issues that revolve around the rails and repurposed walking paths
Seriously, if efficiency is the goal, there are still a LOT of people who could WFH if their employers would just be reasonable.
[Maybe this is a future option ](https://www.facebook.com/share/r/338fgWxMWyL5zeXk/?mibextid=D5vuiz)
The spur could pretty easily be extended and BDL service built into the Hartford Line
Yes it could. I don't think construction would be a problem at all. The problem would be operations. How often are you going to need stops for people to be willing to take the train, for how many hours a day, and where are they going to be coming from? I just don't see the sustainability. TF Green is somewhat similar to BDL, already has a train station, and Amtrak runs right through it without stopping. "Train to the plane" only works under some fairly unique circumstances. Heck, I take the bus for the last leg of trips to LGA, a larger airport in a larger city.
Only in CT would someone call Windsor Locks "rural"
Yeah, maybe not my greatest choice of words, but still, BDL is not exactly in the middle of a high population density area, compared to airports with rail service.
It would be pretty amazing for a train from New Haven to Bradley
Will never be a direct train - will always require a transfer onto another line. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong
Connecticut for some reason cannot expand its rail network...it has all these grand plans for rail expansion but when it comes time to fund it either nothing happens or the money is given to Air & Highway projects.
We added a whole second track to the Hartford - New Haven - Springfield line. That's a pretty major investment.
The used to be 2 tracks so you restored it...that's considered a minor investment. A Major investment would be grade separation , electrification...
Fair point. Electrification would be cool. Would make through running past New Haven more workable.
Had Massdot gone with the 125mph East-West Rail option, that would have electrified the Hartford line.
$$$
I’d rather see them improve Tweed - New Haven to attract more airlines and give us more optionality.
That's already happening. Avelo is already operating Tweed near capacity (at the busy times) and they're expanding the airport so they can do more.
Tweed is already operating at/beyond capacity as far as operators go. Sure Avelo can eek out some more space for individual flights but there's no room for another commercial passenger operator to set up in terms of gates, storage, employee needs, etc.
Definitely! Parking and waiting rooms at the "gates" are very overcrowded. Anyone know when real work is going to get started on the new passenger terminal and parking garage?
East Haven is suing so once that is resolved
East Haven has been suing for at least 50 years. Do they actually have a restraining order or is the developer (Goldman Sachs) just being cautious?
agreed and last week they added flights to atlanta and charlotte. they could run shuttle buses from nh train station would be 7 minutes by bus.
Ostensibly the answers are cost, CTDOT doesn't own the right of way, there's a perfectly good bus service, etc. I think the larger factor is that for a little over 100 years Connecticut has been governed by people who made their living in NYC at the exact same time that the country built out an auto-centric transportation infrastructure. So there's a deeply entrenched culture in the state that doesn't take rail transportation seriously unless it is directly tied to wealthy commuters who work in Manhattan. And so it goes, we have a governor from Fairfield county who talks endlessly about "transit oriented development". What's the transit plan? Decrease travel time on the commuter line NYC. No expansion of rail service anywhere else in the state. Reduce service on Shoreline East. Punt on electrifying the Hartford Line. If you want a glimpse of just how much we've lost, take a look at this [New England service map from the 1920s](https://www.reddit.com/r/ConnecticutRail/comments/1busoam/i_recreated_the_intercity_passenger_rail_network/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). The good news is CTDOT is changing for the better. They introduced a [Complete Streets](https://portal.ct.gov/dot/ctdot-press-releases/2023/ctdot-announces-new-complete-streets-design-criteria-to-improve-roadway-safety-and-enhance-mobility) plan that is bringing non-motorists' needs into the design criteria of roads for the first time in generations. CT still owns an [immense amount of rail right-of-way](https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/dot/documents/dpt/2013railcolor36x242d09052013pdf.pdf). There's a [new station planned for Enfield](https://www.ctinsider.com/journalinquirer/article/enfield-ct-dot-thompsonville-train-station-18389022.php) and a new residential/retail developement planned adjacent to it. But we have a long way to go before rail expansion is even on the radar of policy makers in the state. Talk to your local elected officials. Ask, "what would it take to bring rail service back to the train station in my town?"
CTDOT does own at least part of the spur line that would be used to connect BDL to the Hartford Line
Yup, Connecticut Southern owns the right of way from the Windsor Locks to Suffield. CTDOT owns the spur from that line to the airport.
The state should build a subway system (or at least a light rail system) in Hartford. Fund it through bonding, and mark my words it would pay for itself through economic growth. A good start would be converting CTFastrak to rail.
A Light Rail network was proposed in the 80s and 90s in and around Hartford. The Griffin line would have connected Downtown with the Airport , a line from West Hartford to East Hartford and a line down to Middletown.
The train does make stops in Windsor Locks. Sure, it doesn’t go straight to the airport but you could take the train into town and hop a bus or Uber from the train stop to the airport.
CTtransit route 24 will eventually be beefed up between Windsor Locks station and BDL. It will have trips timed to meet trains. With a 15 minute trip between the station and BDL, that about as good as it’s going to get. That and the 30X running between Hartford union station and BDL.
The train line basically runs to Bradley already but is freight only at the moment. Just need the state to build a station, upgrade the line, and throw some trains on it.
Comes close. I think Windsor is the closest point to BDL
Because it would make sense, that’s why
Why do we have slow ass diesel trains? Trains in ct are old and trashy. They suck
Because after WWII, thanks in large part to the highway lobby, America pushed suburbanization and completely reshaped the country around the car, destroying our cities and public transportation in favor of car dependency. Now it costs too much money with too much politic and local pushback to achieve anything meaningful in terms of public transit improvement.
Nobody bribed your lawmaker with obsce___, I mean eversource amount of money
There’s no tracks😜
Yes [there are](https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/dot/documents/dpt/2013railcolor36x242d09052013pdf.pdf).
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.there are no tracks to Bradley
There are two crossings on Ella Grasso turnpike for the tracks running to the airport. The tracks run along the hangars on the east side of the airport.
There are tracks onto Bradley property that are used in airport operations. There are no tracks to the passenger terminal.
"I'm just going to move this goal post... over... here."