Lawmakers urge state to restore Shore Line East funding
HARTFORD — Nearly a year after slashing funding for Connecticut's Shore Line East commuter rail service, lawmakers on Monday began a push to restore service along the beleaguered line — with the hope that more riders will follow.
Last fall, the Department of Transportation reduced the number of daily Shore Line East trains running between New Haven and New London from 23 to 16 after federal funding to help sustain rail service during the pandemic dried up. Instead of plugging the shortfall with state money, Gov. Ned Lamont and state lawmakers adopted a budget that cut funding for rail service.
While the cuts to the
New Haven Line and other rail lines are scheduled to sunset later this year, Shore Line East will have to continue operating at reduced service levels unless more funding is approved by lawmakers in this year's short session, now underway.
“With the cuts we've seen, it makes it almost impossible to really make this train useful because the service is so diminished,” said state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton.
On Monday, a bill requiring the DOT to restore Shore Line East service to pre-pandemic levels was heard by the Transportation Committee. The committee is led by two cochairs — state Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven and Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Madison — who represent communities
served by Shore Line East.
Lamont, meanwhile, has remained cool toward the idea of spending more on Shore Line East so long as the service struggles to attract new riders. When asked about the push to restore funding in this
year's budget, the governor reiterated his argument that towns along the shoreline need to do more to build housing in close proximity to their train stations.
“If there's no more demand am I going to subsidize more, you know, rail service?” Lamont said. “It's probably not my priority.”
Shore Line East carried 176,979 riders last year, according to DOT, a level that amounted to just over one-quarter of its prepandemic ridership.
While last year's cuts did not directly result in any layoffs, Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said Monday that running additional trains along Shore Line East would necessitate hiring and training additional conductors. Amtrak, which operated the trains on behalf of DOT, is currently facing a national staff shortage.
Unlike other rail services that have rebounded strongly from the pandemic — including the Hartford and Waterbury lines — Eucalitto said that
DOT surveys show that a large percent of Shore Line East riders no longer commute to work five days a week, limiting the room for growth during weekdays.
A second piece of legislation related to Shore Line East would see service increased on weekends and holidays during the summer, when millions of visitors flock to the beach and attractions around Mystic.
The existing train station in Mystic is only served by Amtrak's Northeast Regional service, and the bill would also require DOT to expand Shore Line East service several miles eastward from its current terminus in downtown New London.