photo:chefranden

The Danbury Branch of the New Haven Line has been the red-headed stepchild of Metro-North. It all started in the 60’s, when the overhead electrical lines and equipment were sold off, leaving it a diesel-only, one track line to serve 1,000 commuters.

The Connecticut DOT has begun a second phase of recommendations for improvements to the branch line. Because the $200M price tag for a second track isn’t appealing, the idea of “passing sidings” so that trains can pass each other is one of the ideas under consideration.

But not everyone is tickled about the pace of the study…

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Rodney Chabot, a former head of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council, was unimpressed, stating “All the money they’ve spent on studies, we could have had (the branch) up and running by now”.

Besides the improvements, there is a lot of talk about expanding the branch to New Milford, which would cost about $30M and nearly double ridership.

via The Stamford Advocate