By Ken Valenti

WESTPORT–Governor Ned Lamont and the state transportation commissioner have announced the start of the $1.6 billion TIME-1 railroad project to upgrade the New Haven Line, but Westporters might not see much direct benefit for years.

The first phase – the only one funded so far, with $340 million – focuses on the stretch from Bridgeport to Stratford, not along the route from Westport to New York City, which is the direction taken by 90% of weekday riders from the town’s two stations.

If all three phases are completed by 2035 as planned, it is unclear how much they would impact rides to and from Westport. Most peak hour runs to Grand Central Terminal take from 74 to 85 minutes, according to Metro-North Railroad schedules.

“Every minute we save on a commute gives people more time with their families, more time in their communities, and more opportunities to enjoy all that Connecticut has to offer,” Lamont said in a ceremony July 27 in Stratford.

It would take more than that to make a difference to Westporter Joanne Phillips, who commutes to her finance job in New York City once a week.

“Two minutes is not going to make a difference,” she said at the Westport (Saugatuck) station on a recent morning. “Ten or 15 minutes – that’s a big difference.”

TIME-1 will be the largest component to date of TIME FOR CT, the Lamont administration’s multi-year initiative to rebuild, improve and expand Connecticut’s rail network.

“The three-phase, $1.6 billion TIME-1 project will modernize critical sections of the New Haven Line, creating the infrastructure necessary to deliver faster, more frequent, and more reliable rail service between New Haven and New York City,” Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) spokeswoman Eva Zymaris said.

When the TIME FOR CT project was announced in 2021, the fastest New Haven-to-New York City runs were 106 minutes and the goal was to shorten that by 25 minutes, Zymaris said. Now, she said, “after a number of infrastructure and service improvements were made,” Metro-North Railroad runs two daily peak-hour “super express” trains that make the run in 88 and 90 minutes, she said.

In the first phase of the TIME-1 project, funded by the state and federal governments plus $11 million from Amtrak, crews are installing new catenary structures that power trains between Bridgeport and Stratford, adding turn outs to the East Bridgeport Rail Yard, replacing the Longbrook Avenue Bridge in Stratford, upgrading track and signal infrastructure, and adding new track connections.

The second phase, expected to begin in 2030, calls for improvements at Stratford Station, including track and platform upgrades, as well as major corridor improvements, including catenary upgrades, bridge replacements and retaining wall installations.

The corridor work is scheduled to continue in the third phase, starting in 2031, with more bridge replacements, catenary upgrades and infrastructure improvements.

The costs of the remaining two phases are expected to be split between the state and federal funds, but “the exact funding breakdown is still to be determined,” said CTDOT spokesman Josh Morgan. 

Peter Gold, co-director of the Westport Transit District, is skeptical, mainly because the work had been announced in the past.

“As there is currently no funding for the project other than for about three miles of track in Stratford, I don’t expect to see much impact here for years,” he said.

The vast majority of Metro-North riders boarding at either the Westport (Saugatuck) or Greens Farms stations in town are headed toward New York City, railroad statistics show. In all, 5,192 Metro-North riders board at one of Westport’s two stations each weekday. Of those, 4,655 are headed southwest.

Zymaris said improvements in any one section benefit the entire line.

As part of the later phases, CTDOT will replace the SAGA Rail Bridge over the Saugatuck River. Gold worries that replacing the 1905 span could take years and cause disruptions on the rail line, and in town.

“It will likely…muck up parking at the Saugatuck train station as some of the parking would probably have to be used as a staging area,” he said. “ It may also slow down commutes as it could affect Saugatuck Avenue and Ferry Lane as they go under the train tracks.”

CTDOT spokesman Josh Morgan said the department works to reduce the disruptions and other impacts its projects cause. The bridge replacement would require a planning process that includes environmental review and opportunities for public input.

“Given the importance of the structure and the Northeast Corridor, work will have to occur without prolonged train/service disruptions. As the project moves forward, the public will have the opportunity to meet with the project team and learn more about the planned work,” Morgan said. 

When the entire project is completed, trains will be able to reach 90 miles per hour in designated sections of the corridor, up from the project area’s current top speed of 70 miles per hour, CTDOT says.

“While we cannot speculate what specific travel times would be in 2035,” Zymaris said, “completion of current and future capital projects such as TIME-1, the WALK, DEVON, and SAGA bridges, and other signal improvements, will have tremendous cumulative benefits in time savings that will likely surpass our initial targets.”

Commuter Alex Contreras of Norwalk, who takes the train four times a week from Westport to his advertising sales job in New York City, said reducing the ride to under an hour would benefit him.

“If I notice a difference, great,” he said. “But it’s a long time away.”

Ken Valenti

^{_{A career journalist and lifelong resident of the New York City region, Ken Valenti has enjoyed decades of reporting local, regional and national news in New York and Connecticut. Topics of special interest are development, the environment, Long Island Sound and transportation. When not reporting, he’s always on the lookout for the perfect coffee shop or used book sale.}}