Connecticut governor calls for $260 million in bonds for rail

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell is set to call for one of the state's biggest bond issues in recent memory when she proposes selling $260 million in bonds to make improvements to the New Haven-to-Springfield rail line, the Hartford Courant reports. The money is intended to attract an additional $220 million in federal aid to begin building a high-speed train line linking Springfield and Hartford to Amtrak's busy Boston-to-Washington route along the shoreline.

The work will also create
the infrastructure that would allow the state to start Metro North-style
commuter train service along the same rails, a move that advocates say will
spur economic development in Enfield, Windsor Locks, Meriden and six other
communities along the route.

"Our financial
commitment to the Springfield/New Haven rail line represents a landmark
investment in transportation and I am proud of our efforts," Rell said in
a statement. "It is an initiative that will transform the economic
landscape of the region with new industries, more jobs and livable, attractive
communities along the rail line."

Rell intends to ask the
State Bond Commission to authorize the money on Aug. 11.

The governor formally
announced her plan at an appearance at the Wallingford station, one of nearly
10 planned stops for the commuter service envisioned to start around 2015. The
same tracks eventually would be used for 110-mph Amtrak trains, which would run
less frequently and make only two or three stops along the 62-mile route.

Rell said the line
"represents the most exciting mass transit project ever in the state of
Connecticut."

Rail advocates see this year
as a make-or-break period for the long-proposed train project.

Rell, a rail supporter, is
leaving office at the end of this term, as is Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.,
who has campaigned for two years on the project’s behalf. Federal grants for
mass transit may grow scarcer next year if Republicans significantly boost
their numbers in Congress, some train advocates say.

The state and federal
governments are already spending $64 million to add a second set of tracks
along part of the route.

If Connecticut lands the
$220 million in federal aid, it would be used with the $260 million in state
money to double-track the route, install modern signals, rebuild small bridges
and overpasses, create new freight sidings and reconstruct grade crossings.

That would accommodate
frequent mid-speed commuter trains, although the state would still have to
rebuild the elevated tracks at Hartford’s Union Station and possibly the
Connecticut River rail bridge. The costlier high-speed service would require an
additional $100 million or more to install overhead electrical wires.

Advocates say the improved
rail line would remove traffic from congested I-91, reduce pollution and enable
central Connecticut residents to commute to Fairfield County and even New York
City. The bonds would be repaid through future gas tax receipts.