A transportation plan unveiled by Gov. Dannel Malloy last week includes tens of millions of dollars in work for the Waterbury branch of Metro-North Railroad.
“We’ve taken steps over the past year to make improvements to the 27-mile-long Waterbury Branch,” Malloy told lawmakers during his budget address at the Capitol in Hartford Feb 18.
“We’ll continue this work with additional design funds and $70 million for a complete build-out of a new signal system.”
A signal system is a communication system trains use to relay information, such as whether the track ahead is clear. The Waterbury branch is just one track, and its lack of a modern signal system limits the number of trains that run up and down the line.
“This project will allow for increased capacity and more frequent service,” Malloy said. “The additional ridership will help communities throughout the Naugatuck Valley revitalize their downtowns.”
An effort has been building to convince the state to start investing in the Waterbury branch. It has low ridership stats, but proponents say that’s because service is limited. At a Waterbury branch commuter meeting last July, it was called an “outhouse on wheels.”
The $70 million the state wants to invest is meant to eventually bolster the branch, which has local stops in Seymour, Ansonia, and Derby.
“This project will allow for increased capacity and more frequent service,” Malloy said last week. “The additional ridership will help communities throughout the Naugatuck Valley revitalize their downtowns.”
In addition, a “30 year vision“ for transportation unveiled by Malloy listed an eye-popping $350 million in more longterm Waterbury branch improvements, in the form of “signalization, grade crossings, sidings, and station improvements.”
The “siding” system is hugely important to the Waterbury branch, too. It’s a system that allows one train to bypass the main track for a moment to allow another train to pass.
The governor’s plans don’t go into more detail, like exactly when and where such improvements are planned.
Judd Everhart, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Transportation, said a timetable for the work has not yet been determined.
“Today, there are eight daily morning trains and seven daily evening trains on the Waterbury branch,” Everhart said. “Full signalization would allow an expansion of that service, but I can’t tell you today exactly how many daily trains will be added.”
‘Tremendous Investment’
Valley officials said the investments Malloy has proposed could have great returns down the line.
Reliable and frequent train service is needed for true revitalization in places such as Ansonia, Derby and Waterbury.
Rick Dunne, executive director of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, said the initial investments are great.
He cautioned the money is an infrastructure investment. Operations is the other side of the equation, Dunne said. That is, how Metro-North and the state DOT’s Office of Rails will use the infrastructure to finally improve service.
But the commitment Malloy proposed Tuesday is still huge for the Valley, Dunne said.
“It’s a tremendous investment. It will do more to expand economic development in the Naugatuck Valley than any other single action. And trust me, there’s no hyperbole in that statement. I truly believe this is the most important infrastructure investment that could be made by the state,” Dunne said.
“If we get more trains, particularly at peak hours, particularly returning to the Valley, we can probably move a substantial number of motor vehicles off of the Route 8, I‑95 and Merritt Parkway. We can use this to expand development all up and down the Naugatuck Valley if there is dependable rail service in and out of New York, Stamford and Fairfield.”
Waterbury has an abundance of properties to be developed around the city’s train station, Dunne said.
“Waterbury becomes a key city in a way it hasn’t been in almost 50 years,” he said.
James Gildea, a Derby resident, is the vice chairman of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council, a group that has been calling for better local train service.
“This represents the most concrete commitment to improving the Waterbury branch line that has been made to date,” Gildea said.
“By increasing the capacity of the line, the state will not only make commuting on the branch more more desirable but will also provide the towns and cities along the corridor a great opportunity for economic growth,” Gildea said.
The City of Ansonia already has ample parking surrounding its train station on West Main Street. City officials there have long said more trains would make investing in downtown Ansonia more attractive to developers. The city has been struggling for years to convert a number of old factory buildings.
“I am encouraged by the investment that is being made in rail,” Mayor David Cassetti said. “Rail transportation and the Waterbury Branch line, in particular, is critical to Ansonia and the Valley. Our downtowns depend on commuters and residents being able to get to and from work.”
Cassetti said the city wants residential development downtown. Train service is critical.
“I have a plan to revitalize our downtown and this funding will provide a needed boost to those efforts. My plan is to increase foot traffic in the downtown through residential development. More frequent stops means more people in the downtown area,” he said.
Sheila O’Malley, Ansonia’s grant writer and director of economic development, said the governor’s announcement isn’t miraculous, but it is a step in the right direction.
“Does it get us to where we need to be? No,” she said of Malloy’s announced plans. “But I think it’s a good first step. And it’ll help correct some of the issues we have with signalization, etc.”
Rep. Linda Gentile, a Democrat who represents Ansonia and Derby, said she is very excited about Malloy’s proposal, but reserved judgment until she analyzes all the specifics.
More people using trains means less people congesting roads and highways, she said, so in addition to train riders getting where they need to be, goods would move more freely through the state, which would help the economy.
“In my opinion, anything that can be done to improve our economy is beneficial,” Gentile said in a prepared statement. “What I don’t know yet is at what cost. What cuts will be made and where will those cuts come from. I think it is important to realize that this is the starting point.”
Gentile said that overall, she is optimistic about the newfound attention Malloy is showing the Waterbury branch.
“I think he understands that investment such as what is being proposed can do a lot of good,” Gentile said. “I believe that this is investment is historic, but more importantly, I am pleased that the Valley, and in particular, Ansonia and Derby are being looked at.”
Seymour First Selectman Kurt Miller agreed that Malloy’s announcement is the single-largest shot in the arm for the Waterbury branch in 20 years.
He said Seymour is trying to improve its downtown and surrounding neighborhoods through “transit-oriented development.” Having a station with more frequent train service helps that effort, and makes the town that much more attractive.
“This would be a great investment by the state to make a dramatic improvement for an entire region between two the area’s largest cities,” Miller said. “Improving the ability for people to move from city to city not only benefits those cities, but the small towns in between. This improved train service will have a very positive impact on many aspects of life in these communities, most notably economic and family.”
GOP: How Are We Going To Pay For This?
Sen. Kevin Kelly, who introduced a bill this month calling for Waterbury Line improvements, said he’s happy Malloy agrees the Naugatuck Valley needs better rail service.
“I certainly was very excited to see the recognition of the problems on the Waterbury Line that are so evident,” Kelly siad. “This is a project that is worthy of commitment of state resources, so I’m very happy about that.”
A spokesman for Rep. Themis Klarides, a Republican from Derby, also said improvements to the Waterbury branch sound great.
“With respect to the Waterbury Line, it would be great to see some improvements in service,” the spokesman, Patrick O’Neil, said. “Whatever we can do down there would be a welcome improvement.”
But Kelly and O’Neil noted the budget unveiled by Malloy Wednesday covers only the next two years, and wondered how the state plans to pay for the billions of dollars of work outlined in the governor’s 5- and 30-year plans.
“We come up with these great plans but we don’t have funding sources attached to it,” Kelly said. “So we have to chase the revenue … to do the projects that need to be done.”
The Republicans pointed to a plan released by GOP lawmakers last week that they said would fund transportation improvements better than the governor’s plan.
“Our plan includes no tax increases and includes no tolls, but it actually spends more and invests more money in transportation,” O’Neil said.
“Why don’t we look at things in a different manner, a better way?” Kelly asked. “Let’s get the funding in place, make it clear, sustainable, and consistent.”
Other transportation work Malloy wants included in his budget includes “a complete replacement” of the interchange of Route 8 and Interstate 84, a tangle of bridges, asphalt, and steel known as the “mixmaster.”
That project alone will take years to complete, O’Neil said, leaving lawmakers guessing at when the work will actually be done — and how the governor wants to fund the work, since the budget Malloy proposed only covers the next two years.
“These are significant projects that he’s outlined. We don’t really have a good idea about when any of this stuff could happen,” he said.
Kelly said lawmakers should combine parts of Malloy’s plan prioritizing projects with the GOP plan on how to fund them. “I think the best solutions are usually those that are bipartisan.”
Click here for more details on Malloy’s proposals.
And click here for coverage of the state budget from the CT Mirror.
