The Derby-Shelton train station (in Derby) as seen in November 2021.
After years of waiting — heck, in the 1990s there was talk about eliminating the service — Metro-North and Gov. Ned Lamont announced the arrival of a new and improved Waterbury branch train line service on Monday.
The Waterbury branch is the commuter line running from Waterbury and through the lower Naugatuck Valley.
Historically it hasn’t been used in large numbers because … well, because it stinks.
Trains aren’t frequent and the service in general is often shoddy, unless going to a train station and unexpectedly getting on a bus because the train broke down is your idea of stellar train service.
In 2020, transportation advocate Jim Cameron called the Waterbury branch the Rodney Dangerfield of Connecticut rail service (as did The Valley Indy six years prior).
In 2014, a commuter described the service as an “outhouse on wheels.“
But the state has been spending millions to improve the infrastructure, such as then-Gov. Malloy’s announcement of a signalization project back in 2014.
On Monday state officials excitedly promoted the long-anticipated arrival of improved train service: a 47 percent increase in weekday trains.
After a transportation-related press conference in Bridgeport, current Gov. Lamont said the investment in infrastructure now allows “for seven new weekday trains to be added to the schedule, increasing the number of weekday trains from 15 to 22 – a 47 percent increase (on the Waterbury branch). There will be four new southbound trains and three new northbound trains running weekdays. With these added trains, service begins earlier in the morning in both directions and operates more frequently in off-peak hours, providing more options to riders in the Naugatuck Valley.“
In a social media post reading “We did it,” state Rep. Kara Rochelle shared a video featuring her calling for better train service in 2019 and 2020.
In her video, she pointed out three of the state’s top five most economically distressed communities are on the Waterbury branch — Ansonia, Derby (the two cities she represents) and Waterbury. She noted her cities have lots of housing coming online and that improved rail service is a key to economic development.
From Gov. Lamont’s press release:
“Governor Lamont’s recent budgets included funding for these new express trains and the expanded Waterbury Branch Line train services. The Connecticut Department of Transportation worked closely with Metro-North to identify available crews and equipment, operate test trains on the proposed schedule, and design a new operating package before the express trains came into service. They have also worked on significant infrastructure improvements, including railroad tie replacements, signal installation, the installation of four passing tracks, and grade crossing repairs in 2021, allowing the new trains to come into service on the Waterbury Branch Line.“
Click here to check out MTA schedules.
Previous Valley Indy train stories going back to 2011:
Lamont touts infrastructure investments
Rochelle: investment in rail service needed
Summary: CT Commuter Council Waterbury Branch Line Organizational Meeting
Valley Train Service So Inadequate Commuters Question Existence
Attorney General Candidate Talks Train Service In Ansonia
August was a bad month for local train service
Murphy talks transportation with The Valley Indy
Progress for the outhouse on wheels
Malloy announced $70 million in Valley train service improvements
Malloy drops hints about Valley train money
