NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Amtrak is temporarily increasing the number of its trains that will cross-honor tickets for Connecticut’s Shore Line East commuter service because of Shore Line East schedule changes to accommodate an Amtrak maintenance-of-way project. Shore Line East service will be reduced during that project.
The schedule changes and cross-honoring are effective Sept. 5, as a result of Amtrak’s Fitter Interlocking Project to add a new interlocking in Clinton, Conn. This will split a current 16-mile gap between the Guilford and View interlockings, adding dispatching flexibility for Amtrak and Shore Line East operations.
During the project — expected to be completed before the end of the year — Shore Line East multi-ticket ride holders may use a total of five Amtrak trains in each direction through Amtrak’s Ride Reserve system, which requires passengers to reserve a seat in advance through the Amtrak mobile app or on the Amtrak website. Details on the trains and types of passes covered are available here; schedules effective Sept. 5 are here. For comparison purposes, current schedules are here. Currently, there are 12 Shore Line East trains and two Amtrak trains that cross-honor tickets; during the track work, there will be eight SLE trains to go with the five Amtrak trains that cross-honor.
“We understand any schedule change can impact our Shore Line East riders. Therefore, we requested that Amtrak expand the number of cross-honor trains through this project to ensure we are meeting the needs of our riders. Thanks to Amtrak’s partnership, customers can ride certain Amtrak trains with their normal Shore Line East ticket,” Connecticut Department of Transportation Bureau Chief of Public Transportation Benjamin Limmer said. “This project improves reliability and increases rail operation flexibility. We appreciate the patience of SLE riders as this important project gets underway.”
Shore Line East service operates between New Haven and New London, Conn., with seven intermediate stops; most of the Amtrak trains only serve the two end points and Old Saybrook, Conn.
