NEWINGTON, Conn. — The Connecticut Department of Transportation has received more than 500 applications for an advisory panel to help design new cars for the state’s Hartford Line and Shore Line East commuter rail services.
Meetings are scheduled to begin in October and will be held over the next two years in anticipation of orders for new cars, WSHU Public Radio reports. New cars are at least five years away because of a backlog of orders for railcar manufacturers.
CTrail’s launch of its Hartford Line service in 2018 was dogged by issues with restrooms on its passenger cars, leased from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. The restrooms on the cars were initially locked because they are not compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, but eventually some were unlocked. [See “CTrail trains to open some restrooms after complaint,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 13, 2018.]
Public Transportation Bureau Chief Richard Andreski told the radio station that some of the current coaches “are as old as 40 years old and it’s time, well past due, that they be replaced. We’re interested in hearing the public’s input because this frankly is the place where our customers spend most of their time when commuting.”
