HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut legislator has introduced a bill that would require the state’s Department of Transportation to develop rail service to Bradley International Airport, the Hartford-area facility in Windsor Locks, Conn.
General Assembly Bill 5061, introduced by state Rep. Christopher Rosario (D-Bridgeport), would require service from Hartford Union Station to the airport with stops in Hartford, Bloomfield, and Windsor Locks. The purpose, the bill says, is to “enhance the accessibility and competitiveness” of the airport.
The Hartford Business Journal reports that Hartford-area rail advocate Casey Moran has pitched the concept, saying the lack of rail access puts the airport at a disadvantage compared to those in New York and Boston. Moran says the state already owns 13 of the 18.3 miles of right-of-way needed. He believes the project could double the number of passengers using Bradley airport, currently about 18,000 per day, and that establishing the rail service would cost a few hundred million dollars.
The airport is currently served by a dozen airlines, with nonstop service to more than 40 destinations, some seasonal.
Daily “Enplanements/Deplanements” for CY2024 averaged 18,236. Until commuter service between Springfield/Hartford and New Haven grows beyond 11 weekday round trips it doesn’t look like a meaningful cross pollinator for either mode, at least not right now. Maybe someday.
It is 50 and 80 MPH track from north of Hartford station to where the proposed connection that is near the Conn river bridge. That connection is pointed to the south not toward Springfield. There are 12 grade crossings on these north end tracks that terminate on airport property. Max speed 10 MPH. Is it even excepted track?
The other track connection from near Hartford station is also pointed in the wrong direction not toward Hartford station. This Griffins industrial track is also 10 MPH. it only goes about 1/2 way with it just beyond Home Depot. Then ending past Eversource.
Connecting these 2 ends at Bradley will not be easy as the tracks will have to be far enough from the airport runways so the tops of any class “H” double stacks will be below the 1 / 15 slope from the end of any runway and proposed extensions. The FAA always looks at the most extreme cases whenever not allowing for incursion into the airspace.
The effort to decrease running time between SPG and NHV would not fit for thru trains IMO. Even if the track could be made 60 MPH the routing around Bradley would be much slower. Probably take 2-1/2 times as long from North of Windsor Lock and to Hartford. The straight route which is even slated to finally get higher Max speeds. Maybe DMU service from SPG – Hartford that connects to BOS and New Haven trains.
The Bradley Field site says the 30-Bradley Flyer bus takes 30 minutes from downtown Hartford to BDL. Would a rail line be co$t effective?
My most recent flight into BOS Logan International Airport, I was waiting (longer than I wanted to) for a Silver Line bus (to connect me to the Red Line at South Station). While waiting for the Silver Line, an endless parade of regional motor coaches came by — for all around the Boston metro, Cape Cod, Rhode Island, and nearby parts of New Hampshire and Maine.
Considering the difficulty of getting a motor coach into Logan and around the terminals, I was pretty amazed.
Bear in mind, the Silver Line is a type of bus, and the Blue Line, a subway train, is reached by a bus shuttle. Therefore in reality public transportation to Logan is 100% rubber tire, zero percent steel wheel.
Reading the Hartford Business Journal article, it looks like the idea is that the line would continue north from the airport to Springfield, tying back into the Hartford line either just south of the Windsor Locks station or near the bridge across the Connecticut River. That would make two metro areas with a direct airport connection, and if desired the trains could potentially run further south from Hartford or north/west/east/somewhere from Springfield.
Even if this line just terminates in Hartford and Springfield, good timings with existing Hartford Line service to New Haven, or future E-W service to Boston or Pittsfield, could make for a viable two-seat ride to the airport. I think it’s at least worth a closer look to get a better cost estimate than “a few hundred million dollars”.
As an addendum to the above, any closer look should also see what a direct rail line to the airport provides that frequent shuttles to the Windsor Locks station wouldn’t. Not all Hartford Line trains run that far north, but would increasing frequency on that line segment help? And could that be more cost-effective than 18-ish miles of new and upgraded rail line?
Who owns the remaining 5.3 miles of the right of way — or is the 5.3 miles without track and on private (non-railroad) property? Several hundred million dollars for that short of distance if you have to build from scratch seems a lot.
Charles,
BWI has what I would consider terrific rail service. It has a stop directly on the NEC and many trains stop there. There are also MARC trains that stop there. There is dedicated shuttle bus service from the rail station to the terminals at the airport, and it is a short ride. Thus, you can land at BWI and get a train to DC, Baltimore, NYC, Phil, Boston, etc.
This is an example of let’s have a train to the airport because train service is highly successful to many airports in America around the world so let’s play monkey-see-monkey-do. Denver, SeaTac, Boston, Chicago O’Hare, even in America there is a good list of heavily used rail to airport. At Bradley, prepare for a flop.
Unless you have frequent trains from very early in the morning until very late in the evening, it doesn’t work, not at all. Also note that at these airports, the trains are part of a regional system across the metro area, not point-to-point airport to downtown.
My last trip by air involved three airports all of which have rail service: MKE Milwaukee General Mitchell, changed at BWI Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington, and PVD Rhode Island T. F. Green.
I don’t know anything about the rail service at BWI.
PVD is MBTA’s stop for stop for Cranston and Warwick (Rhode Island’s second and third cities) on the handful of weekday rush hour trains that continue past Providence to Wickford Junction. There is nowhere near enough frequency to coordinate air and rail travel. It’s a ways to the airport terminal, all enclosed. Enclosed for airline passengers headed to the rental car facility, which sits beside a train track.
MKA (as the train station is coded, as MKE is the downtown train station) is a stop of the Hiawatha, with a long shuttle ride to the airport terminal. Possibly a handful of airline passengers or employees are able to schedule the Hiawatha around flight schedule. In reality MKA is a much-needed and heavily used south suburban park-ride for the Hiawatha that happens to be located near an airport.
Besides the above, the whole concept is absurd. BDL already has traffic from Hartford. It would grow by poaching traffic from Boston Logan, Rhode Island T. F. Green, , Albany, Manhester (NH), and Stewart Airport in New York State. How would a train to Hartford change that by as much as one single passenger?