HARTFORD, Conn. — Some big changes are coming to Hartford Union Station.
Starting Monday, the CTrail Hartford Line will have two new trains for commuters traveling between New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts.
A new full-service customer service center - something the train station has never had before - was added as well.
"We're listening to our customers and they were telling us they needed help there in Hartford for a number of reasons," said Richard Andreski, the CTDOT Public Transportation Bureau Chief. "It may not be the most intuitive station to figure out where to go to get the train. Sometimes people need help with the ticket vending machine."
The new train service and the updates were funded through a competitive $4.4 million federal grant awarded to CTDOT by the Federal Rail Administration (FRA) Restoration and Enhancement Program.
This is one of the first grants awarded through this program to increase train service on an existing route.
The money is dedicated to the improvements at the station, as well as the new round trip from New Haven to Springfield. They've also hired four new people to make up for the increase in service.
A new northbound train will depart New Haven at 7:35 a.m., arrive in Hartford at 8:25 a.m., and arrive at Springfield at 9:07 a.m. The southbound train will depart Springfield at 11:30 a.m., depart Hartford at 12:08 p.m., and arrive at New Haven at 1:01 p.m.
The new trains will help people get to work before 9 a.m., something Andreski said many have been asking for for a while.
"The strongest ridership right now is between New Haven and Hartford. About 1/3 of our riders begin or end their trip in Hartford," Andreski said.
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One customer who spoke with FOX61 said he's excited about the new customer service center.
“Especially for people who are just starting to travel or who are taking this route for the first time. it should make it a lot easier," said Michael Butterworth, who has constantly commuted from Connecticut to New York City.
It's a step in the right direction, Butterworth said. Another couple from Hebron agrees. However, they say they'd like more options on trains and buses. They missed an appointment Monday morning because there aren’t enough times.
“Yeah we have an appointment at 10, but we have to change because the hours for the buses is not good for us. So we have to change the appointment to 1 p.m.," said Mariana Machado.
These are comments the CTDOT would like to hear about.
"What we want to do is continue to evolve the service in response to customer feedback. So what we would ask everyone to do is let us know what you think of the service. Reach out, we do listen to your comments," Andreski said.
For details of the Hartford Line changes, visit hartfordline.com to view the current schedule and service alerts. Sign up for alerts at hartfordline.com and click on “service alerts” to get all the latest information on Hartford Line trains.
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