The Federal Railroad Administration is expected to finalize its recommendation for upgrades to the North East Corridor as soon as today and some Connecticut shoreline residents are concerned about the proposal.
U.S. Senator Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney have sent a letter to Federal Railroad Administration about residents’ concerns and said two ideas that should be scrapped “in any Selected Alternative include a proposal in southeastern Connecticut that has become known as the Kenyon bypass and a separate proposal in Fairfield County in southwestern Connecticut to build two new tracks through several dense communities.”
“We are committed to rebuilding the corridor, and while the FRA’s plan holds great promise for the state of Connecticut, it also creates major consternation among several communities across our state. As champions for our constituents – and for robust rail service – we write in strong support of the positive elements but in staunch opposition to several impractical and ill-conceived ideas in your agency’s proposal,” Blumenthal and Courtney wrote in the letter.
The Hartford line is under development from New Haven and through Hartford and Springfield, Mass.
Blumenthal and Courtney said the Kenyon bypass would split the rail off from the current line at Old Saybrook, “establishing a new alternative route that plows through many communities before rejoining the current route just west of Kingston, Rhode Island.”
“If constructed in a trench, as a tunnel, as an aerial structure or as a mix of all three, the bypass would cause massive disturbance to the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of residents who now live in the proposed route’s path. It would decimate the unique charm and historic character of several centuries-old towns like Old Lyme. It would disrupt major job centers and tourist attractions like the aquarium and historic seaport in Mystic. It would result in significantly reduced rail service to several towns and cities on the current line like New London, rendering as out of the way important attractions like the Thames River Heritage Park – just blocks from the current Amtrak station, which would have to be moved under this plan. It would harm the sensitive ecological treasure of the Connecticut River Estuary. And even though it just exists on paper so far, this proposal has reportedly already impacted property values in our state; if included in a Selected Alternative, it would continue to hang like a dark cloud over southeastern Connecticut, having dire and dramatic effects no matter how remote its chances are of ever becoming reality. Its exclusion from a Selected Alternative would eliminate this ominous threat and allow us to focus on what we know is the region’s choice for improving service: rebuilding the infrastructure we currently have, ensuring it meets new and increasing demands,” Blumenthal and Courtney wrote.
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They also raised concerns about creating a new double-track route through Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk and Westport.
“Some of this would be parallel to Interstate 95, but much remains unclear. Regardless, this would be an unprecedented level of upheaval in a densely populated area that could – like the Kenyon bypass – have disastrous cultural, economic and environmental consequence for many communities in our state. This plan would also ignore the clear preference our constituents have for rehabilitating current infrastructure instead of starting new projects that bring more harm than benefit,” Courtney and Blumenthal wrote.
