CT Rail, stylized as CT''rail'', is the brand for

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

services overseen by the

Connecticut Department of Transportation The Connecticut Department of Transportation (often referred to as CTDOT and occasionally ConnDOT, or CDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports and waterways in Connecticut. ...

(CTDOT), in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

, with some service extending into

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. CTDOT oversees two lines: Shore Line East, between

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

and

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

, and the Hartford Line, from New Haven, through

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

, to

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, th ...

. Services are operated under contract, with Shore Line East operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

along the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...

, and the Hartford Line operated by a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

TransitAmerica Services TransitAmerica Services, Inc. is an American commuter rail corporation headquartered in St Joseph, Missouri. Corporate history In November 2002, Herzog Contracting Corp. and Stagecoach Group announced a corporate partnership to form TransitAme ...

and Alternate Concepts. CT Rail trains, along with other CTDOT rail operations, use the

reporting mark A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects the name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equip ...

CNDX.

Lines

CT Rail operates two commuter rail lines: the Hartford Line and Shore Line East. Both lines utilize portions of the

, with most trains terminating at Union Station in

Hartford Line

The Hartford Line runs between

New Haven Union Station Union Station, also known as New Haven Railroad Station or simply New Haven, is the main railroad passenger station in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the third such station in the city of New Haven, preceded by both an 1848 built station in a d ...

in New Haven and Springfield Union Station in Springfield. The line is a joint venture between the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the

Massachusetts Department of Transportation The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Session of t ...

(MassDOT). Service began on June 16, 2018. CT Rail Hartford Line tickets are also accepted on

's Hartford Line, however, the Vermonter inter-city service does not participate despite running along the same route. The majority of the Hartford Line's route is along the New Haven–Springfield Line, with two stations, Union and State Street stations within New Haven being located along the

Shore Line East

CT Rail's Shore Line East commuter rail service runs between New London and

, with limited service continuing onto

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...

and Stamford. When service initially started along the line on May 29, 1990, CT Rail commuter trains were intended to be a temporary measure in order to reduce congestion along

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

during a highway construction project. However, the service was made permanent due to more ridership than initially anticipated. The line has an average daily ridership of about 2,100 riders and runs along the

for its entire length. Since May 2022, Shore Line East has used Kawasaki M8 electric multiple units to provide service on the line.

Rolling stock

Current

CT Rail uses the following

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles ca ...

for its

operations:

Future rolling stock

There are plans to buy new equipment for the Hartford Line as a bulk purchase with

Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connectic ...

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

and Waterbury branches after about five years of operation, although replacing the leased equipment with the current SLE coaches that will be displaced by the M8s remains an option. A study is currently underway studying on electrification on the Hartford Line as well as the Waterbury and Danbury branches.

References

{{Northeast Corridor navbox Commuter rail in the United States Connecticut railroads Passenger rail transportation in Connecticut