Last June I tried the expanded rail service by taking the train to Springfield and New Haven, while observing how both — plus Hartford — considered the visitor’s experience. In late December 2018 and early January 2019, I made these trips again, interested to see what, if anything, changed.

RAIL

I wish I had nothing but compliments to share. In December I needed to take the train from Hartford to Springfield so that I could catch the Lake Shore Limited, a daily, to the Midwest. On a cold and rainy day, I waited and waited. No announcements alerted me to a delay. The electronic station sign by the tracks did not tell me anything. After recalling that the Hartford Line has a Twitter account for alerts, I did notice a small, unofficial-looking sign posted nearby. Their tweets told me what nothing at the station bothered to: the train was experiencing mechanical issues in Meriden and buses would be sent to retrieve those passengers. It would be probably an hour before those arrived in Hartford. Even though I had arranged to take a train that would give over an hour of time between arrival and departure in Springfield, it looked like I would miss the connection now. Drivers for Uber and Lyft were on strike that day, though that would have been an expensive solution anyway. Thankfully, a friend came through and drove me to Springfield.

The return trip carried less annoyance, as the train from Springfield to Hartford was not significantly delayed. Something noticed: the Windsor Station is apparently still not equipped with a ticket machine. Having been previously harassed by the train cops for sitting at the station without a ticket — because you can’t actually purchase them there! — I would like to see this resolved sooner than later, knowing that I have privilege that likely protected me from being arrested in that situation.

Because I did not use that ticket to Springfield in December, I figured I would do a day trip. This time the delay was by fewer than five minutes, but there was still no announcement made at Union Station.

There are gaps in service throughout the day. If you do not study the schedule closely, you can find yourself standing around in Springfield for three hours, trying to fill time before returning home.

Last week, I traveled to New Haven — opting to try the State Street Station. The train was 15-20 minutes late picking up in Hartford. We mysteriously stopped twice on the tracks between Hartford and Berlin. Following the second stop, the conductor informed us “There’s a gremlin loose somewhere in the system.” *Gulp* This time, I was less concerned with making a transfer or getting to a meeting on time, and simply hoping that the train folks were making solid choices about passenger safety. After that, there were no additional delays. I was surprised by the State Street Station’s smallness, but also surprised that as soon as I exited and crossed the street, I was back within civilization.

On the return, I arrived to the station a little early because I wanted to make sure I grabbed the train before rush hour chaos. Unless standing inside the enclosed pedestrian bridge or a stairwell, the station design leaves you open to the cold and wind. This was not ideal, and it was hard to tell what the on-site construction is leading to. The upside is that there are multiple electronic signs at the station and it is not much work to find your way to the correct platform. This train to Hartford arrived on time and was one of the CTrail trains. The rumors about their agedness are not untrue. The seats gave me flashbacks to being on a school bus. This is a no-frills ride, and I can’t be mad at that if it shows up when it needs to and is safe.

Overall, it’s disappointing that service is still this unreliable. The conductors and train staff come across as professional and doing the best they can, but they are dealing with equipment that needs updating and the stations could be better.

SPRINGFIELD

Of the three, Springfield has shown the most improvement since my visit last year. They installed wayfinding signs in 2016, but by the time of my June 2018 visit, these were faded, broken, and rare to even locate. Just a few months after that trip, Springfield placed a new wayfinding system. These 52 signs include helpful maps and a full list of attractions. These arrived around the time of the MGM casino’s opening.

Signs are helpful when you leave a station and do not find yourself immediately in a friendly environment, but in one that is more industrial and spread out. It lets you know that just beyond the vacant buildings and strip clubs, there are restaurants and museums. It’s also handy when what you came to see, the Armory, is closed due to the federal shutdown.

Though not interested in the casino itself, I was impressed by how it was developed. Unlike Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, you can access it without driving a car. They have clean public restrooms accessible from outdoors, good for those using the adjacent plaza where an ice rink was busy on a blustery day. (Side note: that rink was packed despite it not being free. There were also no police cars parked or idling near the rink, yet everyone behaved themselves) The whole area is walkable, with crosswalks and benches. This was one of the few areas in Springfield’s downtown where more than a handful of people could be spotted outside at any given time.

ValleyBike has taken its e-bikeshare offline for the winter.

There are plenty of opportunities for improvement in Springfield, from giving life and light to its river walk to developing the many boarded up buildings. Still, they have made some quick progress.

HARTFORD

No positive changes near Union Station to report.

The center-line signs reminding drivers to yield to pedestrians have been removed for the winter. There was a reasonable fear that plows would damage them, but have we even had a storm requiring plows yet this season? Meanwhile, pedestrians have gone several months without this added safety feature.

As we see in other cities, the Lime bicycles have been packed away for the season due to low demand. Given the city government’s lack of support for e-scooters, I would not be shocked if we do not see those bikes return to Hartford in the spring, and good luck finding another bike share company to invest here. Additionally, Hartford has added no bicycle infrastructure.

NEW HAVEN

The train station wayfinding signs are still faded. It was suggested to use State Street Station instead of Union Station (if not transferring) and I pass this along, as the wayfinding feels less important if you are plunked downtown rather than out on an edge. There are signs around Yale that may be more helpful and you can find ambassadors who can redirect you.

From the looks of it, Bike New Haven is continuing to operate its bikeshare in winter; however, they have been pressured to move one of their bike docking stations because of NIMBYs. A contractor’s vehicle was parked in a contraflow bike lane. They are getting some things right, but we can’t paint New Haven as a cyclist’s paradise quite yet.