Murphy Touts $40 Million In Historic High-Speed Rail Investment Funding Critical To Connecticut's Economy And Infrastructure

Press Release

After years of planning and effort from leaders across Connecticut, including U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), today Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) shared the news that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has selected the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) commuter rail line to receive a $40 million federal grant to improve infrastructure and service for central Connecticut and southern Massachusetts. Specifically, the funds will be used to construct a new segment of double track, the first step toward building a new commuter rail service along the Interstate 91 corridor. The line will include a stop in downtown Meriden.

"Commuter rail just makes sense for central Connecticut, so I'm thrilled we've been able to convince the federal government to make it a priority. This federal funding, through the Recovery Act, is going to bring hundreds of jobs to Connecticut in the short term, and grow our economy in the long term by upgrading our transit system," said Murphy.

Murphy has been pushing for this economic and transportation investment since he came to Washington. When Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act last year with $8 billion set aside for projects like the NHHS line, Murphy did all he could to support Senator Dodd's leadership on this project. Most recently, he pressed the State Bond Commission to commit state funds and personally called U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood last week to make a final push for these grant funds.

The goal is to make the NHHS rail line a viable option for commuters in central Connecticut, and alleviate some of the chronic congestion on the I-91 and I-84 corridors. New England's road traffic has grown two to three times as fast as its population since 1990. President Obama has made intercity commuter rail a focus of his transportation agenda, and this project will further that goal in the Northeast.

"Today's announcement is an indisputable testament to this project's significance, and the fact that Connecticut is first in line when it comes to developing the next generation of commuter-friendly transportation options. This rail line no longer exists just on paper - with these federal funds, we'll be able to put shovels in the ground and start to put people to work building Connecticut's future," said Murphy.

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