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Conn. looks into building commuter rail line

With no commuter rail service in central Connecticut, Dan Haim takes Amtrak to work most days.

He leaves his car in Hartford and takes a 46-minute train ride to the New Haven station, just a quick walk from his job at the city’s education department.

Connecticut is counting on dedicated rail riders like Haim as plans progress to offer weekday commuter rail service between New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, Mass., for the first time in more than 35 years.

"I know it’s going to take time, but I really do think it’s going to happen," said Haim, who pays $252 for his monthly Amtrak pass. "It makes sense in so many ways."

By Stephanie Reitz, Associated Press Writer

Full Story: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/30/conn_looks_into_building_rail_line_from_springfield_to_new_haven/

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Riders Quick to Stick With Rail Runner

By Lloyd Jojola
Journal Staff Writer

Ridership on the Rail Runner Express has yet to ebb.

Since the state launched the commuter rail service July 14, the spiffy trains have tallied more than 50,000 passenger boardings, said Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments— the lead agency in putting the service in place.

"We’re averaging between 4,500 and 4,700 people a day," he said Tuesday. "The trains are at capacity on certain routes at certain times of the day.

"We’re getting a very steady stream of commuters in the early morning hours, which is really our market."

The commuter service runs between Albuquerque and Bernalillo and it’s scheduled to expand as far south as Belen in September or October. The service will extend to Santa Fe by late 2008.

Its price— free of charge for the first three months— and the novelty of its "newness" are clearly two huge lures. But some commuters have truly been sold on the service.

Full Story: http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/480730metro08-02-06.htm

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Utah County ballot adds commuter rail

Quarter-cent sales tax: The levy would generate about $1.25 billion for transit by 2037

By Todd Hollingshead
The Salt Lake Tribune

PROVO – The future of Utah County commuter rail is now in voters’ hands.

The Utah County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to put a quarter-cent sales tax increase on the Nov. 7 ballot, with the vast majority of that money planned for commuter rail.

"This move, this ballot issue, can achieve a huge solution for us in terms of our transportation problems," Orem Mayor Jerry Washburn said.

Tuesday’s decision came six years after voters in Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties approved similar hikes to upgrade bus and train transit.

Commissioners spent most of their time Tuesday deciding how to divvy the revenues among three transportation options: commuter rail, highways and other transit services.

Full Story: http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_4124193

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