New Holiday Weekend Rail Service on Shore Line East, ConnDOT improves the ‘Shoppers’ Specials’ Rail Service on the New Haven Line

This holiday season shoppers along the Connecticut shoreline now have another way to get to New York City. The Connecticut Department of Transportation has begun special weekend holiday rail service on Shore Line East beginning Saturday, November 17, 2007 through Sunday, December 30, 2007. 

The new service will include three morning trains to New Haven, which connect with New Haven Line service to New York City.  Connecting with New Haven Line trains from New York City in the late afternoon and evening, three trains will run from New Haven to Old Saybrook. 

These six trains will have station stops at New Haven-Union Station, Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook and Old Saybrook.  Holiday weekend service will not stop at New Haven-State Street Station due to weekend construction on the Grand Avenue Bridge. In addition, two morning trains from New Haven to Old Saybrook will stop in Guilford and three evening trains from Old Saybrook to New Haven will stop in Guilford. 

In addition, children under 12 ride free with an accompanying adult.  Parking at all Shore Line East train stations (not including Union Station in New Haven) is convenient and free. 

Shore Line East trains are owned and operated by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Since 1990 the state has offered weekday train service to seven stations along the 33-mile segment of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor between New Haven and Old Saybrook.  Nearly 2,000 passenger trips each day, or more than 450,000 each year are made on the shoreline route.

Back by popular demand, the New Haven Line will offer additional rail service, the most ever, for Saturday and Sunday to service Connecticut customers.  These ‘Shoppers’ Specials’ will operate during the heavy holiday travel period, and are a result of increased ridership experienced during last year’s holidays.

Twenty-five (25) additional Saturday and Sunday Shoppers’ Special express trains will operate in Connecticut, an increase of 16 additional trains from the 2006 holiday season.  Specifically, Saturday Shoppers’ Specials will increase to nineteen (19) trains to serve Connecticut customers, and on Sunday six (6) Shoppers’ Specials will be added.  These trains will not run on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.  A special schedule will be published for those holidays.

The New Haven Line, operated by Metro-North Railroad, is among the most heavily traveled in the country, with 35 million passenger trips per year and more than 120,000 daily commuters.  Metro-North Railroad operates the New Haven Line and Branch Line Service for the DOT. 

New schedule times for the special holiday trains are available on-line.  For a timetable for the Shore Line East see www.ShoreLineEast.com  or call 800 ALL-RIDE or (203)777-7433.  For the New Haven and Branch Lines, call 800-METRO-INFO or view www.mta.info.