Shore Line East: What's New

Shore Line East Schedule Updates

The Connecticut Department of Transportation has announced that effective August 30, 2010, Shore Line East will make the following changes to its current schedule.

An easy to use trip planner, as well as both the Weekday and Weekend & Holiday timetables, is available at www.ShoreLineEast.com.

WEEKDAY SCHEDULE CHANGES
The highlights of the changes to the August 30, 2010 Shore Line East schedule are:

WEEKDAY - MORNING SCHEDULE

WESTBOUND SERVICE (toward New Haven)

A Shore Line East train departs Old Saybrook at 5:22 AM, three minutes earlier than the current schedule. This train will also depart Westbrook, Clinton, Madison, Guilford, Branford and State Street Station three minutes earlier than the current schedule.
EASTBOUND SERVICE (toward Old Saybrook/New London)
A Shore Line East train departs New Haven's Union Station at 8:20 AM (ten minutes later than the current schedule) and travels non-stop to Old Saybrook, arriving at 8:55 AM (five minutes later than the current schedule).

WEEKDAY - AFTERNOON SCHEDULE

EASTBOUND SERVICE (toward Old Saybrook/New London)

A Shore Line East train departs New Haven's Union Station at 1:00 PM and State Street Station at 1:02 PM (both five minutes earlier than the current schedule). This train will also arrive at Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook and Old Saybrook five minutes earlier than the current schedule.
A Shore Line East train departs New Haven's Union Station at 3:22 PM and State Street Station at 3:24 PM (both two minutes later than the current schedule). This train will also arrive at Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook and Old Saybrook two minutes later than the current schedule.
A Shore Line East train departs New Haven's Union Station at 7:05 PM and State Street Station at 7:07 PM (both seven minutes later than the current schedule). This train will also arrive at Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook and Old Saybrook seven minutes later than the current schedule.
A Shore Line East train departs New Haven's Union Station at 7:54 PM and State Street Station at 7:56 PM (both eight minutes later than the current schedule). This train will also arrive at Branford, Guilford, Madison and Clinton eight minutes later than the current schedule. The train arrives in Westbrook two minutes later than the current schedule, and arrives in Old Saybrook four minutes later than the current schedule.
A Shore Line East train departs New Haven's Union Station at 8:50 PM and State Street Station at 8:52 PM (both two minutes later than the current schedule). This train will also arrive at Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook and Old Saybrook two minutes later than the current schedule.

WEEKDAY - AFTERNOON SCHEDULE

WESTBOUND SERVICE (toward New Haven)

A Shore Line East train departs Old Saybrook at 2:00 PM (25 minutes earlier than the current schedule), arriving in Guilford at 2:16 PM, State Street Station at 2:37 PM (both 26 minutes earlier than the current schedule) and arriving at New Haven's Union Station at 2:41 PM (25 minutes earlier than the current schedule).
A Shore Line East train departs Old Saybrook at 4:50 PM (25 minutes later than the current schedule). This train has added new stops in Guilford at 5:05 PM and State Street Station at 5:26 PM and arrives at New Haven's Union Station at 5:30 PM (30 minutes later than the current schedule).
A Shore Line East train departs Old Saybrook at 6:13 PM and arrives in Guilford at 6:26 PM (both 12 minutes earlier than the current schedule), State Street Station at 6:46 PM (15 minutes earlier than the current schedule) and arriving at New Haven's Union Station at 6:49 PM (16 minutes earlier than the current schedule).
A Shore Line East train departs New London at 6:50 PM, Old Saybrook at 7:12 PM, and Guilford at 7:25 PM (all approximately 40 minutes earlier than the current schedule). The train arrives at State Street Station at 7:45 PM (42 minutes earlier than the current schedule) and New Haven's Union Station at 7:48 PM (42 minutes earlier than the current schedule).

WEEKEND & HOLIDAY SCHEDULE CHANGES

Please note that the departure times of most westbound New Haven Line connecting trains (traveling toward Stamford and Grand Central Station) are a few minutes earlier than the current schedule, providing better connections for Shore Line East passengers.

WEEKEND & HOLIDAY - AFTERNOON/EVENING SCHEDULE

WESTBOUND SERVICE (toward New Haven)

A Shore Line East train departs Old Saybrook at 5:00 PM, five minutes later than the current schedule. This train travels non-stop to Guilford arriving at 5:13 PM and then travels directly to State Street Station at 5:35 PM and New Haven's Union Station at 5:38 PM (all five minutes later than the current schedule).
A Shore Line East train that departs Old Saybrook at 7:04 PM and Guilford at 7:17 PM will now arrive at State Street Station at 7:37 PM and New Haven's Union Station at 7:40 PM (both two minutes earlier than the current schedule).

WEEKEND & HOLIDAY - AFTERNOON/EVENING SCHEDULE

EASTBOUND SERVICE (toward Old Saybrook/New London)

A Shore Line East train departs New Haven's Union Station at 2:02 PM and State Street Station at 2:04 PM (both three minutes earlier than the current schedule). This train will also arrive at Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook and Old Saybrook three minutes earlier than the current schedule.

The following train service (which had been replaced by bus service during construction) will resume:

Effective: August 13, 2010

WEEKDAY - AFTERNOON SCHEDULE - Off-Peak hour train

EASTBOUND SERVICE (from New Haven)

Train service will resume for the special Friday only 2:10 PM departure from New Haven's Union Station and 2:12 PM departure from State Street Station (this train will operate on Fridays through September 3rd).

WESTBOUND SERVICE (toward New Haven)

Train service will resume for the special Friday only 3:05 PM departure from Old Saybrook, stopping at Guilford, State Street Station and New Haven's Union Station (this train will operate on Fridays through September 3rd).

Amtrak Construction Moving Closer to New Haven

Effective: Monday, August 2, 2010

Amtrak's concrete tie replacement construction project will be moving to a section of track closer to New Haven. This should have considerably less impact, with all Shore Line East trains operating much closer to their scheduled times. Weekend service is generally not being affected by the construction, but may experience brief delays on rare occasions. The work is scheduled to be completed by August 28, 2010.
Branford passengers will resume boarding Shore Line East trains from the high level platform.

Passengers boarding at Shore Line East's Branford station must use the lower level platform only

Effective July 15, 2010:
Until further notice, passengers boarding at Shore Line East's Branford station must use the lower level platform only.

Occasional Construction Delays

Due to construction on the Amtrak rail right-of-way between Branford and New Haven, some weekday Shore Line East (and Amtrak) trains are experiencing occasional delays.

Weekend service is generally not being affected by the construction, but may experience brief delays on rare occasions.

The work is scheduled to be completed by August 28, 2010.

Shore Line East Schedule Update

The Department of Transportation has announced that beginning June 14, 2010, Shore Line East (SLE) will make the following changes to its current schedule.

The complete weekday timetable, as well as the Saturday, Sunday & Holiday timetable are available here.

WEEKDAY SCHEDULE CHANGES
The highlights of the changes to the June 14, 2010 Shore Line East schedule are:

WEEKDAY - MORNING SCHEDULE - Peak hour train

WESTBOUND SERVICE (toward New Haven)

A Shore Line East train departing from New London at 5:50 AM will leave Old Saybrook station at 6:15 AM, two minutes earlier than the current schedule. This train will also depart Westbrook, Clinton, Madison, Guilford, Branford and State Street Station two minutes earlier than the current schedule.

WEEKDAY - AFTERNOON SCHEDULE - Off-Peak hour train

WESTBOUND SERVICE (toward New Haven)

A Shore Line East train will now depart Old Saybrook at 2:25 PM (25 minutes later than the current schedule), making stops in Guilford at 2:42 PM (27 minutes later), State Street Station at 3:03 PM (27 minutes later), arriving at New Haven's Union Station at 3:06 PM (26 minutes later than the current schedule).
A Shore Line East train will now depart Old Saybrook at 4:25 PM, (10 minutes later than the current schedule), and travel non-stop to New Haven's Union Station arriving at 5:00 PM (ten minutes later than the current schedule).
A special Friday only 3:05 PM departure from Old Saybrook, stopping at Guilford, State Street Station and New Haven's Union Station will operate by bus Friday, June 18th through Friday, August 6th (with train service resuming on Friday, August 13th through September 3rd).

WEEKDAY - MORNING SCHEDULE - Off-Peak hour train

EASTBOUND SERVICE (from New Haven)

A Shore Line East train will depart New Haven's Union Station at 5:35 AM, (five minutes later than the current schedule) stopping in Guilford at 5:56 AM, (five minutes later), Old Saybrook at 6:15 AM, (five minutes later) and arriving in New London at 6:35 AM, five minutes later than the current schedule.
A Shore Line East train will depart New Haven's Union Station at 8:10 AM, (ten minutes earlier than the current schedule) and travel non-stop to Old Saybrook, arriving at 8:50 AM (five minutes earlier than the current schedule).

WEEKDAY - AFTERNOON SCHEDULE - Off-Peak hour train

EASTBOUND SERVICE (from New Haven)

A Shore Line East train will depart from New Haven's Union Station at 1:05 PM and State Street Station at 1:07 PM (both five minutes later than the current schedule), making stops at all shoreline stations five minutes later than the current schedule.
A special Friday only 2:10 PM departure from New Haven's Union Station and 2:12 PM departure from State Street Station will operate by bus on Fridays, June 18th through Friday, August 6th (with train service resuming on Friday, August 13th through September 3rd).

WEEKDAY - AFTERNOON SCHEDULE - Peak hour train

EASTBOUND SERVICE (from New Haven)

A Shore Line East Train will depart New Haven's Union Station at 6:58 PM (two minutes earlier than the current schedule) making stops at all shoreline stations two minutes earlier, and arriving in Old Saybrook at 7:43 PM.
A Shore Line East train will leave New Haven's Union Station at 7:46 PM, State Street Station at 7:48 PM, and depart from Branford at 7:59 PM, all two minutes earlier than the current schedule. All other stops remain the same as the current schedule, with the train arriving in Westbrook at 8:31 PM (six minutes later than the current schedule) and Old Saybrook at 8:35 PM.
A Shore Line East train will depart from New Haven's Union Station at 8:48 PM, and State Street Station at 8:50 PM - both two minutes earlier than the current schedule. This train will also make all shoreline stops two minutes earlier than the current schedule, arriving in Old Saybrook at 9:31 PM and New London at 9:58 PM.

Shore Line East Earns High Scores from Train Riders in 2009 Customer Satisfaction Survey

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) announced today the results of the 2009 Shore Line East Customer Satisfaction Survey.

The survey showed that Shore Line East has an excellent, and improving overall reputation among its riders. Almost one-third of riders (31.4 %) gave Shore Line East the highest possible rating of a "1" (completely satisfied). The average rating on the 1 to 7 scale for overall satisfaction was a 1.87, an improvement from the 2.06 rating the prior year.

For more information, please visit the ConnDOT website:
http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?a=1373&Q=449254

To read the complete Shore Line East Customer Satisfaction Survey Executive Summary, click here.

Construction Begins For Additional Parking At Branford Station

The Connecticut Department of Transportation is announcing that work has begun for the construction of an additional parking lot at the Branford Railroad Station which will provide an additional 300 parking spaces. Click here for more.

Downtown Commuter Connection Route Changes

Effective: December 11, 2008:

CTTRANSIT Downtown Commuter Connection buses will be detoured and the following bus stops will be discontinued until further notice:

Sachem and Hillhouse Streets
Peabody Museum
Grove and Prospect Streets

The City of New Haven says the Prospect Street Bridge (at the corner of Prospect & Trumbull Streets) now has a weight restriction in place. As a result, buses can no longer operate over the bridge.

New Madison Train Station Opened Monday, July 28, 2008

The new station is located a short distance to the west of the old boarding platform. The Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) constructed the new Madison train station to replace the older existing platform deck as part of a $25 million effort by the Department to improve operations and enhance safety on Shore Line East.

Madison Train Station

The new station will offer improvements such as a high-level platform on the south side of the tracks to allow for level train boarding, a commuter shelter, increased handicapped accessibility, a convenient commuter drop off area, bike racks and enhanced lighting. A total of 199 free paved parking spaces will be available, an increase of 35 spaces over the current parking lot.

Madison is the fourth of five new Shore Line East stations to be completed. New stations were opened in 2005 at Branford, Guilford and Clinton. Westbrook is currently under design.

New Weekend & Holiday Service from Old Saybrook to New Haven Now Operating Year-Round on Shore Line East

New Late Night Train Leaving New Haven at 10:05 P.M. Every Day

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (Department) began weekend and holiday rail service on Shore Line East (SLE) Friday, the 4th of July and throughout the weekend.

The initial weekend rail schedule includes four westbound trains to New Haven from early morning to early afternoon, and five east bound trains from mid-afternoon to late evening.

SLE will operate year-round weekend service between New haven's Union Station and Old Saybrook. The weekend service provides a full compliment of trains in each direction, more than the initial holiday weekend service in 2007.

Weekend rail service includes:

More frequent trains stopping in Old Saybrook, Guilford, State Street and Union Stations in New Haven throughout the day.
Branford Station will have only three westbound trains to New Haven due to scheduling limitation. The last morning train westbound departing from Branford to New Haven at 11:24 a.m.
Late evening train to operate every day from Union Station in New Haven departing at 10:05 p.m. The new service will allow customers to depart from New York's Grand Central Terminal (GCT) at 8:07 p.m. to connect in New Haven at 10:05 p.m.
Children under 12 will ride free with a fare-paying adult on Shore Line East. Reduce fares for children apply to New Haven Line.
Parking is free at all Shore Line East stations. Union Station, New Haven garage is fee parking.
Additional rail service is available on the New Haven Line to locations west of New Haven. Train schedules and ticket information can be located at www.mta.info
Tickets can be purchased on Shore Line East through the following options:

One-Way tickets are sold on board trains and are available at the New Haven, Old Saybrook and New London Amtrak ticket windows.

NOTE: If you purchase a Shore Line East ticket through conductor on westbound train, you may purchase a one-way New Haven Line ticket from the conductor at no additional charge. A return ticket must be purchased at your destination before you board the train, otherwise on-board purchase fee will apply.

Ten-Trip tickets are only sold at the New Haven, Old Saybrook and New London Amtrak ticket windows and are valid for nontransferable use by the named and signed passenger for 90 days.

Monthly tickets are sold by mail, phone, web and are available at the New Haven, Old Saybrook and New London Amtrak ticket windows. Ticket information is available through www.shorelineeast.com or by calling 203-777-7433 or (800) ALL-RIDE.

UniRail tickets combines Shore Line East and New Haven Line rail fares into one convenient ticket (one-way, weekly, monthly) is available at Metro-North ticket window and ticket vending machines. Only monthly Unirail tickets are available through the web or mail in. Ticket information is available through www.mta.info or at 1-800-METRO-INFO or in NYC at 212-532-4900.

"We are pleased to kick off the summer holiday by introducing year-round train service on Shore Line East," said Commissioner Joseph F. Marie. "During the holiday season, we saw that weekend rail service was a viable, workable option. With more trains being added to run expanded weekend service, the public will have more choices available to take advantage of rail service in Connecticut."

Consult the timetable for the Shore Line East at www.shorelineeast.com, or call 800-ALL-RIDE for schedule details including new weekend service. Weekend train schedules will also be published in regional newspapers ads.

Shore Line East trains are owned and operated by ConnDOT, under contract with Amtrak, to provide daily rail operations. SLE commuter operations began in 1990, serving seven stations along the 33-mile segment of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between New Haven and Old Saybrook. The service was extended to New London in 1996. SLE provides more than 2,100 passenger trips each day, with nearly 484,000 trips in 2007.

To read Governor Rell's announcement, click here.

ATTENTION OLD SAYBROOK AND NEW LONDON CUSTOMERS: Select Amtrak Trains Cross-Honor Shore Line East Multi-Ride Tickets

Effective April 14, 2008, select Amtrak trains now honor valid Shore Line East (SLE) monthly, weekly and 10-trip multi-ride tickets.

SLE multi-ride tickets must be purchased prior to boarding Amtrak trains. Only SLE Old Saybrook and New London multi-ride tickets will be accepted on-board select Amtrak trains Monday through Friday only (excluding holidays). A combination of tickets will not be accepted.

SLE customers must show their valid SLE multi-ride ticket to the Amtrak Conductor each time they travel.

Governor Rell Applauds Improved Shore Line East Customer Satisfaction Responses

Governor M. Jodi Rell today applauded the higher satisfaction ratings given to Shore Line East (SLE) by rail commuters in a new survey and said the rail service east of New Haven is an important component of her effort to reduce traffic congestion and improve mobility in southeastern Connecticut.

Click here to read the full press release...

Shore Line East Passenger Regulations

Pets & Animals
Trained service animals accompanying passengers with disabilities are the only animals permitted on SLE trains. Trained service animals must be kept under the control of their owners at all times.

Children
Children aged 2 through 15 receive a 50% discount when accompanied by one person paying an adult rail fare. Children under age 2 are permitted to travel free.

Bicycles
Bicycles are allowed on SLE trains but must have the front tire removed. Passengers must safely carry their bikes on and off board, and safely store the bicycle onboard the SLE trains.