Amtrak is continuing its plan to gather community feedback at its presentation to the Board of Selectmen on Monday regarding its new study.

Joe Barr, Amtrak’s senior director for state partnerships and development, gave a presentation to the board outlining the rail line's New Haven-to-Providence Capacity Planning Study, which is meant to evaluate alternative ways to increase rail capacity and improve performance between New Haven and Providence. The study considers environmental impacts, assessing the consequences of making no changes to the rail and identifying new ways to improve train speed, reliability and resilience to extreme weather.

The study area covers eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island, by considering alternatives from New Haven to Providence. It also considers travel demand northward toward Boston and southward toward New York and Washington.

Barr stressed that community engagement and outreach are a big part of this process, and Amtrak is currently holding informational popups. The next popup is a Trick-or-Treat event on Lyme Street on Halloween. Amtrak also plans on holding open houses to hear from the public, with one tentatively scheduled for the week of Nov. 9.

He said it is just a study and no plans have been made for any changes to the rail line.

We want to make sure we lead with a robust and very inclusive public engagement process that people can really see and touch and feel and understand to know what's happening. We are going to look at needs and benefits for the communities impacted by those investments and those that go beyond just transportation. Nothing else will happen unless we can come up with options or alternatives that people can feel good about," Barr said.

This study comes after a study by the Federal Railroad Administration in 2017, which outlined a vision for improving the Northeast Corridor rail line between Washington, New York and Boston. The plan included recommendations for much of the corridor, but left the section from New Haven to Providence without a recommended improvement, calling instead for further study as it had a largely negative response from the public in the southeastern region.

Down the road, Amtrak plans to hold screenings and more open houses. Barr said it plans to develop a list of potential alternatives by February 2027, release a draft alternatives analysis report in November 2027 and publish a final report in March 2028. The study is expected to conclude in May 2028.

The study is funded partly by a $4 million Federal Railroad Administration grant awarded to Amtrak in November 2023 during the Biden administration, along with matching funds from Amtrak.

Selectman Jim Lampos said he hopes the study considers alternatives that would better serve southeastern Connecticut, including reopening former train stations in the area used in the 1930s. He said high-speed rail has largely bypassed the region and asked if the study would consider reviving commuter rail options.

Barr said the study is still in its early stages and that no decisions have been made about rail routes. He said the team is considering a wide range of options, including ways to increase commuter rail service, and has received similar requests from residents.

"Based on your feedback as well as feedback we've heard during the popups, I think those will certainly be considered where that ends up. We want to throw a wide net for possibilities," Barr said.

Barr also said that these potential rail alternatives are very early in the process

"This is a long game. Even if everything goes amazingly well and you're singing our praises from the top of your houses, we're still many, many years, if not decades, away from anything ever coming close to having a shovel in the ground because we got a lot of work to do before that, Barr said.

© 2026 The Day (New London, Conn.).
Visit www.theday.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.