CT: Enfield's $90 million train station could break ground this year after decades in the making

The state could begin construction of a new train station in the Thompsonville section of town sometime this year under its current schedule.

Local and state officials have pursued development of a new station in Enfield for decades, not long after the former train station closed in 1986. The state Department of Transportation's current plan, proposed in 2023, would connect Thompsonville to the Hartford Line that already runs through town and provide access to major stations in New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield, Mass. along with existing and planned stops in Windsor Locks, West Hartford, and elsewhere.

Construction was previously expected to begin in 2025, and a 2023 presentation from the DOT anticipated that the project would be completed by fall 2027 and cost $45 million.

Now, DOT officials say construction is slated to begin later this year, and expected to take about two and a half years. The total project cost is estimated at $90 million, split between roughly $17 million in federal funds and $73 million from the state.

Representatives for the DOT said on March 31 the train station is part of the Hartford Line Rail Program, a statewide effort to modernize and expand passenger rail service along the 62-mile corridor between New Haven and Springfield, Mass. Once open, the new Enfield station will be a "vital link" between those two cities.

DOT officials said the planned station is designed for future service expansions and multi-modal connections, like integration with local bus routes, and is intended to encourage new mixed-use development along the rail corridor.

Town Manager Matthew Coppler said last month that plans for a new train station stretch back as far as 1998, and was a focus for Enfield when he last served as town manager from 2006 to 2015.

"It brings opportunities for commercial development and residential development, and also provides people an access point to get to Enfield a bit more efficiently," Coppler said. "We were looking at places like Washington, D.C., where they extended areas of their rail network to places that didn't have a lot of development."

Coppler said a significant aspect of planning for the new train station is ensuring that public transportation within Enfield can get rail passengers throughout town, lest they be stranded at the platform.

"It's something that we started thinking about when I was here the last time," Coppler said, which led to the creation of Enfield's "Magic Carpet" bus transit system. "We understood that once we have a train station, we have to have a way to get people to other parts of town."

Developers have planned a handful of multi-family developments across Enfield, including at the former MassMutual campus, the Enfield Square Mall site, and along North River Street. If those projects want to take advantage of the rail service, Coppler said, there will have to be a way to get people to and from the station.

"I think we see the link between the different types of development we're having and increasing job opportunities within town, and understanding the transit systems we're putting in place are going to be an important factor in making these come to life," Coppler said.

As for commuting, Coppler said getting from Enfield to Hartford used to be a "nightmare" at any time of the day, but rail access provides residents with "alternate mobility" if they want to avoid dealing with traffic.

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