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Shore Line East Trains Are Attracting More Riders

Commuters disembark at the Old Saybrook train station from the Shore Line East express train from Stamford in 2001. (BOB MACDONNELL / Hartford Courant)

NEW HAVEN — Ridership this year on Shore Line East appears on course to meet or exceed 2013's levels, and the state intends to continue recent service expansions through 2015.

With extra trains for the midsummer Sailfest in New London, Shore Line East posted a record-breaking July ridership of nearly 64,000 people, according to the state transportation department.
Overall, the service drew 499,249 passengers in the first nine months of the year — up about 1 percent from the same period in 2013. Much of the new business was travel to or from New London, where ridership in the winter and early spring was about double the 2013 levels.

"The increased ridership at New London is due to the new weekend service extension to New London beginning June of 2013, strong positive customer ratings of the service, promotion of the new service and heavy weekend travel on Interstate 95," Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said in an email.

"At this time, plans for 2015 are to operate the same level of service with continued promotion of the line," he wrote.

http://www.courant.com/news/connecti...117-story.html