Public transportation in Connecticut is overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT). Both commuter rail and bus systems are operated within the state.
The most utilized rail service in the state is the Metro-North New Haven Line, which terminates at Grand Central Terminal in New York City and is operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority under a contract with CDOT. The New Haven Line carries 125,000 passengers each weekday, and 21 percent of the line’s ridership uses the Stamford station. Shore Line East (SLE) service operates between New London and New Haven with limited service to Stamford. SLE service began on May 29, 1990 and is operated by Amtrak using diesel push-pull equipment. As of mid-2020, the rolling stock consists of ex-Amtrak GE P40DC locomotives, EMD GP40-3H locomotives, and ex-VRE Mafersa coaches. Finally, in 2018, CDOT opened the Hartford Line between New Haven and Springfield, MA. The line is jointly managed by the Connecticut and Massachusetts state governments and passengers are allowed to use Hartford Line tickets to board most Amtrak services along the same route.
Most bus service in the state is provided by Connecticut Transit. Connecticut Transit traces its history back to when the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company was formed to operate electric trolleys across the state. Over time, trolley lines were converted to bus routes, but remained privately owned and operated until the 1970s, at which time the franchises were sold to the state. Today, Connecticut Transit has seven operating divisions plus the CTfastrak BRT routes. Operations are contracted out to other companies but the system is overseen by CDOT.
Connecticut Transit (CTtransit) is the second largest transit agency in New England and serves much of Connecticut via contract providers for seven different cities within the state. These seven areas are Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Westbury, New Britain and Bristol, Meriden, and Wallingford. In addition, CTtransit operates CTfastrak, a bus rapid transit route between Hartford and New Britain. HNS Management, Inc. is the primary operator of CTtransit. CTtransit operations were taken over from private companies by the Connecticut Department of Transportation in 1976. Some of these private operators trace their history back to the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company, which was formed to operate electric trolley lines throughout the state in 1901.
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The Metro-North Railroad serves the northern suburbs of New York City in the Hudson Valley as well as southwestern Connecticut. Metro-North's predecessor railroads date back to 1832. Today, Metro-North operates a total of five lines. Three lines operate east of the Hudson River and terminate at Grand Central Station in Manhattan. Two lines operate west of the Hudson River and terminate at Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, NJ; these lines are operated by New Jersey Transit under contract to Metro-North.
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The Shore Line Trolley Museum is the oldest operating trolley museum in the United States. The museum was initially incorporated as the Branford Electric Railway Association (BERA) in 1945. BERA acquired a 1.5 mile portion of the Connecticut Company's "F" Route after service on that line was eliminated in March of 1947. Today, the museum has the third largest collection of electric railway equipment in North America, much of which operated in service in Connecticut or New York City. The museum encompasses the Branford Electric Railway Historic District, which was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
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