Deb Heinrich

By:  Abbe Smith, New Haven Register

MADISON — Instead of gassing up and hitting Interstate 95 for a weekend day trip to the Shoreline, revelers now can leave their cars behind and take the train.

On Saturday, local lawmakers celebrated the start of new weekend service for Shore Line East by lining up at the train station, getting onboard and riding the rail into New Haven.

Previously, there was no weekend service for stops on Shore Line East.

“This is a very big deal,” said state Rep. Deborah Heinrich, D-Madison, while waiting for the train Saturday morning.

Shore Line East commuter service includes seven stops from New Haven to Old Saybrook.

Heinrich said she and colleagues secured state funding to expand the rail service and hoped to continue the expansion past the summer.

A similar weekend service expansion was started last Christmas, but ended when the holidays came to a close.

Heinrich touted the move as an opportunity for travelers to save money this summer.

“With gas prices rising, it’s a great time to expand rail service,” she said.

Joining Heinrich for the kickoff were state Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford, and state Rep. Patricia Widlitz, D-Guilford. First Selectman Al Goldberg came out to help launch the new service and to see the lawmakers off on their trip.

Widlitz said she’s been fighting for Shore Line East for many years and remembers when she helped keep commuter train service in her area get on track despite plans by former Gov. John G. Rowland to shut it down in the mid 1990s.

She said traffic congestion on I-95 coupled with skyrocketing gas prices make mass transit the way to go.

“We need to get the word out so the people understand this is available,” she said.

Goldberg said the new service may give a boost to the local economy by helping Madison become an easier-to-reach destination for tourists from other Connecticut towns and New York City.

“Today puts Madison on the map,” he said.

As a vocal critic of the state Department of Transportation, Meyer said the expanding of Shore Line East to include weekend service “signals a new DOT” in his mind. Next on his transportation agenda is improvement of bikeways throughout the state.

“This is the age when we are trying to overcome fossil fuels,” he said.

Down the street from where the lawmakers waited for the train, the first phase of the new train station is on the verge of completion and is scheduled to open this summer.

Phase two, which focuses on the north side of the railroad, will include a platform and two-story parking garage.

Meyer said construction on phase two is expected to start next spring and finish in spring 2010.

The initial weekend rail schedule includes four westbound trains to New Haven from morning to early afternoon and five eastbound trains from midafternoon to late evening.

The trains will also provide reverse stops at Guilford station throughout the day.

For information on timetables and fares, go to shorelineeast.com.