CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NEWS RELEASE 2800 BERLIN TURNPIKE P.O. BOX 317546 NEWINGTON CONNECTICUT, 06131-7546
FOR RELEASE: November 5, 2007	FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:    OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS    TELEPHONE: (860) 594-3062    Fax: (860) 594-3066    Web site:www.ct.gov/dot

Public Hearings on $1 Surcharge

for New Haven Line Rail Tickets

Governor Rell Signed Bonding Package, Surcharge Repealed

The Department of Transportation today announced that public hearings have been cancelled for the implementation of the $1 per-trip surcharge on the New Haven Line.  The public hearings were scheduled for Wednesday, November 7 at the University of Connecticut in Stamford and Thursday, November 15 at Union Station in New Haven. 

Public notice was published in the Connecticut Law Journal on October 23 and 30, 2007 for such hearings.  A notice to cancel public hearings will be published on November 13, 2007 in the Connecticut Law Journal.

The new bonding package signed into law on Friday by Governor Rell has repealed the surcharge and is to be replaced with a 1.25% fare increase in 2010, followed by 1% annual fare increase through 2016.  The increases will support the purchase of 380 new passenger rail cars to replace current rail fleet and maintenance facilities on the New Haven Line.

            “We would like to thank, the Governor, and Senators William Nickerson and Andrew MacDonald, for their leadership and commitment to provide a reasonable alternative to provide partial funding of the new rail fleet,” said Transportation Commissioner Ralph J. Carpenter.  “The state is poised to see the benefits of planning and commitment shown over the past several years, in a new and improved rail system.  As continued progress and improvements are made, we believe the public will support this fare program.”

Governor Rell in March, 2007 set up a bi-partisan taskforce, headed by Senator Andrew MacDonald and Senator William Nickerson to develop an alternative to the $1.00 per-ride surcharge.  The proposal that came out of this process has been endorsed by both the Governor and the Legislature, and was included in the bonding bill recently passed in Special Session on October 30, 2007.