Starting this week, there is no longer a train that can get travelers from Hartford, Connecticut, into Springfield, Massachusetts, before 9:00 a.m.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation had been running a train that left Hartford at 5:25 a.m. on weekdays, and arrived in Springfield just after 6:00.
But effective Monday, the earliest a commuter riding the Hartford Line will be able to arrive is 9:47.
Rich Andreski with the Connecticut DOT said that by redeploying the train in its latest timetable, the state can satisfy requests from Connecticut commuters.
"What's behind the schedule is to give folks another option, so those traveling from New Haven, Wallingford, Meriden, Berlin, Connecticut — give them another option to arrive in Hartford before 9:00 a.m.," he said.
Andreski said only four to 10 riders were making the Hartford-to-Springfield early morning trip.
He said his agency has not determined whether there would be greater demand for a train that arrived closer to 9:00 a.m., but that such service would require additional track capacity that doesn't currently exist.
