Springfield Line Service Rename

The names "Shuttle" and "Springfield Shuttle" are being discontinued. Most trains now will carry the name "Amtrak Hartford Line" to mirror what CTDOT refers to them as (and to distinguish them from CTrail Hartford Line trains which also operate on the line.) The CTrail and Amtrak Hartford Line trains together provide the Hartford Line commuter service. Trains continuing past Springfield to Greenfield will be known as "Valley Flyer" trains. This is now reflected in the reservation system.

Trains continuing past Springfield to Greenfield will be known as "Valley Flyer" trains.

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Miss the “S” part in Trains. When does this start? Why just to Greenfield?

A random search for next month shows three round-trips New Haven-Greenfield.

A check for 9/30 NHV-SPG shows:
-Four "Amtrak Hartford Line" trains
-Two "Valley Flyer" trains
-One "Vermonter" train
-One "Shuttle" train
-One "Northeast Regional" train

The same thing shows up on 10/7.

Edit: And Greenfield is the last station in Massachusetts. I suspect that MA is picking up the tab for those extensions. It is anybody's guess if/when Vermont will get in the act on this front, but unless there's a major ridership-generating station in SE Vermont I suspect that MA has little reason to extend service further.

Anderson said:

A random search for next month shows three round-trips New Haven-Greenfield.

A check for 9/30 NHV-SPG shows:
-Four "Amtrak Hartford Line" trains
-Two "Valley Flyer" trains
-One "Vermonter" train
-One "Shuttle" train
-One "Northeast Regional" train

The same thing shows up on 10/7.

Edit: And Greenfield is the last station in Massachusetts. I suspect that MA is picking up the tab for those extensions. It is anybody's guess if/when Vermont will get in the act on this front, but unless there's a major ridership-generating station in SE Vermont I suspect that MA has little reason to extend service further.

Click to expand...

They are still in the process of updating the system. The “shuttle” name will eventually be gone. The Valley Flyer is the name chosen by MassDOT for their service to Greenfield so only the trains that operate past Springfield will carry that. CDOT has adopted the name Hartford Line for their whole program which includes both Amtrak and CDOTs own CTrail trains. They like to refer to the trains as “CTrail Hartford Line” and “Amtrak Hartford Line” trains which is the reason for that naming. CDOT probably would have preferred that the “Valley Flyer” name only show up for riders north of Springfield as between NHV and SPG these are also “Amtrak Hartford Line” trains with the same fare structure, but Amtrak is probably only willing to go so far.

If one rides from Springfield to New Haven or any trip in between on 495 for instance one pays Hartford Line commuter level fares which are fixed. But Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield riders are presented with a typical Amtrak fare structure with bucket pricing as are any trip that continues past or originates past new haven.

Well, showing two different names for the same train might cause its own problems (either with inventory management or with passenger recognition). It's one thing when it is, say, the LSL's two sections...but otherwise it's a bit of an issue.