Latest News & Updates

We had a full schedule throughout this past quarter! Among the highlights: We submitted comments to ensure the Town of Stonington’s new Plan of Conservation & Development listed the Shore Line East extension as one of the town’s long-term goals to achieve We hit the road several times, traveling to Charlestown, Mystic, and New London to advocate for better local rail service in-person at Amtrak's pop-up events and CTDOT's open house We held our first Summer Social at the Unit

The New London Day ran a front-page article about CTDOT's Open House at the New London Public Library for its State Rail Plan update. The Day spoke with several of us about our group's support for extending Shore Line East to Westerly. Read the full article here: https://theday.com/news/926849/residents-officials-advocate-for-rail-line-extension/

RI and CT residents: Make your voice heard for extending Shore Line East to Westerly via Mystic and Groton! Stop by the Olde Mistick Village this Sunday (9/20) between 11:30am and 5:30pm to let Amtrak know you want commuter rail (and more frequent Amtrak service) at the Westerly and Mystic stations. These pop-ups are great opportunities to make your voice heard as they get underway with their New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study, which will shape the future of rail

RI and CT residents: Make your voice heard for extending Shore Line East to Westerly via Mystic and Groton! CTDOT is beginning the update of its upcoming 2027-30 State Rail Plan. They have posted a project website with a survey and mapping activity to gather initial public feedback on what people would like to see in the new plan. Their survey questions ask you to rank several pre-provided responses based on how important they are to you. For two questions in particular, we w

This quarter brought a few initiatives to a close and opened up a few new ones. Among the highlights: The North Stonington, CT Board of Selectmen passed a resolution in support of our efforts to secure infrastructure upgrades and commuter rail service at Westerly Station, meaning all municipalities in Westerly Station’s catchment area have expressed unanimous support Rep. Seth Magaziner officially submitted a $9.6 million earmark request to fund the installation of mini-high

"New London Mayor Michael Passeo told CT Examiner he... would welcome expanded commuter rail connecting New Haven to Westerly, Rhode Island." Read the full article from the Connecticut Examiner here: Amtrak Kicks Off Long-Delayed Planning for High-Speed Service Linking New Haven and Providence - CT Examiner

Off to another strong start in the first quarter of 2026! Among the highlights: We prepared a letter of support for RIDOT’s application to Rep. Seth Magaziner’s office for an earmark to fund the installation of mini-high platforms at the station (fingers crossed – probably won’t know if we get it until the end of the year) We submitted testimony to the CT General Assembly (online) and the CT Public Transportation Council (in person) in support of the Shore Line East Riders’ A

What’s Up Newport reports on RIDOT’s intention to apply for grant funding this spring to upgrade Westerly Station. Read the full article here: https://whatsupnewp.com/2026/02/state-to-apply-for-funds-to-upgrade-rail-traffic-in-southern-rhode-island/

Lots of great news to round out a productive year! Among the highlights: The Charlestown, RI Town Council passed a resolution in support of our efforts to secure infrastructure upgrades and commuter rail service at Westerly Station About 150 people from Westerly, Pawcatuck, and surrounding communities packed the room for RIDOT's December 10th Public Listening Session in Westerly (thank you all for making your voices heard!) The CT Examiner, New London Day, Westerly Sun, and O

“Brown University’s Marc Dunkelman, who wrote the bestselling book Why Nothing Works , called the proposed Westerly improvements ‘low-hanging fruit’.” Read the full article from Ocean State Media (RI NPR) here: https://www.oceanstatemedia.org/transportation/what-specific-improvements-would-you-like-to-see-in-rhode-island-rail-service

WPRI 12 News aired a brief segment reporting on last night’s public listening session and the idea of extending Shore Line East and the MBTA to Westerly. Watch the video above! Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyOApjWVWHE

The Westerly Sun published a front-page article about how RIDOT’s December 10 public listening session went. Read the article here: https://www.thewesterlysun.com/daily-news-alerts/speakers-ask-state-for-rail-improvements-in-westerly/article_1cec58c8-8652-468c-9ba9-119d1e05d9f1.html

The Connecticut Examiner covered the input of nearly 150 attendees at RIDOT’s December 10 public listening session in Westerly. Read their article here: https://ctexaminer.com/2025/12/11/westerly-and-stonington-residents-pack-meeting-to-discuss-added-train-service/

Providence Now ABC6 aired a brief segment reporting RIDOT’s public listening session will happen tonight – and that one of the proposals on the table is bringing commuter rail to Westerly. Watch the video above! Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyOApjWVWHE

The Connecticut Examiner posted an article previewing RIDOT’s December 10 public listening session in Westerly and its implications for Southeastern Connecticut. Read the full article here: https://ctexaminer.com/2025/12/09/full-house-expected-at-wednesday-public-forum-on-future-of-westerly-rail-service/

The New London Day ran a front-page article previewing RIDOT’s December 10 public listening session in Westerly and its implications for Southeastern Connecticut. Read the full article here: https://theday.com/news/820623/residents-officials-to-advocate-for-rail-upgrades-at-rhode-island-meeting/

The Westerly Sun ran a front-page article previewing RIDOT’s December 10 public listening session in Westerly. Read the full article here: https://www.thewesterlysun.com/daily-news-alerts/r-i-to-get-input-on-rail-upgrades-plan/article_ffbff599-0ca9-4fc1-b646-f2bdd61164a0.html

The RI Department of Transportation has posted an online survey for its update of the State Rail Plan at this link: https://surveys.piopinions.com/SE/1/RIDOT/. The feedback RIDOT receives through this survey and upcoming public outreach meetings will help it decide which new rail projects to prioritize through its new State Rail Plan. This is a key opportunity to advance the extension of Shore Line East and the Westerly Station upgrades! Please take a few minutes to fill out

Our focus swung back to Rhode Island during this quarter as our efforts to upgrade Westerly Station’s platforms reached a key milestone. Among the highlights: The Westerly Station platform upgrade project was officially added to Rhode Island’s new FY 2026-35 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), making the project eligible to receive federal funding The platform upgrades, as well as a turnback track enabling future Shore Line East trains to pull off the mainline to

“There’s also $30.5 million penciled in for high-level platforms at the Westerly train station to improve Amtrak service ‘and to enable the future extension of [Connecticut’s] Shore Line East and MBTA commuter rail service,’ the program states.” Read the full article from the Boston Globe here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/11/metro/ri-council-votes-transportation-improvement-funding/