Public Comment: CT State Rail Plan Survey

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 would recommend the following rankings to ensure they know you want the SLE extension:

Question #4 – What improvements would make you more likely to use passenger rail more

often?

1. Service to new locations

2. (Your choice for the rest)

Question #5 – Please rank the importance of the following passenger rail initiatives.

1. Add or extend passenger rail services to new destinations

2. Add new train stations

3. (Your choice for the rest)

There is also a mapping tool you can fill out to show the locations of rail improvements you’d

like to see. Here’s how to do it for stations:

1. Click the Add Marker button

2. Click the station location on the map to drop a pin there to represent the station

a. Note in the case of Westerly Station, it won’t let you drop a pin over the state

line in RI, so just put the pin in the river as close as you can get to the station

(you’ll see a bunch of others)

3. For Category, click “new passenger rail service” in the drop-down menu

4. For the “What type of new rail service…” question, click Other (Please Specify)

5. For the “What would you like us to know…” question, type in a short message saying

you want SLE extended to this station

Keep your eyes out for our next Action Alert with details on CTDOT’s upcoming State Rail Plan public informational meeting in New London!