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CTfastrak

A 62-foot CTfastrak bus at Downtown New Britain station in November 2015
Locale	Central Connecticut
Service type	Bus rapid transit
Routes	8 local routes 4 express routes
Stations	10
Daily ridership	10,046 (March 2018)
Fuel type	Hybrid diesel-electric
Operator	Connecticut Transit
Program Director	Michael Sanders
Website	cttransit.com/services/ctfastrak

CTfastrak (constructed as the New Britain-Hartford Busway) is a regional bus rapid transit system currently operating between downtown Hartford and Downtown New Britain station in New Britain in central Connecticut. Operated by Connecticut Transit, it is the first bus rapid transit system in Connecticut and the second in New England after the MBTA Silver Line. CTfastrak opened on March 28, 2015 after fifteen years of planning and three years of construction.

CTfastrak services run on a 9.4-mile (15.1 km) dedicated busway which runs on an abandoned railroad right-of-way from Downtown New Britain to Newington Junction and alongside the active New Haven–Springfield Line from Newington Junction to downtown Hartford. Eight local and four express routes operate along the busway and over on-street loops in downtown Hartford.

CTfastrak is the highest rated BRT system in the United States, with a Silver rating according to the BRT Standard.

Infrastructure

The CTfastrak busway is built on current and former railroad rights-of-way owned by the state and Amtrak, which allowed for the busway to be constructed with minimal taking of private land. From its north end in downtown Hartford to Newington Junction station, the busway occupies the north side of Amtrak's New Haven–Springfield Line right of way. That section of the line was once 4 tracks (shared by two separate railroads) and is now two tracks, with the busway occupying the third and fourth track slots. From Newington Junction to its south end at Downtown New Britain station, the busway follows the former Newington Secondary rail line.

Along much of its length, CTfastrak is constructed as a grade-separated limited-access highway. There are three at-grade crossings of local roads in New Britain, one in the Elmwood section of West Hartford, and one in Hartford (the latter two shared with the New Haven–Springfield Line). Buses can additionally enter and leave the busway via access roads at Downtown New Britain, East Street, Cedar Street, Newington Junction, and Sigourney Street stations and at the north end of the busway at Asylum Street in Hartford. A lengthy bridge was constructed over East Street (CT-175) and Allen Street in New Britain to eliminate former grade crossings.

From New Britain to Newington Junction, a fenced multi-use trail was constructed alongside the busway. Such a trail was not possible on the northern section, where all available room was needed for an access road for Amtrak maintenance vehicles.

The busway has ten stations of varying size. Downtown New Britain is a sprawling complex with numerous bus bays and large shelters to support transfers between CTfastrak services and local CT Transit services. Flatbush Avenue and Sigourney Street have large island platforms and off-busway loops. The remaining seven stations have basic side platforms and small shelters, with ramps to street level. All stations except East Main Street have center passing lanes to allow express buses to pass stopped local buses.

Services

v t e CT Fastrak
Legend
Hartford Line Hartford Sigourney Street Parkville Kane Street Flatbush Avenue Elmwood Newington Junction Cedar Street East Street East Main Street Downtown New Britain

As of December 2016, twelve CT Transit routes use the CTfastrak busway with a variety of stopping patterns.

Nine routes provide local stopping service on various sections of the busway:

• 101 Hartford/New Britain
• 102 Hartford/New Britain/Bristol
• 121 MCC/Hartford/UConn Health
• 125 Berlin Tpke
• 128 Hartford/Westfarms–New Britain via Stanley Street
• 140 CCSU Shuttle
• 144 Wethersfield/Westfarms
• 153 Elmwood/Copaco
• 161 St. Francis Hospital/Hartford Hospital

The 101 Hartford/New Britain route provides high-frequency all-stops base service between New Britain and downtown Hartford, with headways of 7.5 minutes at peak, 12 minutes off-peak, and 20 minutes during the evening.

The 102 makes the same stops as the 101 but extends past New Britain to Bristol, Connecticut; it operates at a lower frequency than the 101. The 121 uses the busway from Cedar Street to Sigourney Street, while the 128 uses the busway from Elmwood to Union Station.

Two routes run express on the busway from Downtown New Britain to Sigourney Street, making no intermediate stops:

• 923 Bristol Express
• 928 Southington–Cheshire–Waterbury Express

Four other routes – 144, 153, and 161, as well as the 140(F) – act as feeder services. They make stops at CTfastrak station platforms but do not run on the busway, with the exception of the 140 and 144, which use the busway between Cedar Street and East Street. Other times throughout the day it enters the busway at Newington Junction station as the 140F and continues to East Street.

History

In 2001, a dedicated busway transit project was judged to be the most cost-effective way of relieving congestion on Interstate 84 between Hartford, West Hartford, Newington and New Britain. The 9.4-mile (15.1 km) line was projected to cost $570 million, of which $400 million was funded by federal grants.

The project officially broke ground on May 22, 2012 and opened to the public on March 28, 2015.

Proof of payment is used for fare collection along the route. On June 23, 2015, CTDOT began issuing $75 tickets for riders found to have not paid their fare.

Preliminary work estimated a $10 million annual cost of running the various CTfastrak routes and new feeder services. In September 2015, CTtransit released that the yearly cost would be substantially higher at $17.5 million.

In October 2019, the state applied for a federal grant to test autonomous buses on the CTfastrak busway beginning in 2020.

Hartford Line

The Hartford Line commuter rail service between New Haven, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts via Hartford commenced on June 16, 2018. It initially connects to CTfastrak at Union Station. Hartford Line stations adjacent to the CTfastrak stops at West Hartford (Flatbush Avenue) and Newington Junction are planned to open later.

The 2012 environmental assessment for the Hartford Line included preliminary plans for four infill stations including West Hartford and Newington Junction; although they were not yet funded, this would allow future planning and construction to be expedited. On January 12, 2015, the state announced that $5.75 million in funding would be made available for environmental mitigation and design at ten Hartford Line and New Haven Line stations, including design funding for Hartford Line platforms at West Hartford and Newington Junction.

CTfastrak East

Planning began in early 2016 for extending CTfastrak service to communities east of Hartford. The expansion would incorporate many of the BRT features of the existing system, including branded buses, large shelters, real-time information, and frequent all-day service. However, it would run on existing HOV lanes on I-84 and I-384 rather than a dedicated busway.

References

1. "CTfastrak Ridership". Connecticut Bureau of Public Transportation. March 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
2. "Greening the Community" (PDF). CTfastrak. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
3. ^ "Despite Snow, Thousands of Riders, Many First-Timers, Experience CTfastrak on First Day of Service" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. March 28, 2015.
4. ^ "CTfastrak Routes". CT Transit. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
5. "BRT Scores". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. 2024.
6. "Multi-Use Trail". CTtransit. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
7. Simpson, Stan (June 30, 2014). "DOT officials bullish on CTfastrak's future". Hartford Business Journal. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
8. "Station Site Plans". Connecticut Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
9. "CTfastrak System Map" (PDF). CT Transit. December 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
10. U.S. Department Of Transportation; Federal Transit Administration; Connecticut Department of Transportation (December 2001). "Executive Summary, New Britain–Hartford Busway" (PDF).
11. ^ "Busway: After More Than 12 Years, Work Starts In Earnest On Busway". Hartford Courant.
12. "Fare Enforcement Begins on CTfastrak Bus Rapid Transit System: Riders Can Be Fined $75 Without Valid Proof Of Fare Payment" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. June 23, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
13. Stacom, Don; Kauffman, Matthew (September 28, 2015). "Yearly Taxpayer Cost To Operate CTfastrak Jumps 75 Percent From Original Estimate". Hartford Courant. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
14. Teehan, Sean (November 25, 2019). "CT hopes to test self-driving buses on CTfastrak in 2020". Hartford Business News.
15. Porter, Mikaela; Owens, David (June 17, 2018). "Thousands Take A Free Ride On Hartford Line's Inaugural Run". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
16. CDM Smith. "Section 1.3: Station and Layover Site Concept Plans" (PDF). NEW HAVEN-HARTFORD-SPRINGFIELD LINE HIGH SPEED INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT EVALUATION: Volume II Concept Design Drawings and Environmental Resource Graphics. Connecticut Department of Transportation. pp. 36, 37. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
17. "GOV. MALLOY, BOND COMMISSION APPROVE DESIGN OF RAIL STATIONS ON HARTFORD AND NEW HAVEN LINES" (Press release). State of Connecticut. January 12, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
18. "CTfastrak East of the River Expansion: Initial Study Results" (PDF). CTfastrak. April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
19. Stacom, Don. "DOT: Hartford To UConn Bus Route Could Cost $1.4 Million A Year". Hartford Courant. Retrieved February 9, 2017.

External links

• Official website

v t e Currently operating bus rapid transit systems in the United States
Alabama Birmingham Xpress California Fresno FAX Q Los Angeles G Line & J Line Silver Streak Oakland Tempo San Bernardino sbX San Diego Rapid San Francisco Geary Van Ness San Jose VTA Rapid Stockton San Joaquin RTD Express Colorado Fort Collins MAX Roaring Fork Valley VelociRFTA Connecticut Hartford–New Britain CT Fastrak Florida Jacksonville First Coast Flyer Orlando Lynx Lymmo South Miami-Dade Busway St. Petersburg SunRunner Illinois Chicagoland Pace Pulse Indiana Gary Broadway Metro Express Indianapolis IndyGo Red Line Purple Line Kentucky Louisville Rapid Maryland Silver Spring-Burtonsville Flash BRT Massachusetts Boston MBTA Silver Line Michigan Grand Rapids Silver Line Laker Line Minnesota Minneapolis-Saint Paul A Line C Line D Line Orange Line Red Line U of M Transitway Missouri Kansas City Metro Area Express Nebraska Omaha Rapid Bus Transit Nevada Reno RTC Rapid New Jersey go bus Route 9 BBS New Mexico Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) New York Albany-Schenectady-Troy BusPlus New York City MTA Select Bus Service Rockland-Westchester HudsonLink Ohio Cleveland Cleveland State Line HealthLine Columbus CMAX Oklahoma Tulsa Aero Oklahoma City RAPID NW Oregon Eugene Emerald Express Portland Frequent Express Pennsylvania Pittsburgh MLK East Busway South Busway West Busway Texas Austin CapMetro Rapid El Paso Sun Metro Brio Houston METRORapid Silver Line San Antonio VIA Primo Utah Salt Lake City region Ogden Express Utah Valley Express Virginia Arlington-Alexandria Metroway Richmond GRTC Pulse Washington King County RapidRide Snohomish County Swift Spokane City Line Vancouver The Vine Wisconsin Milwaukee CONNECT 1 Madison Metro Rapid A Line
Buses portal • United States portal

v t e Public transportation in Connecticut
Bus services	CT Transit Divisions Hartford New Haven Stamford Waterbury, Meriden, and Wallingford New Britain and Bristol Operators Collins Bus Service Dattco HNS Management New Britain Transportation North East Transportation Peter Pan Arrow Line Acquisition, LLC Bonanza Acquisition, LLC Services CT Fastrak dash Other bus agencies Bridgeport Enfield River Valley Housatonic Milford Northeast CT Northwest CT Norwalk Southeast Windham Former bus and streetcar agencies 1900-1950 Danbury and Bethel Street Railway Mastco New York and Stamford Railway Shore Line Electric Railway Groton and Stonington Street Railway New London and East Lyme Street Railway Norwich and Westerly Railway Waterbury and Milldale Tramway 1950-2000 Bridgeport Traction Connecticut Company Danbury Bus Comapany Intercity Coach NECTAR New England Transportation Company White Lines Since 2000 Arrow Line Bonanza Dattco Kelley Transit Middletown Area Transit
Rail services	Metro-North New Haven Line New Canaan Branch Danbury Branch Waterbury Branch Amtrak Acela Amtrak Hartford Line Northeast Regional Valley Flyer Vermonter CT Rail Hartford Line Shore Line East Proposed Central Corridor Rail Line
Other	Connecticut Commuter Rail Council Connecticut Department of Transportation New Haven–Springfield Line Northeast Corridor

• CTfastrak
• Transport infrastructure completed in 2015
• 2015 establishments in Connecticut
• Bus rapid transit in Connecticut