OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
SB-576
AN ACT CONCERNING THE EXPANSION OF PASSENGER RAIL
SERVICE ON THE WATERBURY BRANCH OF THE METRO -
NORTH COMMUTER RAILROAD.
Primary Analyst: PM 4/9/21
Contributing Analyst(s):
Reviewer: MM
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $
Transportation, Dept. TF - Cost See Below See Below
Note: TF=Transportation Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to
increase the number of trains and frequency of service on the
Waterbury branch of the New Haven Line and expand such branch to
include the towns of Seymour, Shelton, and Derby. The bill neither
specifies a given level of service expansion nor sets a date by which
such expansion shall occur. The cost of the bill is dependent on these
two factors.
Background
The Governor's proposed FY 22 and FY 23 budget includes
$1,227,689 in FY 23 to increase the number of trains servicing the
Waterbury branch from 15 to 22 on weekdays and from 12 to 15 on
weekends. In this scenario, the amount reflects the state's share of the
subsidy and assumes an 80% federal cost share through the
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ)
program. In the budget proposal, the expansion would apply to all
existing stops on the Waterbury branch line, including the Seymour 2021SB-00576-R000420-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 2
and Derby-Shelton stations.
Beyond FY 25, the state's cost would increase to approximately $6.1
million annually, or 100% of the subsidy, because CMAQ funding for
operating costs is generally limited to the first three years.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue subject to inflation and the extent of the expansion.