springfieldunion. hartford and new haven railroad
hartford and new haven, new haven, penn central, conrail, amtrak/connecticut southern

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One of the earliest railroads in Connecticut, the Hartford & New Haven Railroad was chartered between the two cities and planned on someday extending to Springfield. The purpose of the Hartford & New Haven was to provide Hartford with access to Long Island Sound when the Connecticut River froze in the winter. Construction started in 1836 and halted a year later because of a financial panic. After getting funds construction continued, and by 1838 the first portion of the line opened between New Haven and Meriden. A year later the entire line from New Haven to Hartford was operating fully. Passengers arriving in New Haven could transfer to steam boats going to New York City.

After two years of construction, the New Haven & Hartford reached Springfield in 1844. In 1872 the entire line from New Haven to Springfield was double-tracked as the line became a major through route between Boston and New York City. During the same time of the upgrades of the main line, the New Haven & Hartford merged operations with the New York & New Haven Railroad, creating the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. The New Haven Railroad became a major carrier in southern New England.

Having been through some troubled times, the New Haven was ordered per an ICC order in 1968 to merge into the newly formed Penn Central. The Penn Central was created with the ill fated merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central System in 1968. With three near bankrupt railroads, the Penn Central lasted only 8 years. The Penn Central financially collapsed and declared bankruptcy, with the government responding with the creation of Conrail in 1976.

Since the shore line's creation in 1889, the New Haven & Hartford was never an important through route for freight traffic, until it came under the control of the Penn Central in 1969. With the closing of the Poughkeepsie Bridge route and the shutdown of ferry service across New York Harbor, most freight traffic in Connecticut went in and out via the New Haven & Hartford. Passenger service on the line was discontinued in 1961, but was later returned when Amtrak took over the nation's passenger trains.

Somewhere in the history of the Hartford & New Haven, Amtrak purchsed the New Haven-Springfield corridor. Conrail continued to serve freight on this line, but it eventually discontinued service on the line and in 1996 the Connecticut Southern commenced operation, using trackage rights around Springfield and on Amtrak's line.

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