Shuttle (Amtrak)

New Haven–Springfield Shuttle

Train #470, a single-car train, sits at New Haven awaiting Train 170 from New York.
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Ridership	1,044 daily 380,896 (total) (FY11)
Route
Start	New Haven
Stops	6
End	Springfield
Distance travelled	63 miles (101 km)
Average journey time	1 hour 20 minutes
Service frequency	Four weekday roundtrips Five weekend roundtrips
Train number(s)	401, 405, 432, 450, 460, 463, 464, 465, 467, 470, 475, 476, 479, 488, 490, 493, 494, 495, 497
Technical
	P42DC, P40DC, Amfleets, Metroliner cab car
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)	Amtrak
Route map Dist. Station Vermonter to St. Albans 0 mi 0 km Springfield Lake Shore Limited to Boston and Chicago MA/CT border 15 mi 24 km Windsor Locks 20 mi 32 km Windsor 26 mi 42 km Hartford 37 mi 60 km Berlin 44 mi 71 km Meriden 50 mi 80 km Wallingford Northeast Corridor to Boston 63 mi 101 km New Haven Northeast Corridor to Washington This diagram:

Route map
Dist. Station Vermonter to St. Albans 0 mi 0 km Springfield Lake Shore Limited to Boston and Chicago MA/CT border 15 mi 24 km Windsor Locks 20 mi 32 km Windsor 26 mi 42 km Hartford 37 mi 60 km Berlin 44 mi 71 km Meriden 50 mi 80 km Wallingford Northeast Corridor to Boston 63 mi 101 km New Haven Northeast Corridor to Washington This diagram:

New Haven–Springfield shuttles are shuttle trains run by Amtrak between Springfield, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut, along Amtrak's New Haven–Springfield Line. These shuttles connect with Northeast Regional service at the New Haven station, using usually a cross-platform or same platform transfer.

The Shuttles are numbered in the 400 series, usually denoting by the last two digits which Regional train the train is connecting with. Typical consists run in push-pull configuration with a GE Genesis locomotive pulling an Amfleet coach and a 9600 series Metroliner cab car. Normally the Ex-Budd Metroliner leads northbound trains, while the GE Genesis usually leads most southbound trains. Crew bases are at Springfield and New Haven, with diesel locomotive servicing taking place at New Haven.

During fiscal year 2011, the Shuttle service carried over 380,000 passengers, an increase of 4.8% over FY2010. The service had a total revenue of $11,204,575 in FY2011, a 9% increase over FY2010.

Until electrification was extended to Boston along the Shore Line portion of the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in 2000, Springfield Shuttle trains operated as "sections" of regular NortheastDirect trains. New Haven marked the end of electrification which required an engine change for all Amtrak trains passing through. On trains going to Boston, one or two cars would be uncoupled from the rear, containing the passengers wishing to travel through to points between New Haven and Springfield. After the Boston portion of the train continued along its way, a diesel engine would attach to the left-behind cars and pull them to Springfield. Trains from Springfield would platform, then pull forward to a relay track, leaving the passenger cars to wait for the train to arrive from Boston. An electric locomotive would then couple to the Springfield cars and push them onto the front of the arriving southbound train.