Students Bike across Connecticut for High Speed Rail

Date: 3/12/2010 3:30 pm

Students of Trinity College turned heads last weekend as they biked 90 miles to promote a high-speed rail service.

Beginning their trek on Saturday, over a dozen students rode from Stamford through New Haven and up to Hartford. They began close to the Metro-North route along the shoreline, and later followed state’s proposed high-speed rail route.

"The scenery on the back roads was great — it's a great way to build awareness," says senior Maggie Thomas.

Thomas and her peers led the Connecticut Public Interest Research Group on the tour. The group is calling for a better public transit system, from high-speed trains to commuter rail and buses.

The students got some high-profile buy-in for their efforts. In the city of Meriden on Sunday, House Speaker Chris Donovan hopped on his bike and gave them a four mile tour of his city.

Attracting attention with bright shirts that read “I'd rather be riding high-speed rail," the students were welcomed by lawmakers and mayors as they made stops along the way.

The riders reached the end of their journey on Monday when they arrived at the Capitol where they were met by more legislators. Donovan and Rep. David McCluskey assured the students that state legislators, congressional members and Gov. M. Jodi Rell will collaborate to fund new high speed rail projects.

The proposed rail system entails 110-mph trains linking Springfield and New Haven to the Boston-to-Washington corridor. The system would accommodate for slower trains making frequent stops, and will require hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid.

"College students know there's a huge need for better public transportation. We're between the two greatest cities in the Northeast," Thomas said. "So many students want to go to Boston for the weekend but don't want to pay for gas or drive [into] the city. Wouldn't it be great to have a train?"

Students say that these changes in public transport would boost city centers, lessen pollution, mitigate traffic, conserve gas, and assist the poor who cannot afford cars.