March 11, 2014

GOV. MALLOY: NEW HAVEN LINE POWER UPGRADE COMPLETED, DOUBLING ELECTRICAL SUPPLY

(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut Department of Transportation announced today that the $10 million upgrade of the power supply for the New Haven Line has been successfully completed, giving full back-up power redundancy for the east- and westbound lines.

"This project was designed to prevent the type of catastrophic power failure that occurred last fall in Mount Vernon, New York, seriously disrupting New Haven Line service," said Governor Malloy. "In addition, it will allow us to add more service on the New Haven Line as we move forward."

The final phase of the project was completed on time and put into service over the weekend (on March 9), giving full power redundancy from Greens Farms Station in Westport to Harrison, New York.

Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) installed new transformers to replace four aging transformers at Cos Cob (in Greenwich) to ensure reliability and safe operation of the electric supply that keeps New Haven Line trains moving.

The project roughly doubles the capacity of the two west transformers from 16 megawatts to 30 megawatts, matching the capacity of the two east transformers that were previously replaced. This increases the power supply for trains and implements redundant power for this portion of the New Haven Line.

DOT Commissioner James P. Redeker said, "The execution of this project demonstrated the strong partnership among DOT, Metro-North and CL&P and the benefits of a comprehensive plan for executing the projects with extensive planning and contingency plans that ensured successful delivery of the project on schedule."

The transformer replacement project also included the upgrade and relocation of supply feeder cables servicing the substation and construction and installation of duct banks to contain and protect the cables; manholes; foundations and equipment pads, and other equipment.

Metro-North operates the New Haven Line - the busiest in the country - under contract to the DOT.

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For Immediate Release: March 11, 2014

Facebook: Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy