Connecticut cuts ribbon on Hartford Line train project

Gov. Dannel Malloy unveiled the new Hartford Line trains at Union Station in New Haven Friday morning.
The line connects the Metro-North to Hartford, the Bradley Airport Shuttle and even Springfield, Massachusetts. The trains will open to passengers tomorrow and rides will be free this weekend.
It will take commuters 45 minutes to get from New Haven to Hartford and another 15 minutes from there to get to Windsor Locks. After this weekend, the cost of a trip like that would be just $10.
"This is absolutely big for folks who live in Fairfield County," Malloy said. "This is big for the state. This is about being competitive in the future."
Malloy says the project has been in the making since 2004, but was reinvigorated when he came into office in 2011.
The state says some of the towns along the line are already seeing $400 million worth of development around new train stations but critics say the $750 million for the project is a waste of money.
The new Hartford Line will run 17 trains a day, but passengers can also grab an Amtrak train for the same price to any station along the route.