'For those who rely on (rail), the worse you make the commuting experience, the more they’re going to seek housing in a community elsewhere. 'It doesn’t take a lot of change in terms of numbers to affect extraordinary change in terms of experience,' McAvoy said. New Haven continues to undergo a boom in development, but new housing units could become less attractive and harder to fill if Lamont's cuts are approved, according to McAvoy. McAvoy also said he believes that slashing rail service could hinder the city's economy by deterring commuters from seeking housing near the train station.

'You’re only driving more people toward cars at that point anyway.' 'Rail has a hard enough time in this country, and the more difficult or unpleasant you make it for people, the harder it’s going to be to justify an expansion of that service or even its maintenance in the future,' McAvoy added. 'Do they want it to be standing-room only? Do they want us to be stuffed in there like sardines?' McAvoy, 39, said. New Haven resident Sean McAvoy said reducing the state's rail service would be a 'terrible idea.' According to McAvoy, railcars traveling along the New Haven Line already are crowded, and reducing the number of trains would exacerbate congestion and discourage ridership. The state’s newest commuter route, the Hartford Line, has seen a more robust return to its ridership and would not face any cuts under the governor’s budget.

The governor’s office has pointed to the sluggish pace at which riders have returned to both routes as the region has emerged from the pandemic. In addition to the New Haven Line, the Shore Line East route, currently operating at two-thirds of its pre-pandemic levels between New Haven and New London, would be pared back even further under Lamont's proposal, to 44 percent of its earlier levels. As Connecticut lawmakers mull Lamont's spending plan and whether to roll back service for two of the state's commuter rail lines, Pineiro and other riders are speaking out against the idea, arguing that it would sour the experience of taking the train and push more passengers to using motor vehicles as their primary form of transportation.

Metro north new haven schedule