Why waste money on trains between Hartford and New Haven? Traffic on 91 and the Wilbur Cross Parkway between those two cities is virtually non existent. I do feel, however, that money needs to be spent on the Waterbury branch of Metro-North. I can list dozens of people I know who live in the Valley, yet drive to Milford and Stratford to take the train. But we have station in Waterbury, Naugatuck, Seymour, Ansonia, and Derby-Shelton!!! But people drive to the shoreline to take the train, adding to the traffic situation, and clogging up platforms and parking lots at the Milford and Stratford stations. It makes no sense to drive past the station in your own town, only to sit in traffic driving to a station 15 minutes away. But I'll tell you why they do it. Most people in the Naugatuck Valley use the train to either visit New York City on a day trip, or for commuting to work in Fairfield County and beyond (NY, NJ). The problem with the Waterbury line is that people cannot get a direct train south of Bridgeport. If you want to get to work in Norwalk or Stamford, or visit New York City, you have to stop in Bridgeport, walk around the station, then wait for a nearly full connection train. Why not just get on in Milford where the train is nearly empty, and where conveniently, there is no transfer involved? The thing that makes me irrate is to see trains from as far away as Guilford, on the Shoreline East line, getting a direct pass into Grand Central, when they're further away, and where there labor force is less likely to work in the NYC metropolitan area. There are huge problems at the DOT, and if they want to make the Route 8 corridor less traffic filled, then they need to do whatever it takes to let Waterbury trains go directly into Grand Central. I know there are logistical issues with the power sources and train types, but they need to do whatever it takes. It's just not fair to have to drive to another station, bypassing the one in your own town. They need to improve the schedules as well, so that it's more convenient and enticing to take a Waterbury branch train, versus driving to Milford or Stratford. Improving decrepit stations along the Waterbury line would also help things. Finally, the DOT needs to hire a part-time staff to poll commuters on the trains and at stations from New Haven to Bridgeport, inquiring where commuters live, their travel itinerary, and I am 99% certain that they will be astonished at the amount of Valley residents who do not use their own railroad line/stations. The DOT needs to seriously get on board!