A rail bridge in Connecticut has supported its last train service after 105 years serving the Amtrak route.
Rail traffic has now been shifted away from the Niantic River Bridge as part of a $140 million project to replace the ageing river crossing.
President and CEO of Amtrak Joe Boardman said: “This is a major accomplishment in Amtrak’s effort to renew and improve Northeast Corridor infrastructure for the next century of service.”
The three-year project, which is due to be completed by May 2013, will allow Amtrak to operate services at higher speeds and reduce delays on the route, which links New York and Boston.
The last train to operate over the old bridge was the Northeast Regional Train 67, between Boston and Newport News, which crossed the bridge at about 11.39pm last Friday night.
Initially, all rail traffic will share one track over the new bascule lift bridge.
The second track is scheduled to be available for use in November.
Other major work elements of this project include new track alignments for the east and west approaches to the bridge, and expansion of the navigation channel beneath the bridge and an increase in the vertical under-clearance above the water to benefit river traffic.
