Gov. Ned Lamont has proposed a big investment in high-speed rail to shrink travel times between the state’s biggest business centers down to 30 minutes. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia user Jehochman / CC BY-SA 4.0

Connecticut’s Department of Transportation announced Saturday it has received a $17.4 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to build a new Hartford Line railroad station in Windsor Locks.

The proposed new station will be located about a mile north of the existing Hartford Line station. It’s part of a larger transit-oriented development project in downtown Windsor Locks.

“Up and down the Hartford Line, towns like Windsor Locks have engaged in aggressive planning around the train stations to maximize the economic energy created by the investment in this train service,” said Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, adding how the transit-oriented project will ultimately help reduce traffic gridlock.

Various state agencies are involved in the project, including the state’s Department of Housing. Windsor Locks has also received received more than $321,000 in grant funding from the Department of Transportation pedestrian improvements that help link people to new housing.

Besides the new station, other improvements include track and signal work, street-level rail crossings and Amtrak rail yard work.

Transit adjacency is proving to be an important draw for commercial tenants and residential buyers alike. Developers are taking advantage of the newly popular Hartford Line and CTfastrak public transit lines to develop multifamily, transit-oriented properties totaling over 1,200 units that enjoy quick connections to downtown Hartford.