Private company

CTfastrak

Logo: Connecticut Department of Transportation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons³

Bus rapid transit operations in Connecticut, US

CT Fastrak (stylized as CTfastrak and constructed as the New Britain-Hartford Busway) is a regional bus rapid transit system currently operating between downtown Hartford and Downtown New Britain station in New Britain in central Connecticut. Operated by Connecticut Transit, it is the first bus rapid transit system in Connecticut and the second in New England after the MBTA Silver Line. CTfastrak opened on March 28, 2015 after fifteen years of planning and three years of construction.² Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Websitewww.ctfastrak.com

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The story

In 2001, a dedicated busway transit project was judged to be the most cost-effective way of relieving congestion on Interstate 84 between Hartford, West Hartford, Newington and New Britain. The 9.4-mile (15.1 km) line was projected to cost $570 million, of which $400 million was funded by federal grants.

The project officially broke ground on May 22, 2012 and opened to the public on March 28, 2015.

Proof of payment is used for fare collection along the route. On June 23, 2015, CTDOT began issuing $75 tickets for riders found to have not paid their fare.

Preliminary work estimated a $10 million annual cost of running the various CTfastrak routes and new feeder services. In September 2015, CTtransit released that the yearly cost would be substantially higher at $17.5 million.

In October 2019, the state applied for a federal grant to test autonomous buses on the CTfastrak busway beginning in 2020.

As of August 25, 2024, CTfastrak added Route 125 as a connection between Downtown Hartford, Newington, and the Berlin Turnpike.

Hartford Line

The Hartford Line commuter rail service between New Haven, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts via Hartford commenced on June 16, 2018. It initially connects to CTfastrak at Union Station. Hartford Line stations adjacent to the CTfastrak stops at West Hartford (Flatbush Avenue) and Newington Junction are planned to open later.

The 2012 environmental assessment for the Hartford Line included preliminary plans for four infill stations including West Hartford and Newington Junction; although they were not yet funded, this would allow future planning and construction to be expedited. On January 12, 2015, the state announced that $5.75 million in funding would be made available for environmental mitigation and design at ten Hartford Line and New Haven Line stations, including design funding for Hartford Line platforms at West Hartford and Newington Junction.

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CTfastrak East

Planning began in early 2016 for extending CTfastrak service to communities east of Hartford. The expansion would incorporate many of the BRT features of the existing system, including branded buses, large shelters, real-time information, and frequent all-day service. However, it would run on existing HOV lanes on I-84 and I-384 rather than a dedicated busway.

From Wikipedia’s article on CT Fastrak, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.⁴

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As of December 2016, twelve CT Transit routes use the CTfastrak busway with a variety of stopping patterns.

Nine routes provide local stopping service on various sections of the busway:

101 Hartford/New Britain

102 Hartford/New Britain/Bristol

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121 MCC/Hartford/UConn Health

125 Berlin Tpke

128 Hartford/Westfarms–New Britain via Stanley Street

140 CCSU Shuttle

144 Wethersfield/Westfarms

153 Elmwood/Copaco

161 St. Francis Hospital/Hartford Hospital

The 101 Hartford/New Britain route provides high-frequency all-stops base service between New Britain and downtown Hartford, with headways of 7.5 minutes at peak, 12 minutes off-peak, and 20 minutes during the evening.

The 102 makes the same stops as the 101 but extends past New Britain to Bristol, Connecticut; it operates at a lower frequency than the 101. The 121 uses the busway from Cedar Street to Sigourney Street, while the 128 uses the busway from Elmwood to Union Station.

Two routes run express on the busway from Downtown New Britain to Sigourney Street, making no intermediate stops:

923 Bristol Express

928 Southington–Cheshire–Waterbury Express

Four other routes – 144, 153, and 161, as well as the 140(F) – act as feeder services. They make stops at CTfastrak station platforms but do not run on the busway, with the exception of the 140 and 144, which use the busway between Cedar Street and East Street. Other times throughout the day it enters the busway at Newington Junction station as the 140F and continues to East Street.