HARTFORD -- Commuter train service from Springfield to Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut, begins Friday June 15, the Connecticut Department of Transportation announced Tuesday afternoon.

That day will feature an inaugural event for the train service and will be followed by free weekend train service Saturday and Sunday, June 16 and 17.

Expanded weekday service will begin Monday, June 18, with trains running about every 45 minutes during the morning and evening peak periods, ConnDOT said.

Details of the June 15 festivities will be provided later.

Massachusetts authorities have said they are working to expand CTrail north and provide more frequent service to Holyoke, Northampton, Greenfield and points in Vermont.

CTrail's website is at www.hartfordline.com.

The service was to have begun in May, but ConnDOT faced delays in repairing and preparing rail cars leased from the MBTA in Massachusetts, according to reports published in the Hartford Currant.

CTrail is a high-frequency rail line the Connecticut Department of Transportation says will feature trains traveling at speeds up to 110 miles an hour, cutting the 62-mile trip from Springfield's Union Station to New Haven to 81 minutes.

It will cost $12.75 for a one-way ticket from Springfield to New Haven. The short hop to Windsor Locks will cost $4, according to the rate schedule released by ConnDOT.

CTrail promises 17 trains a day between New Haven and Hartford, counting its own and those run by Amtrak. Of those, 12 trains will operate daily between Hartford and Springfield.

CTrail #HartfordLine rail service scheduled to launch June 16, following a Commemorative Inaugural Event to be held Friday, June 15. More details available in the full CTDOT press release at: https://t.co/y2Zjy2ORRc



Get ready to #RideTheLine! pic.twitter.com/J9q6u325Li — NHHS Rail Program (@NHHSRail) April 17, 2018

Amtrak already runs five shuttles a day both ways on the line now. The route's long-distance train -- Amtrak's Vermonter from St. Albans, Vermont, to Washington -- also will continue.

For CTrail, once in New Haven passsangers will be able to make frequent connections to Amtrak's Northeast Corridore service from Boston as far south as Washington. There is also Metro-North service to New York City

ConnDOT's goal is to increase passenger miles per year from New Haven to Springfield from Amtrak's 52 million to 133 million, including Amtrak and CTrail. A passenger mile is the number of people times miles: 2 people ride 10 miles together and that's 20 passenger miles.

"This expanded service will transform travel options in the corridor between New Haven and Springfield, Massachusetts, and it will be a catalyst for economic development, and business and recreational travel," said Connecticut Transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker. "Getting new service on this line has been a monumental undertaking that has taken years of intense coordination to ensure the successful opening of service. I want to commend the team that has made this a reality. Even before the commencement of service, the State's investment has already attracted new commercial and residential development and has become the latest engine driving Connecticut's economy."

CTrail already has equipment installed at Springfield's Union Station, which in reopened in June after a $95-million rehabilitation project.

Outgoing Connecticut Gov. Dannell Malloy has been a big backer of CTrail and the expansion of passenger rail in his state. Rail travel is seen there as a way to alleviate traffic on Interstate 91 and encourage development near rail stations up and down the line.