Photo courtesy of Wikimedia user 209harrison / Public domain

Danbury officials are getting traction with calls for MetroNorth improve service from New York to the city, and connect it with the New York town of Southeast, where another MetroNorth line runs close to the state border.

The new connection would run along an old rail line that parallels Interstate 84 and would cut commute times to Manhattan by an hour, the Danbury News-Times reports. Danbury is currently served by slower, diesel-powered trains that run to Stamford, via Bridgeport.

The paper reports MetroNorth president Cathy Rinaldi and state DOT Commissioner Joe Giulietti are supportive of the idea.