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The state of Connecticut broke ground Monday on a nine-year project to rebuild Metro-North’s route between New York City and New Haven.

The three-phase, $1.6 billion first phase of the Lamont administration’s TIME FOR CT project will, by 2035 slash 25 minutes from the time a Metro-North train takes to run the route, Gov. Ned Lamont’s office said.

By upgrading bridges, signal systems, overhead wires and tracks, trains will be able to hit 90 miles per hour, instead of the current 70-mile-per-hour top speed on the route. The combination of state and federal dollars is a “generational investment,” Metro-North President Justin Vonashek said in a statement provided by Lamont’s office.

The first phase, known as TIME-1, focuses on a three-mile section of track between Bridgeport and Stratford.

“The New Haven Line connects thousands of people to jobs, businesses, and destinations across Connecticut and the region every day,” Governor Lamont said. “Every minute we save on a commute gives people more time with their families, more time in their communities, and more opportunities to enjoy all that Connecticut has to offer. Shaving minutes off New Haven Line commute times will have a real impact on the economic future of these towns, bringing new families and investment to communities up and down the line. TIME FOR CT is a historic investment in a faster rail system that will spur our economy and improve quality of life for generations.”

Cutting train times could open up more development opportunities in Bridgeport and points east along the New Haven Line.

Stamford, which sits just under an hour from Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, has attracted dozens of housing developments over the years thanks in part to that proximity to one of America’s biggest job centers.

Currently, express trains take around an hour and 10 minutes to travel between Bridgeport and Midtown Manhattan, with normal trains taking another 20 minutes or so.