October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to increase breast cancer awareness and education, while also promoting research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

• Breast cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in women
• Besides being female, age is the most notable risk factor for breast cancer
• Potentially modifiable risk factors for the disease include weight gain and obesity, use of menopausal hormone therapy, physical inactivity, having high breast tissue density and alcohol consumption
• Mammography can often detect breast cancer at an early stage, when treatment is more effective and a cure is more likely
• In 2018, it’s estimated that among U.S. women and men there will be 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 40,920 breast cancer deaths among women. Also, there will be 2,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 480 breast cancer deaths among men

CTrail Shore Line East Monthly Pass Promotion and Additional Cross-Honoring with Amtrak

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) announced today that CTrail Shore Line East (SLE) customers who purchase a November Shore Line East monthly pass will be eligible to ride Shore Line East service through December 31, 2018.  CTDOT also announced an expansion of Amtrak’s cross honoring program, which entitles Shore Line East monthly, weekly and ten-trip multi-ride ticket holders to ride Amtrak trains between New London, Old Saybrook and New Haven.

Customers should check shorelineeast.com for more information about the expanded Amtrak cross-honoring program which will run from Monday, October 22, through Friday, November 16.

This announcement continues the campaign that was announced on September 18 to restore reliable Shore Line East service.

Amtrak, under contract with the CTDOT, has continued the extended shifts at their New Haven Rail Yard maintenance shop seven days a week in order to repair out-of-service locomotives and rail cars. In recent weeks, Amtrak has provided additional locomotives to replace locomotives that are under repair and sent locomotives to out of state Amtrak facilities to reduce the repair backlog.

Further progress is being made to improve customer communications. CTrides, which provides Shore Line East customer service, has extended their call center hours until 7 pm on week nights. Customers are encouraged to call or email customer service with any continuing concerns, so appropriate steps can be taken.

The CTDOT management staff has been riding SLE trains to monitor the rail line and to listen to customers’ feedback and concerns. Customers have noticed cleaner trains, but indicate communication regarding service delays needs to improve greatly. In the near future, customers will be able to sign up to receive customized service alerts by text or email to stay informed of the status of their SLE train.  CTDOT is also exploring how existing digital signs at stations can be used to provide real-time information.

SLE customer service can be contacted by calling or texting 1-877-CTrides (1-877-287-4337) or through email at info@shorelineeast.com. Customers can also chat live with customer service through the SLE website (www.shorelineeast.com).