Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • August 20, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 17 cations team worked tirelessly to en- sure that the public was informed well in advance of any changes to service," Yirigian said. A hiccup By 2015, the design phase was com- plete, after about 3½ years of work, Yirigian said. As track was being laid according to design, WSP ran into a snag when it came to finding trains to run on them. Under the original plan, the Hart- ford Line was supposed to take 16 die- sel trains from the Shoreline East rail line, which was set to receive a new fleet, Yirigian said. But in the interven- ing years, Shoreline East's rail service increased enough that it couldn't spare any equipment. After a nationwide search, they decided to lease 16 trains — each about 30 years old — that the Massa- chusetts Bay Transportation Author- ity had taken out of commission. The three-year, $4.45 million lease with the Massachusetts Department of Trans- portation includes refurbishing costs. The deal sparked concerns among state legislators, culminating with lawmakers demanding answers from DOT about why they were using such old rail cars for a new service. "They're all service ready, they all meet [Federal Railroad Administra- tion] requirements," Yirigian said. "If they didn't, we wouldn't be able to run them on the line." DOT plans to replace the leased rail cars with new ones that will be used on the Hartford, Shore Line East, Waterbury and Danbury lines, said Rich Andreski, DOT's bureau chief of public transporta- tion. He expects the first of those cars to be delivered as soon as 2022. Looking forward Passenger service between Hart- ford and Springfield consists of seven Amtrak trains, one Vermonter and four CTrail round-trip trains. There are 12 daily round trips from Hartford to Springfield and 17 between New Haven and Hartford. Initial rider numbers are strong, Andreski said. If they continue at around the pace of the first couple of weeks, ridership may exceed forecasts of 1,950 trips per day. From Yirigian's perspective, continued public interest in the line seems likely. "This program always was some- thing that the public embraced, and people were looking forward to," Yirigian said. Corporate Profile SI Financial Group 803 Main St., Willimantic | www.mysifi.com SI Financial Group Inc. is the holding company for Sav- ings Institute Bank and Trust Co., a community lender that serves indi- viduals, businesses and municipalities. 2015 2016 2017 $0 $10 $20 $30 $40 $50 $60 In millions of dollars Profits Revenues $4.3M $11.3M $5.2M $47M $56.2M $53.4M $4.3M $11.3M $5.2M News Headlines ■ ■ SI Financial declared a 6-cents-per- share dividend following the release of its second-quarter results, which included a 21 percent spike in profits. ■ ■ In April, HBJ reported CEO Rheo Brouillard's compensation of $963,569 was 28 times higher than the median employee salary of $34,998. ■ ■ In December, SI named Paul R. Little its senior vice president and chief credit officer. Corporate suite Stock Non-equity Exec. Salary Bonus Awards Incentive Total Rheo Brouillard President/CEO $478,846 $0 $0 $181,119 $963,569 Laurie L. Gervais EVP/COO $264,539 $0 $0 $104,966 $393,122 Lauren L. Murphy EVP/CFO $233,154 $0 $0 $87,471 $343,807 Profits and Revenues Fact box Industry: Savings and Loan 2Q 2018 Revenue: $17.4M 2Q 2018 Net Income: $3.4M 2Q 2017 Net Income: $2.8M Quarterly Profit Change: $511,000 Assets: $1.6B Employees: 255 Competitors: Webster Financial Corp. Bank of America TD Bank Stock watch Ticker Symbol SIFI Market Cap $161.7M 52 Week Range Price $13.60–$15.70 Outstanding Shares 11.93M Top institutional investors Shares % Stake Maltese Capital Management LLC 748,437 6.11 Thomson Horstman & Bryant Inc. 705,898 5.77 Blackrock Inc. 672,466 5.49 Rheo Brouillard President/CEO Robert S. Yirigian (left), assistant vice president at WSP USA who oversaw planning and development of the Hartford rail line, with the state Department of Transportation's Richard Andreski. HBJ PHOTO | SEAN TEEHAN

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