Branford | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 39 Maple Street Branford, Connecticut | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 41°16′29″N72°49′02″W / 41.2746°N 72.8173°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | ConnDOT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Amtrak Northeast Corridor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | May 29, 1990 [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | August 8, 2005 November 5, 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2019 | 113 daily boardings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Branford station is a station on the Northeast Corridor located in Branford, Connecticut, and served by Shore Line East regional rail service.
Prior to the establishment of the Shore Line East system on May 29, 1990, Branford was a stop for Amtrak's Beacon Hill trains. [2] The current station, with an accessible-compliant high-level side platform, opened on August 8, 2005, replacing a nearby earlier station with low-level platforms. [3]
Ridership increases rendered the 199-spot parking lot at Branford insufficient. As a result, a 272-spot expansion was opened in June 2011, bringing total available parking at the station to 471 spots. [4] However, the expanded lot has consistently failed to be fully used, leading to calls for it to be replaced by transit oriented development and a smaller parking deck. [5]
A second platform on the north side of the tracks was originally to be constructed beginning in November 2012. [6] Construction on the $16.5M project–which includes the new platform, a pedestrian overpass with elevators, a drop-off lot on the north side of the tracks, and restoration of an existing parking lot–began in September 2013. [7] Major construction took place in 2014 with the intention to open the new platform by August 2015. [8] However, delays were suffered from Amtrak taking 70 days to allow ConnDOT crews to enter the property, and for 300 days for the redesign of retaining walls and the completion of maintenance closets. [9]
By September 2015, the new platform and pedestrian bridge were scheduled to open on December 18, 2015, but this was delayed into 2016 due to the previous harsh winter and components for a train warning system being unavailable. [10] By late May 2016, the station was expected to open in mid to late June. [11] The north-side drop-off area and pedestrian bridge were opened on September 30, 2016, although trains did not immediately use the north platform. [12] Service using the north platform–including stops on some trains that formerly bypassed Branford–began on November 5, 2016. [13]
Downtown Branford was not the only part of Branford with a train station. Stations were located at Pine Orchard (off Totoket Road) and Stony Creek (off Thimble Island Road) in Stony Creek. Both stops served the Clamdigger until it was discontinued on January 28, 1972. [14] Stony Creek was also a stop on a later reincarnation of the Clamdigger, which ran for three months in 1978 before it was replaced by the Beacon Hill. [15] [2]
Branford has two high-level side platforms, each two cars long. Before 10:00am, westbound trains use Track 2 and eastbound trains use Track 1. After 10:00am, westbound trains use Track 1 and eastbound use Track 2. On weekends, this swap occurs around 1:00pm. [16]
Shore Line East (SLE) is a commuter rail service which operates along the Northeast Corridor through southern Connecticut, United States. The rail service is a fully owned subsidiary of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and is operated under the CT Rail brand. SLE provides service seven days a week along the Northeast Corridor between New London and New Haven; limited through service west of New Haven to Bridgeport and Stamford has been suspended since 2020. Cross-platform transfers to Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line trains are available at New Haven for service to southwestern Connecticut and New York City. Pre-COVID, around 2,200 riders used the service on weekdays.
Stamford station, officially known as the Stewart B. McKinney Transportation Center or the Stamford Transportation Center, is a major railroad station in the city of Stamford, Connecticut, serving passengers traveling on Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, and CT Rail's Shore Line East. In addition, it is also a major bus terminal for Greyhound, Peter Pan, and CTtransit buses. In 2018, the station averaged over 15,000 Metro-North boardings on weekdays, making it the busiest station on the system aside from Grand Central Terminal. Its official name honors politician Stewart McKinney.
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New Haven State Street station is a commuter rail station located on State Street in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. The secondary railroad station in the city, it is located 0.8 miles (1.3 km) northeast of the much larger New Haven Union Station and is intended to offer easier access to New Haven's downtown business district. It is served by Shore Line East and Hartford Line commuter trains, Amtrak Hartford Line trains, Springfield-terminating Northeast Regional trains, and Valley Flyer trains, and a limited number of Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line trains. Originally proposed in 1996, State Street opened on June 7, 2002. A second platform opened on June 8, 2018, in time for the beginning of Hartford Line service.
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Windsor Locks station is an Amtrak and CT Rail train station in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on the New Haven–Springfield Line. It is served by four Amtrak services - the Hartford Line shuttles, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer, and Vermonter - as well as CT Rail Hartford Line commuter rail trains.
Westbrook station is a regional rail station on the Northeast Corridor, located off Connecticut Route 153 just north of the village center of Westbrook, Connecticut. It is served by the CT Rail's Shore Line East commuter rail service; Amtrak's Acela and Northeast Regional services run through the station without stopping.
Mansfield station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Located in downtown Mansfield, it serves the Providence/Stoughton Line. With 1,966 weekday boardings in a 2018 count, Mansfield is the third-busiest station on the system outside Boston.
Clinton station is a regional rail station served by the CT Rail Shore Line East service located near downtown Clinton, Connecticut. The station has two side platforms connected by a footbridge. Clinton is a commuter-only station; Amtrak's Acela and Northeast Regional services run through the station without stopping.
Madison station is a passenger rail station along CT Rail's Shore Line East commuter rail line, which runs on the Northeast Corridor between New Haven and New London. Madison station consists of a mid-sized parking lot and one high-level side platform on the southbound side of the tracks.
Guilford station is a regional rail station on the Northeast Corridor, located slightly south of the town center of Guilford, Connecticut. Owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, it is served by the CT Rail Shore Line East service.
Enfield station is a planned CTrail Hartford Line station in Enfield, Connecticut. As of September 2023, construction is expected to begin in 2025. A previous station at the site was open from 1844 to 1986.
North Haven is a planned regional rail station on the New Haven–Springfield Line near Route 40 and Route 5 in North Haven, Connecticut, to be served by the Hartford Line service. The project has been funded for design, with construction expected to cost $52 million.
The Beacon Hill was a daily 157-mile (253 km) commuter rail service operated by Amtrak between Boston, Massachusetts, and New Haven, Connecticut, from 1978 to 1981. The Beacon Hill was one of the last long-haul commuter services operated by Amtrak. Service consisted of a single rush-hour round trip, with service eastbound to Boston in the morning and westbound to New Haven in the evening.
The Clamdigger was a daily passenger train which ran along the Northeast Corridor during the 1970s. The train had two iterations: from 1898 to 1972 it was a local commuter service under the New Haven Railroad, Penn Central, and Amtrak between New London and New Haven, while from 1976 to 1978 it was a long-distance commuter service operated by Amtrak from Providence to New Haven. In 1978, it was canceled and replaced with the Beacon Hill.
Groton station was one of the shortest-lived Amtrak passenger rail stations, in service from January to April 1978 during the last incarnation of Amtrak's Clamdigger service. Previous stations at several locations in Groton were served from 1852 until the mid-20th century.
Niantic was a train station on the Northeast Corridor located in the Niantic village of East Lyme, Connecticut. Opened in the 1850s, it was rebuilt in 1899 and again in 1954 by the New Haven Railroad. It closed in 1972, then reopened from 1978 to 1981 for use by the Amtrak Beacon Hill. A new station has since been proposed to be built in Niantic to serve the Shore Line East commuter rail service.
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