Located on the Northeast Corridor, the busiest passenger railway in the United States, Old Saybrook station serves some of the rail services that pass through the station. Most Northeast Regional trains stop at Old Saybrook. No high-speed Acela trains serve the station, but they can be transferred to at New Haven to the west. However, all Shore Line East commuter rail trains stop at Old Saybrook; it serves as the eastern terminus for some trains.[4] New London is the eastern terminus of the line, with approximately half terminating there.
Old Saybrook features a common track setup, with one island platform and one side platform, each two cars long. Unlike the two-track commuter-rail-only stations on the 50.7-mile (81.6km)[5] stretch of the Northeast Corridor between New Haven and New London, there are three tracks at Old Saybrook, in order to handle terminal trains on Shore Line East.[5]
In the mid-1980s, Amtrak leased 5 acres (2.0ha) of land around the station for the Saybrook Junction Marketplace development. It was one of the first times that Amtrak offered a long-term lease to a private entity to encourage transit-oriented development around a station.[6]
In 2002, a $2.6 million project added high-level platforms and a pedestrian bridge, making the station fully handicapped accessible.[6] The new platforms opened on November 1, 2002.[1]
Parking
The new parking area in December 2016
By the mid-2000s, ridership increases rendered the station's 137-space free parking lot for Shore Line East riders insufficient, causing commuters to park in the adjacent Saybrook Junction Marketplace parking lot and along roads in town. In November 2011, the Marketplace began charging a fee for commuters to park in their lot.[7]
In March 2013, local officials announced plans for a state-funded 200-space parking lot west of North Main Street between the Upper Cemetery and the tracks.[8] By September 2013, construction was planned to begin on the 3.6 acres (1.5ha) site in late 2014.[9] The state bought the land for $1.577 million in March 2014. In July 2014, the town received a $999,900 state grant to add sidewalks to North Main Street to improve pedestrian access to the station.[10] The new parking lot was finished in December 2015, but opening was delayed because the handicapped-accessible ramps from the lot to the station were not yet finished. After a deal was brokered for the temporary use of handicapped spaces belonging to the Saybrook Station development, the 199-space lot opened on February 4, 2016.[11][12] The new lot increased Shore Line East parking to 324 spaces and allowed overnight parking for the first time.[13]
Notes
1 2 Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p.81. ISBN9780942147087.
New Haven Union Station is the main railroad passenger station in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the third such station in the city of New Haven, preceded by both an 1848 built station in a different location, and an 1879 built station near the current station's location. Designed by noted American architect Cass Gilbert, the present beaux-arts Union Station was completed and opened in 1920 after the previous Union Station was destroyed by fire. It served the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad for the next five decades, but fell into decline following World War II along with the United States railroad industry as a whole.
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 operates during weekday rush hours. 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, and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. 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.
Springfield Union Station is a train and bus station in the Metro Center area of Springfield, Massachusetts. Constructed in 1926, Springfield Union Station is the fifth-busiest Amtrak station in the Commonwealth, and the busiest outside of Greater Boston.
The Shore Line Railway was a part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad system, running east from New Haven, Connecticut, to New London along the north shore of Long Island Sound. A segment is currently used for commuter service on CT Rail's Shore Line East and regional/express service on Amtrak's high-speed Northeast Corridor.
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.
Bridgeport station is a shared Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad train station along the Northeast Corridor serving Bridgeport, Connecticut and nearby towns. On Metro-North, the station is the transfer point between the Waterbury Branch and the main New Haven Line. Amtrak's inter-city Northeast Regional and Vermonter service also stop at the station. In addition the transfer point for Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority buses, the departure point for the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry across Long Island Sound to Port Jefferson, New York, and both the Total Mortgage Arena and the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater are located adjacent to the station.
Hartford Union Station is a railroad station in Hartford, Connecticut, United States on the New Haven–Springfield Line. It is served by Amtrak Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer, and Vermonter intercity rail service, plus CT Rail Hartford Line commuter rail service and CTfastrak bus rapid transit service.
New London Union Station is a railroad station on the Northeast Corridor located in downtown New London, Connecticut, United States. Union Station is a station stop for most Amtrak Northeast Regional trains and all CT Rail Shore Line East commuter rail trains, making it the primary railroad station in southeastern Connecticut. It serves as the centerpiece of the Regional Intermodal Transit Center, with connections to local and intercity buses as well as ferries to Long Island and Fishers Island, New York, and Block Island, Rhode Island. The station has one side platform and one island platform serving the two-track Northeast Corridor; the latter platform also serves a siding track that connects to the New England Central Railroad mainline.
Meriden Transit Center is a train station on the New Haven–Springfield Line located in Meriden, Connecticut. It is served by Amtrak's Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer, and Vermonter, in addition to Hartford Line commuter rail service, consisting of Connecticut Department of Transportation and Amtrak trains. The station was rebuilt from 2014 to 2017 for the Hartford Line service, which began on June 16, 2018.
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. Westbrook has two high-level side platforms, each two cars long.
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, with limited service to and from Stamford. 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.
Branford station is a station on the Northeast Corridor located in Branford, Connecticut, and served by CT Rail Shore Line East commuter rail service.
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.
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.
CT Rail, stylized as CTrail, is the brand for commuter rail services overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), in the U.S. state of Connecticut, with services on the Hartford Line extending into Massachusetts. CTDOT oversees two lines: Shore Line East, between New Haven and New London, Connecticut, and the Hartford Line, from New Haven, through Hartford, to Springfield, Massachusetts.
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River Valley Transit: 641, 642, 643, 644
