Danbury station is a
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
station on the
Danbury Branch
The Danbury Branch is a diesel branch of the Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line from downtown Norwalk, Connecticut north to Danbury, mostly single-tracked. It opened in 1852 as the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad. Until the early 1970s, passenger ...
of the
Metro-North Railroad's
New Haven Line
The Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line is a commuter rail line running from New Haven, Connecticut to New York City. It joins the Harlem Line at Mount Vernon, New York and continues south to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The New Haven ...
, located in
Danbury, Connecticut. The station is the northern terminus of Danbury Branch. The station is also a hub for
Housatonic Area Regional Transit
Housatonic Area Regional Transit, known popularly as HARTransit (formerly as HART), is the provider of public transportation for Danbury, Connecticut and surrounding communities. HARTransit was founded in 1972 as the Danbury-Bethel Transit Distr ...
.
History
The original Danbury station opened in 1852 as the northern
terminus
Terminus may refer to:
* Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination
* Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination
Geography
*Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
of the
Danbury and Norwalk Railroad. Throughout the history of the Danbury station, the station has had many different depots. The first depot was opened in 1852 and served as the headquarters for the D&N. The Danbury station would have three different depots over the course of its history from 1852 to today. The 1903-Built
Union station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
, was an important part of Danbury's industrial expansion through the 1900s. However, By 1995, the Union station had fallen into complete disrepair, and was replaced by today's station in 1996.
The present passenger station was built in 1996 by the
Connecticut Department of Transportation
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (often referred to as CTDOT and occasionally ConnDOT, or CDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports and waterways in Connecticut. ...
(ConnDOT) and replaced the older
New Haven Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
station, which now houses the
Danbury Railway Museum
The Danbury Railway Museum RailincSearch MARKs accessed September 2009 is a railway museum housed in the former Union Station on the east end of downtown Danbury, Connecticut, United States. It was established in the mid-1990s following the clos ...
.
Station layout
The station has one three-car-long high-level
island platform
An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
on the north side of the two-tracks line. A stub siding serves the north side of the platform.
The station has 147 parking spaces, all of which are owned by the state.
"Task 2: Technical Memorandum parking Inventory and Utilization: Final Report" submitted by Urbitran Associates Inc. to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, "Table 1: New haven Line Parking Capacity and Utilization", page 6, July 2003
References
External links
Connecticut Department of Transportation, "Condition Inspection Danbury Station" report, July 2002
Station from Google Maps Street View
* http://www.ct.gov/dot/lib/dot/documents/dpt/1_Station_Inspection_Summary_Report.pdf
Buildings and structures in Danbury, Connecticut
Stations along New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad lines
Metro-North Railroad stations in Connecticut
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1996
Railroad stations in Fairfield County, Connecticut
1852 establishments in Connecticut
{{Connecticut-railstation-stub