South Norwalk station is a
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
stop on the
Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...
'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 ...
and
CTrail
CT Rail, stylized as CT''rail'', is the brand for commuter rail services overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), in the U.S. state of Connecticut, with some service extending into Massachusetts. CTDOT oversees two lines: ...
's
Shore Line East
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 i ...
located in
Norwalk, Connecticut
, image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 230px
, map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...
. It is owned and managed by the
Norwalk Transit District
The Norwalk Transit District is the primary provider of public transportation services in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States, and surrounding communities. The local Norwalk fixed-route bus transit system, known as WHEELS, is the primary servic ...
. Nicknamed "
SoNo" by riders and staff, the station is the point where the New Haven Line's
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 ...
connects to the
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
, as well as a peak-hour terminal for some express trains. It is the last stop for New Haven super-express trains before they run non-stop to
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
in New York. Just east of the station is the
South Norwalk Railroad Bridge
The South Norwalk Railroad Bridge is an 1895 bridge in Norwalk, Connecticut. It carries the four sets of Metro-North railroad tracks across the busy intersection of Main Street and Washington Street in the South Norwalk section of the city. The ...
, and next to that is the
SoNo Switch Tower Museum, a preserved
switch tower which is open on summer weekend afternoons.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
uses the inner tracks as it does not stop at South Norwalk.
The predecessor station in the same location was named Norwalk & South Norwalk in timetables of the
New York, New Haven and Hartford
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 ...
and successor
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
.
History
![SouthNoRRstaOlderBldg08112007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/SouthNoRRstaOlderBldg08112007.jpg)
The newer, main station building, on the westbound (New York City-bound) side of the tracks, was built in 1994. It has a cafe serving coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and pastries during the morning. The New York side's station building consists of a small waiting area with a gigantic glass arch, overlooking the tracks. To reach either side, passengers go through a pedestrian underpass. The New York side consists of a 6-level parking garage with taxi and bus stands. The Norwalk Parking Authority owns the garage along with the New Haven side's parking lot.
The station was the first to receive
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
service on the New Haven Line in March 2006. The service was provided for one year from a federal grant received from the "One Coast, One Future" initiative designed to help economic development in
Stamford, Norwalk and
Bridgeport
Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...
. The grant provides for Wi-Fi service for one year with the expectation that local governments will provide it in the future if they find it valuable enough to do so. Similar service was planned for Stamford and Bridgeport stations in the spring of 2006 but no others.
Westport also started providing the service in the spring of 2006.
The City of Norwalk and the Norwalk Transit District let a contract for $238,000 in February 2008 to study possible improvements to the South Norwalk Station with a goal to make it a better "intermodal" facility with improved access for cars, buses, shuttles, pedestrians, and taxis.
In late 2008, a renovation project began at the station, involving the installation of power-assist doors, better smoke detectors, emergency lights and energy-efficient lights. Other work included cleaning brickwork, painting, improving signs and moving the automated pay station. improved landscaping and traffic flow. A Norwalk city government official said the changes were meant to make the station more inviting and give visitors a better impression of Norwalk.
[
In 2010, the rail bridges over Monroe Street adjacent to the station were replaced. As part of the replacement the stairways that used to provide pedestrian access to either platform from Monroe Street were removed along with concealment of the original red sandstone ]abutment
An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
s behind steel reinforced concrete facings. In 2012, permanent art was installed in the New Haven lobby and through the connecting tunnel as part of the Norwalk Parking Authority's 'Art in Parking Places' program through a collaboration with the Norwalk Arts Commission and the Norwalk Transit funded by the Federal Transit Administration Public Art Grant.
Station layout
The station has two 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 ...
s. Each is 10 cars long on the Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
main tracks, but only 2 cars long for the outer tracks. The northern platform, adjacent to Tracks 3 and 5, is generally used by westbound 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 ...
trains on Track 3 and 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 ...
trains on Track 5. The southern platform, adjacent to Tracks 4 and 6, is generally used by eastbound New Haven Line trains on Track 4 and Danbury Branch trains on Track 6. The New Haven Line has six tracks at this location. The two inner tracks, not adjacent to either platform, are used only by express trains. Tracks 5 and 6 terminate at the station and only continue northward.
The station has approximately 800 parking spaces, none owned by the state.
The older station building at the eastbound side of the tracks contains a small restaurant. This side features a bus station and taxi stands. The space is subleased from the New England Fashion Design Association.
References
External links
*
Norwalk Parking Authority
* An updated Transit Oriented Development Study commissioned by the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency is available a
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Metro-North Railroad stations in Connecticut
Stations on the Northeast Corridor
Stations along New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad lines
Buildings and structures in Norwalk, Connecticut
Railroad stations in Fairfield County, Connecticut