Downtown New Britain is a

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

station and the terminus of the CTfastrak line, located just south of Route 72 off Columbus Boulevard and Main Street in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135. Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wit ...

. It opened with the line on March 28, 2015. The station consists of one side platform and one island platform, comprising a collective total of 19 bus bays for CTfastrak local and express services, plus local

CT Transit CTtransit (styled as CT ''transit'') is a bus system serving much of the U.S. state of Connecticut and is a division of that state's Department of Transportation. CTtransit provides bus service via contract providers for seven different ...

buses which do not use the busway. The station is located at the site of New Britain's former railroad station, which saw service from 1850 to 1960.

Railroad history

The Hartford and New Haven Railroad (H&NH) opened through the far east part of New Britain in 1839. The railroad quickly established a New Britain station on what is now New Britain Avenue ( CT-174) just over the Wethersfield border, possibly in a privately owned building or house. It was replaced with a dedicated station at the same location in 1848. New Britain station postcard, 1910

The

Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...

(HP&F) opened in 1850; it shared the H&NH right of way north of

Newington Junction Newington Junction is a section of the town of Newington, Connecticut. It is centered at the intersection of Willard Avenue ( Route 173) and West Hill Road in the northwestern part of the town, in the area generally just south of the Hartford ci ...

, but diverged to the south and ran to downtown New Britain and beyond. The HP&F established their own station just east of Main Street; the H&NH then moved their New Britain station north to Newington and finally Newington Junction. The H&NH established their own branch from Middletown to New Britain via Berlin in 1865, sharing the HP&F station. The station may have been expanded in 1876, but by the 1880s it was in poor condition and publicly maligned. The state legislature ordered a new union station in 1884, which was completed in 1887. A retail arcade stretching west from the station, unique on the

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 ...

, was completed within the next three years. It proved profitable but the railroad declined to pursue similar dedicated retail spaces at other stations, stating they were "not in that kind of business". Passenger service declined in the 20th century; service on the branch to Middletown ended in 1932. Waterbury–Boston intercity service via New Britain, including the '' Nutmeg'', operated until 1955. The city purchased the station in November 1956; it was demolished at the end of the month and replaced with a parking lot weeks after. Tickets were thereafter sold from an office in the arcade. Waterbury-Hartford local service ended on January 22, 1960, replaced with buses to Newington Junction. The ticket office closed on September 16, 1960, leaving only local buses serving New Britain.

Future

The 2013 ''Central Connecticut Rail Study'', which analyzed the possibility for commuter rail from Waterbury to Hartford via New Britain and Berlin, recommended placing a rail platform on the straight section of track just south of the bus platforms. This would allow a cross-platform transfer between trains and buses.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline Buildings and structures in New Britain, Connecticut CTfastrak

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

2015 establishments in Connecticut Bus stations in Hartford County, Connecticut