nycsubway.org: Metro-North New Haven Line (2024)

Metro North-New Haven Line train at Westport. Photo by Richard Panse, December 2006.

The New Haven line runs from Grand Central to New Haven, Connecticutsharing the Metro-North Grand Central/Park Avenue Tunnel and thenthe Metro-North Harlem Line to Woodlawn. New Haven Line trainsstop at Grand Central; 125th Street, recently renamed as Harlem-125thStreet; and Fordham. The New Haven Line has three branches, NewCanaan, Danbury, and Waterbury.

Main Line to New Haven

We will begin our ride to New Haven at Mount Vernon Eastwhich has four tracks, two wall platforms and a crossunder.

We arrive at Pelham, with the same arrangement as MountVernon. North of the station, the Amtrak line from Penn Station (viaQueens and the Hell Gate Bridge) merges via a two track connection at"Shell" tower. The New Haven branch trains perform the changeover tocatenary power, and the power change over is smooth with only a briefinterruption to blower fans and lights.

New Rochelle is next, located in a cut on the east sideand at grade on the west side. There are five tracks passing throughthe station, with platform arrangement, from west to east, as follows:wall platform for southbound trains, two bypass tracks with noplatform, and finally an island platform for northbound trains. Thestation house is located on the southbound side. There is a crossoverconnecting the platforms. This station is also served by occasionalAmtrak trains. Directly adjacent to the station on the west is the NewYork Thruway (I-95). From here to New Haven, I-95 will not be too farapart from the railroad, although it may not be adjacent at all times.

Larchmont is next and we revert to four tracks, two wallplatforms and a crossover at the south end. An old low platform wasobserved at the north end of the currentstation. Mamaroneck follows. An unusual feature of thetwo high wall platforms is construction of these platforms on top ofthe old low platforms. Only ornamental rails reveal the presence ofold low platforms. There is a crossunder.

Harrison follows, with four tracks and two wallplatforms. There is a station house on the west side. The station isat grade and old low platforms were seen at the south end of bothplatforms. The station is currently undergoing neededrenovation. Rye is next. The town of Rye is the home ofAmerica's first theme park, Rye Playland, which is now on the NationalRegister of Historic Places. The station has four tracks, two wallplatforms and a crossover. Old low platforms were seen at the southend of both platforms. Renovation might be planned since survey markswere found.

Port Chester follows, also with four tracks, two wallplatforms and a crossunder. A highlight of this station is anabandoned right-of-way to the northeast, part of the former [New York, Westchester, and Boston Railroad]]. Therewas no rail, ties or wire on this right-of-way. Station renovation maybe planned as survey marks were found.

Departing Port Chester, we leave New York and enterConnecticut. Greenwich is the first stop. There arefour tracks, two wall platforms, a crossover and old low platforms onthe south end. Here too, renovations may be pending due to surveymarks on the platform. Cos Cob is next with four tracksand two wall platforms. The station house is on the west side and oldlow platforms are still used as exits on the north end of thestation. The line passes the New Haven's Cos Cob power generatingplant and crosses a drawbridge on the way to the next station,Riverside. This near-grade station has four tracks withtwo wall platforms and a crossover. The station house is on the westside. Old Greenwich is next and with the exception of acrossunder instead of crossover is identical to Riverside. Old lowplatforms are at the south end of the east platform.

Stamford is next. Amtrak trains also stop here, andAmtrak is funding the major renovations still underway. Connectionsare available for the New Canaan Branch. The main station is over thetracks, all platforms having a crossover. Track arrangement from westto east is: Wall platform, track 5; island platform track 5 and 3(doors can open both sides on track 5), center bypass track (track 1),island platform (tracks 2 and 4), wall platform (track 4; doors canopen on both sides for trains on track 4). Current track usage atStamford has southbound Amtrak and Metro North Express Trains usingthe inside track (track 3) and locals using Track 5, northboundExpress and Amtrak on Track 2 and terminating locals on Track 4.Stamford is also home to a Metro North maintenance facility andstorage yards for Amtrak and Metro North trains.

We enter Noroton Heights. Four tracks, two wallplatforms, with a crossover. Currently, due to renovations, theeasternmost track is covered with a temporary bridge. Old lowplatforms are to the north of the station. The station house is on thewest side, and a bus-stop style shelter on the east side. The sametemporary bridges are also located at the next two stations.

Darien is next and has the same track layout. There is acrossunder. The station house is on the west side. There are remainsof low platforms at both ends of bothplatforms. Rowayton follows and has four tracks and twowall platforms. Like Darien, we have temporary bridges covering theeasternmost track. These three stations are getting their neededrepairs.

South Norwalk follows. The station appears to have fourtracks and two wall platforms. A closer observation reveals asurprise, there are six tracks and the wall platforms are actuallyisland platforms. The north end has two extra tracks, which areconnections to the Danbury Branch. The main station house is on thenorthbound platform and a small station house on the southboundplatform. The station has a crossunder. The older station house is onthe east side and the new one on the west side. A tunnel connects bothplatforms.

East Norwalk follows with four tracks and two short wallplatforms and a crossunder. Westport is next and withthe exception of an old low platform north of the station is identicalto East Norwalk. Green's Farms is next. (The map callsthis station Green's Farm but station signage says Green's Farms.)There are four tracks and two short wall platforms. The station houseis on the west side and a bus-style shelter is on the east side.

We arrive at Southport. This station has four tracks andtwo short wall platforms, which are offset. A wood station house is onthe west side, and a brick station house is on the eastside. Fairfield is next with four tracks, two mediumlength wall platforms and both a crossover and crossunder. The mainstation house is on the east side, but there is a station house onboth platforms.

Next up is an "infill" station, Fairfield Metro, which opened in late 2011. This new station has two side platforms capable of handling 12-car trains and is fully ADA-accessible, with elevators on each platform connecting to a pedestrian overpass. There is a large parking lot available here.

We rise to a high embankment and then a viaduct as we enter anotherAmtrak Station, Bridgeport. The station has four tracksand two wall platforms with crossunders and station houses on bothplatforms. A small maintenance-of-way yard is to the northeast of thestation. Within the confines of the station, I-95 passes diagonallyoverhead. Old low platforms were found north of the station. The mainstation is on the west side. The station also houses the Greyhound busstation as well as the ferry to Port Jefferson, Long Island. Thenorthbound station platform is actually over the water!

Stratford is next, with connections to the WaterburyBranch. The station has four tracks and two short wall platforms anda crossunder. Old low platforms were spotted at the south end.Between here and Milford, our next station, the westernmost track isin various stages of absence, sometimes only one rail, only crossties,or just nothing, possibly due to track replacement work since thecatenary wire is still in place.

Milford has three tracks and two short wallplatforms. Old low platforms were seen at the south end. The stationhouse is on the west side.

We arrive at New Haven after a two-hour ride from GrandCentral. This is an Amtrak Station and Amtrak's presence isobvious. The station is named Union Station. A yard is located toboth sides of the station for both Amtrak and Metro North. The mainstation is on the west side at street level and is also home to NewHaven's Greyhound Bus station. A tunnel connects all platforms. Fromwest to east platforms and tracks are as follows: Island platform,tracks one and three; island platform, tracks four and two; one bypasstrack; island platform, tracks eight and six, island, no track numberand track ten. There is no evidence of tracks numbered five, seven andnine. Connections can be made to Shore Line East service.

New Canaan Branch

This line is one track and is served by two car electric trains. Theline runs from Stamford to New Canaan. Departing Stamford, our firststation is Glenbrook. The station has a grade crossingand is on the east side of the high platform. There is no stationhouse, just a bus shelter. Springdale follows also witha grade crossing and a glorified bus shelter on the east side of thehigh platform. Talmadge Hill is next also with a gradecrossing. The station is on the west side. There is no station house,just two bus shelters. Leaving the station behind the line startsclimbing before we finally descend into the last stop, NewCanaan. The high platform is on the west side and features avery nice station house. The station has a second track to the east ofour line which ends in a bumper block as does our track north of thestation.

Danbury Branch

The Danbury Branch runs from South Norwalk and is served by two cardiesel trains. This line's character is very rural. Conversations withthe conductor revealed the branch does carry a full load during peakhours. Our first station is Merritt 7, named after anearby business park with the same name. We have a low platform atstreet level with a grade crossing on the westside. Wilton follows with a high platform and a stationhouse on the east side. Cannondale follows, also with ahigh platform and a grade crossing. The platform is on the eastside. There is a possible closed station house on both sides. The eaststation house is closed and the west station house appears to be agift shop. Branchville follows and is identical exceptfor only an west station house now a gift shop.

Redding follows with a high platform on the westside. The station suffers an identity crisis; station signs show thename as "West Redding" while the maps and conductor say"Redding". There is a grade crossing north of the station. LeavingRedding behind we descend and enter Bethel which has ahigh platform on the east side. There is a modern station house madeof brick. For a change of pace there is no grade crossing at thisstation! South of the station, there is an old station house, which isnow in commercial use.

We arrive at Danbury with three tracks, and a gradecrossing northeast of the station. There is a high island platformserving the east track and center track. The westernmost trackbypasses the station while the east track ends within the station at abump block. The two west tracks curve to the northeast and headtowards a yard. A highlight of this line is a view of the DanburyRailroad Museum which time did not permit me to explore except forphotos from the station.

Waterbury Branch

This line runs from Bridgeport to Waterbury and is served by two cardiesel trains. The line has one track.

We leave Bridgeport on the main line and pass through Stratford beforewe turn off to the northwest via a single track. The curve is long andwide and the wheels did squeal. The line climbs an embankment giving apostcard view to the west and to mountains further west. We brieflylevel off on a plateau then start to descend. After a curve to thenorthwest, a siding appears to the northwest of our line, which splitsinto two tracks to an unknown destination. We continue to thenortheast and enter our first station, Derby/Shelton. The station has one low platform on thewest side including a station house with a hip roof. The station is atgrade level and features a bus shelter. There is no grade crossing atthis station.

Ansonia follows, with a short low platform on the eastside and is ADA compliant with a mini lift. The platform has a busshelter made of wood that needs paint. North of the station, we passan industrial zone before reverting to a rural character. We pass arock dam and nice lake to our west. This branch reminds me of theMetro-North Hudson Line. Civilization intrudes and we arrive atour next station, Seymour. The station has a lowplatform on the west side. A brick bus shelter passes for a stationhouse.

We descend further, picking up speed and again civilization interruptsour view of nature. We have arrived at BeaconFalls. The low platform is on the east side and is a strangeplatform, not quite low and not quite high. Rather it is aboutmid-level and features a mini-lift. We continue northward and continueour descent. We are now in a deep earthen valley that soon broadensout. Industry intrudes again and we arrive at Naugatuck,which has a new high level platform just north of the former station building. The station building is the home of the Naugatuck Historical Society and its Museum and the office of a town agency.

We continue our descent and soon pass through an industrial area onboth sides, with the buildings almost within touching distance of ourtrain. We pass through a freight yard and enterWaterbury, our last stop. The station has a highplatform on the east side and an ornate station house thatunfortunately is closed. The track continues north of the stationafter passing a low platform also on the east side. In place of thisstation house, we now have a bus shelter. I found a sign indicatingrenovations were made in 1997.

Photo locations: Mount Vernon East, Pelham, Shell Interlocking, New Rochelle, New Rochelle, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Harrison, Rye, Port Chester, Greenwich, Cos Cob, Riverside, Old Greenwich, Stamford, Stamford Yard/Shops, Noroton Heights, Darien, Rowayton, South Norwalk, Dock Yard, South Norwalk, East Norwalk, Westport, Green's Farms, Southport, Fairfield, Fairfield Metro, Bridgeport, Bridgeport - Harbor Yard Ballpark, Stratford, Milford, New Haven Yard, New Haven, (Misc/Unknown), State Street New Haven, GE/Budd Plant, Erie PA, Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, Old Saybrook, New London, (Misc/Unknown), New Haven, Glenbrook, Springdale, Between Springdale and Talmadge Hill, Talmadge Hill, New Canaan, Derby/Shelton, Ansonia, Seymour, Beacon Falls, Naugatuck, Waterbury

By Peggy Darlington.