Newington Junction Railroad Depot

Newington Junction

CTfastrak platforms at Newington Junction under construction in December 2014
Coordinates 41°43′00″N 72°44′10″W / 41.7167°N 72.7362°W / 41.7167; -72.7362
Line(s)
  CTfastrak
  Hartford Line
Platforms 2 side platforms (CTfastrak)
2 side platforms (planned for Hartford Line)
Tracks 2 (Hartford Line)
Construction
Parking 28 spaces
History
Opened March 28, 2015[1]
Opening 2022 (Hartford Line station, planned)[2]
Services
Preceding station   ConnDOT   Following station
CTfastrak
  Planned service  
Hartford Line
Future infill station
toward Springfield
Newington Junction Railroad Depot

1890-built New Haven Railroad freight house
Location 160 Willard and 200 Francis Avenues, Newington, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°42′55″N 72°44′13″W / 41.71528°N 72.73694°W / 41.71528; -72.73694Coordinates: 41°42′55″N 72°44′13″W / 41.71528°N 72.73694°W / 41.71528; -72.73694
Area 3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built 1890 (NYNH&H freight house)
1891 (NY&NE station)
Architectural style Stick/Eastlake
MPS Newington Junction MRA
NRHP Reference # 86003478[3]
Added to NRHP December 22, 1986

Newington Junction is a bus rapid transit station on the CTfastrak line and a planned passenger rail station located off Willard Avenue (CT-173) in the Newington Junction neighborhood of Newington, Connecticut. The first railroad station was built there at the site in 1850; a newer station building and freight house, both built in the 1890s, are extant and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Newington Junction Railroad Depot". Rail service lasted until approximately 1959. A bus rapid transit station, Newington Junction, opened as part of CTfastrak in March 2015.

A commuter rail station, to be located adjacent to the bus station, is also planned. As of late 2015, funding for the startup of the Hartford Line had been secured and the service is scheduled to begin operation in early 2018.[4] However, the construction of the commuter rail platforms at Newington Junction is not currently funded, and it will not be a stop on the initial service. Newington and the other infill stations are planned to be complete by 2022.[2]

History

1916 valuation image of the 1890-built NYNH&H station
The 1891-built NY&NE station building in 2014, shortly after it was moved and restored during the busway project

The Hartford and New Haven Railroad opened through Newington in 1839, but the railroad did not immediately establish a station there. The Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad opened in 1850; it shared the H&NH right of way north of Newington, but diverged to the south and ran to New Britain. The H&NH then moved its New Britain station, built two years before, to serve as Newington station for both railroads.[5]

For four decades the two railroads shared the station; by 1872, the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad (the 1863 successor to the HP&F) paid the H&NH $100 per year to share it.[5] Later in 1872 the H&NH was merged into the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and the next year the BH&E became part of the New York and New England Railroad. The depot was served for years by a single agent, John C. Sternberg, who sold tickets, handled freight and Adams Express packages, and threw switches to direct trains at the junction.[5] From 1865 it was the site of church services, the beginnings of what in 1875 became nearby Grace Episcopal Church.[5] The development of Newington Junction as a result of the railroad was instrumental in the separation of the town of Newington from its mother town of Wethersfield.

Around 1890, the two railroads decided to build separate stations to serve growing numbers of riders. The NYNH&H built a depot and freight house on the east side of the right of way in 1890; the NY&NE built a nearly identical depot on the west side in 1891. but could not obtain land for a planned freight house.[5] The NY&NE was merged into the NYNH&H in 1898; its depot thenceforth served passengers traveled south towards New Haven and west towards New Britain, while the NYNH&H-built structure served passengers headed north toward Hartford.[5]

Passenger service to New Britain ended in 1959, and Newington closed completely at this time - trains to and from New Haven no longer stopped.[6]

The 1890 NYNH&H station was demolished sometime after the end of service. The remaining buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1986, as one of five sections of the Newington Junction Multiple Resources Area.[3] The listing of "Newington Junction Railroad Depot" includes the 1891 NY&NE station, 1890 NYNH&H freight house, and a short section of the Amtrak-owned right of way between them.[7]

As part of the CTfastrak project, the 1891 station building was restored, repainted, and moved slightly to the center of new landscaping in 2014.[5][8]

CTfastrak station

Newington Junction is a stop on the CTfastrak bus rapid transit line, which follows the original HP&F route from Hartford to New Britain. The station consists of two side platforms serving the busway, with two center passing lanes to allow express buses to pass buses stopped at the station.[8] It opened with the line on March 28, 2015.[1]

Two Connecticut Transit Hartford routes which do not use the CTfastrak busway, 69 and 140, also stop at the station.

Hartford Line station

In 2004, the Recommended Action of the New Haven Hartford Springfield Commuter Rail Implementation Study included the construction of a new Newington station as part of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Commuter Rail Line.[9] A preliminary design in that report included two side platforms serving the line's two tracks, with a 200-space parking lot on the east side.[10] However, Newington and other infill stations were not included in early funding for the line; when the busway station was built nearby, neither commuter rail platforms nor the parking lot were constructed.

The 2012 environmental assessment included preliminary plans for infill stations at North Haven, Newington Junction, West Hartford, and Enfield; although they were not yet funded, this would allow future planning and construction to be expedited. The 2012 plans included a design very similar to the 2004 report.[11] On January 12, 2015, the state announced that $5.75 million in funding would be made available for environmental mitigation and design at ten Hartford Line and New Haven Line stations, including design funding for Hartford Line platforms at Newington Junction.[12] In February 2017, the state announced an additional $50 million in funds, including money to complete design of Newington station.[13] The state aims to complete all infill stations on the line by 2022.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Despite Snow, Thousands of Riders, Many First-Timers, Experience CTfastrak on First Day of Service" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. March 28, 2015. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Healey, Will (October 21, 2016). "Officials discuss development around rail center". Journal-Inquirer. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  3. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  4. ↑ Stacom, Dan (December 4, 2015). "Springfield-To-New Haven Commuter Rail Cost Increases, Service Begins In 2018". Hartford Courant. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Track 12: CT Passenger Stations, N-NE". Tyler City Station. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. p. 84. ISBN 0942147022.
  7. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form" (PDF). November 10, 1986. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Station Site Plans". Connecticut Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  9. ↑ Wilbur Smith Associates (November 2004). "Recommended Action" (PDF). New Haven Hartford Springfield Commuter Rail Implementation Study. Connecticut Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ Wilbur Smith Associates (November 2004). "Figure 4.8: Newington Conceptual Site Plan" (PDF). New Haven Hartford Springfield Commuter Rail Implementation Study. Connecticut Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 19, 2006. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  11. ↑ CDM Smith. "Section 1.3: Station and Layover Site Concept Plans" (PDF). NEW HAVEN-HARTFORD-SPRINGFIELD LINE HIGH SPEED INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT EVALUATION: Volume II Concept Design Drawings and Environmental Resource Graphics. Connecticut Department of Transportation. p. 36. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  12. ↑ "GOV. MALLOY, BOND COMMISSION APPROVE DESIGN OF RAIL STATIONS ON HARTFORD AND NEW HAVEN LINES" (Press release). State of Connecticut. January 12, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  13. ↑ "CTDOT ANNOUNCES $50 MILLION IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR NHHS RAIL PROGRAM" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. February 20, 2017.
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