Trailing Arbutus – Epigaea repens

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The Waterbury Branch is a branch of the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, running north from a junction in the Devon section of Milford to Waterbury, Connecticut. Originally built as the Naugatuck Railroad, it once continued north to Winsted. The part north of Waterbury is now leased from CTDOT by the Railroad Museum of New England, which operates excursion trains from Thomaston station through their operating subsidiary Naugatuck Railroad (reporting mark NAUG); this name was chosen in homage of the original railroad. The trackage ends in Torrington, but Metro-North service on the branch ends at Waterbury. There are conceptual plans to extend service from its current terminus in Waterbury to Hartford via Bristol and New Britain. Currently, riders that want to continue to New Britain and Hartford have to transfer to an express bus operated by CTtransit at Waterbury. All trains on this branch operate as shuttles between Waterbury and Bridgeport.

All platforms currently consist of low-level platforms with the exception of the terminal stations at Bridgeport and Waterbury. A new station consisting of a high-level platform at Derby-Shelton is currently awaiting construction, while new station plans at Ansonia, Seymour, Beacon Falls, and Naugatuck are currently awaiting designs and funding.

For most of its route, the branch runs parallel to the Naugatuck River, viewable on the right side northbound and the left side southbound.

History

In 1906, work on double-tracking the branch between Seymour and Waterbury was underway.[1] It was completed in 1907.[2]

In September 2015, it was announced that out of governor Dannel Malloy's 30-year-$100 billion transportation plan, $350 million has been included to improve service along the branch.[3] The upgrades were to include a new signal system with multiple passing sidings to increase service – as it was the last remaining dark territory of the Metro-North system – along with newer equipment and station rehabilitation.[4] Signalization enabled multiple trains to safely operate on the branch at a time, while allowing for increased capacity and overall safer train operation. New passing sidings were constructed at Derby and Beacon Falls, while existing sidings at Devon and Waterbury were upgraded, allowing trains to pass each other in single-track territory and thereby increase service frequency.[5]

Centralized Traffic Control was activated on November 7, 2021.[5] Taking advantage of the newly constructed signal system, an increase in service frequency from 15 to 22 trains per day (12 southbound, 10 northbound) was implemented on July 10, 2022 with super express connecting trains from Bridgeport, saving commuters up to 60 minutes on their round-trip commute time.[6]

As of 2022, the Connecticut Department of Transportation was studying the feasibility of installing catenary wire on the Waterbury Branch.[7]

Stations

The following connecting services are available to Amtrak,[8] Metro-North Railroad,[9] CT Transit,[10] and Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority.[11]

Zone Location Station Miles (km)
from GCT 		Date
opened 		Date
closed 		Connections / notes
19 Bridgeport Bridgeport Disabled access 55.4 (89.2) 1840[12] Metro-North Railroad: New Haven Line
Amtrak: Northeast Regional, Vermonter
Greater Bridgeport Transit: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19X, 22X, 23, Coastal Link[11]
Greyhound Lines, Peter Pan Bus Lines
Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry
Sacred Heart University Transit Shuttle, University of Bridgeport Shuttle
20 Stratford Stratford 59.0 (95.0) Metro-North Railroad: New Haven Line
Greater Bridgeport Transit: 1, 10, 16, 23, Coastal Link[11]
51 Derby Derby–Shelton 69.5 (111.8) 1849 Greater Bridgeport Transit: 15, 23
CTtransit New Haven: 255
Ansonia Ansonia 71.1 (114.4) 1849 CTtransit New Haven: 255
Seymour Seymour 75.0 (120.7) 1849 CTtransit New Haven: 255
Beacon Falls Beacon Falls 78.5 (126.3) 1849
Naugatuck Naugatuck 82.5 (132.8) 1849 CTtransit Waterbury: N1, N2, T74
Waterbury Waterbury Disabled access 87.5 (140.8) 1849 CTfastrak: 925, 928

Rolling stock

Waterbury Branch train with depowered SPV-2000 coaches at Waterbury in 2003

The Waterbury Branch uses Brookville BL20GH, GE Genesis P32AC-DM, and EMD GP40-3H locomotives and Shoreliner passenger coaches. Prior to the arrival of push-pull coaches, the branch used self-propelled Budd RDC and SPV-2000 railcars, the latter of which were later converted to coaches. A typical shuttle consists of three cars.

In August 2023, CTDOT approved a contract with Alstom for 60 single-level passenger cars. The cars will replace the existing Shoreliner coach fleet on the Waterbury Branch and the Danbury Branch, as well as Mafersa coaches on the Hartford Line. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2026.[13][14]

See also

References

  1. ^ Thirty-Fifth Year General Statement On The Affairs Of The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company For The Year Ending June 30, 1906. New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company. 1906. p. 5.
  2. ^ "Annual Report of N.Y., N.H. & H." Hartford Courant. October 3, 1907. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Waterbury Branch Commuters Using Metro-North to Hear Details On Connecticut". Fox Business. Associated Press. September 2, 2015.
  4. ^ "Metro-North Waterbury branch rail line improvements underway". Shelton Herald. May 10, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Hartley, Scott A. (November 8, 2021). "Metro-North activates CTC on Waterbury Branch, completing system". Trains.com. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  6. ^ "NEW YORK - WATERBURY: WEEKDAY SCHEDULE EFFECTIVE: July 10, 2022" (PDF).
  7. ^ Brone, Abigail (May 24, 2022). "CT's Shore Line East shifts to all-electric trains; 'It's faster, it's a lot more comfortable'". CT Insider. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  8. ^ "AMTRAK® SYSTEM TIMETABLE" (PDF). June 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2018.
  9. ^ "NEW YORK–NEW HAVEN" (PDF).
  10. ^ "CT Transit Stamford System Map" (PDF). CT transit. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "System Map - Mapa de sistema". GBT. November 5, 2017. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  12. ^ "Bridgeport, CT (BRP)". Great American Stations. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  13. ^ "Alstom to supply 60 single-level coach cars to the Connecticut Department of Transportation for its statewide rail system" (Press release). Alstom. August 9, 2023.
  14. ^ "Governor Lamont Announces Purchase of 60 New Rail Cars to Modernize Commuter Rail Lines" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. August 9, 2023.

External links

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