Old Saybrook station

Old Saybrook station is a regional rail station in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It is served by both Amtrak Northeast Regional intercity trains and Shore Line East commuter service.

Old Saybrook, CT
Old Saybrook station in March 2011
Location455 Boston Post Road
Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Coordinates41.3004°N 72.3770°W / 41.3004; -72.3770
Owned byAmtrak
Line(s)Northeast Corridor
Connecticut Valley Railroad
Platforms1 side platform
1 island platform
Tracks3
Connections Estuary Transit District: 641, 642, 643, 644
Connecticut Transit Hartford: 921
Construction
Parking324 free spaces (Shore Line East)
53 free spaces (Amtrak)
Paid private lot
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeOSB
History
Opened1873
RebuiltNovember 1, 2002[1]
Electrified25,000 VAC overhead catenary
Passengers
FY201970,366[2]  4.24% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
New Haven
toward Norfolk, Newport News or Roanoke
 Northeast Regional New London
toward Boston South
     Acela does not stop here
Preceding station ConnDOT Following station
Westbrook
toward Stamford
 Shore Line East New London
Terminus
Former services
Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station
Westbrook
toward New Haven
 Shore Line Waterford
toward Boston
Essex
toward Hartford
 Valley Branch Terminus

Service
Two Northeast Regional trains at Old Saybrook

Located on the Northeast Corridor, the busiest passenger railway in the United States, Old Saybrook station serves some of the rail services that pass through the station. Most Northeast Regional trains stop at Old Saybrook. No high-speed Acela Express trains serve the station, but some stop at the following southbound and northbound stations, New Haven and New London, respectively. However, all Shore Line East commuter rail trains stop at Old Saybrook; it serves as the eastern terminus for some trains.[3] New London is the eastern terminus of the line, with approximately half terminating there.

Old Saybrook features a common track setup, with one island platform and one side platform, each two cars long. Unlike the two-track commuter-rail-only stations on the 50.7-mile (81.6 km)[4] stretch of the Northeast Corridor between New Haven and New London, there are three tracks at Old Saybrook, in order to handle terminal trains on Shore Line East.[4]

History
1915 postcard of Saybrook Junction station

The "V" shaped wood frame station at Saybrook Junction, constructed in 1873 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, originally served that company as well as the Connecticut Valley Railroad. Passengers of both lines used separate platforms but shared the waiting room.[5]

In the mid-1980s, Amtrak leased 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land around the station for the Saybrook Junction Marketplace development. It was one of the first times that Amtrak offered a long-term lease to a private entity to encourage transit-oriented development around a station.[5]

In 2002, a $2.6 million project added high-level platforms and a pedestrian bridge, making the station fully handicapped accessible.[5] The new platforms opened on November 1, 2002.[1]

Parking
The new parking area photographed in December 2016

By the mid-2000s, ridership increases rendered the station's 137-space free parking lot for Shore Line East riders insufficient, causing commuters to park in the adjacent Saybrook Junction Marketplace parking lot and along roads in town. In November 2011, the Marketplace began charging a fee for commuters to park in their lot.[6]

In March 2013, local officials announced plans for a state-funded 200-space parking lot west of North Main Street between the Upper Cemetery and the tracks.[7] By September 2013, construction was planned to begin on the 3.6 acres (1.5 ha) site in late 2014.[8] The state bought the land for $1.577 million in March 2014. In July 2014, the town received a $999,900 state grant to add sidewalks to North Main Street to improve pedestrian access to the station.[9] The new parking lot was finished in December 2015, but opening was delayed because the handicapped-accessible ramps from the lot to the station were not yet finished. After a deal was brokered for the temporary use of handicapped spaces belonging to the Saybrook Station development, the 199-space lot opened on February 4, 2016.[10][11] The new lot increased Shore Line East parking to 324 spaces and allowed overnight parking for the first time.[12]

Notes
  1. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780942147087.
  2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2019, State of Connecticut" (PDF). Amtrak. May 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  3. Shore Line East/Westbound timetable Shore Line East Retrieved 2007-07-22
  4. Amtrak - Old Saybrook, CT TrainWeb Retrieved 2007-07-22
  5. "Old Saybrook, CT (OSB)". Great American Stations. Amtrak.
  6. Wilson, Jerome (November 26, 2011). "Commuters Howl About Paying for Parking at the Old Saybrook Railroad Station". Valley News Now. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  7. Wilson, Jerome (March 11, 2013). "200 New Parking Spaces to Be Added at the Old Saybrook Railroad Station". Valley News Now. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  8. "Public Information Meeting Concerning Parking Expansion at the Old Saybrook Shore Line East Railroad Station off North Main Street" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. September 23, 2013.
  9. Coffey, Becky (July 30, 2014). "Enabling a Stroll to Saybrook Station". The Day. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  10. "Thursday: Lt. Gov. Wyman Attends Events in Old Saybrook and Cheshire" (Press release). Office of Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman. February 4, 2016.
  11. Coffey, Becky (February 9, 2016). "New Old Saybrook Train Station Parking Lot Now Open". Shore Publishing. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  12. "OLD SAYBROOK Shore Line East Train Station". Connecticut Department of Transportation. February 2016. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016.
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