Bridgeport station (Connecticut)

The Bridgeport station is a shared Amtrak, Metro-North Railroad, and Shore Line East train station along the Northeast Corridor serving Bridgeport, Connecticut and nearby towns. On Metro-North, the station is the transfer point between the Waterbury Branch and the main New Haven Line. Amtrak's inter-city Northeast Regional and Vermonter service also stop at the station, as do some Shore Line East trains.[11] In addition the transfer point for Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority buses, the departure point for the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry across Long Island Sound to Port Jefferson, New York, and both the Arena at Harbor Yard and the Ballpark at Harbor Yard are located adjacent to the station.

Bridgeport
The westbound platform
Location	525 Water Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut United States
Coordinates	41.1778°N 73.1871°W / 41.1778; -73.1871
Owned by	City of Bridgeport
Operated by	Connecticut Department of Transportation
Line(s)	Northeast Corridor
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Connections	Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19X, 22X, 23, Coastal Link Greyhound Peter Pan Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry Sacred Heart University Transit Shuttle University of Bridgeport Shuttle
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	BRP (Amtrak)
Fare zone	19 (Metro-North)
History
Opened	1840 (Housatonic Railroad)[1] January 1849 (New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad)[2][3]
Rebuilt	July 1903–August 20, 1905[4][5] June 7, 1973–October 27, 1975[6][7]
Electrified	12.5 kV AC overhead catenary
Key dates
March 20, 1979	1905 station depot burns down[8]
Traffic
Passengers (2018)	90,174[9]  3.62% (Amtrak)
Passengers (2018)	4,490[10] (MetroNorth)
Rank	9 of 124 (MetroNorth)[10]
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Stamford toward Norfolk, Newport News or Roanoke Northeast Regional New Haven toward Boston South or Springfield Stamford toward Washington, D.C. Vermonter New Haven toward St. Albans Preceding station Metro-North Following station Fairfield Metro towards Grand Central New Haven Line Stratford towards New Haven or New Haven State Street Terminus Waterbury Branch Derby–Shelton towards Waterbury Stratford limited service towards Waterbury Preceding station ConnDOT Following station South Norwalk toward Stamford Shore Line East limited service Stratford toward Old Saybrook or New London
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Stamford toward Washington, D.C. Montrealer New Haven toward Montreal Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station Fairfield toward New York Main Line Stratford toward New Haven

Opened in 1975, the current station was designed by the local architectural firm of Antinozzi Associates.[1] Unusually, the station spans the six lanes of Water Street, with the passenger waiting room located over the roadway. The simple concrete facades are scored with vertical lines or channels to create a textured surface. Throughout the day, as the sun rakes across the walls, the channels—of varying depth and width—produce a range of ever-changing shadows. Boxy in appearance and punctuated by rectangular windows, the station's angularity is softened by the rounded edges of the access towers.[1]

As of August 2006, average weekday commuter ridership was 3,120 passengers. Bridgeport is the busiest Metro-North station between Stamford and New Haven's Union Station.[12]

Shore Line East service west of New Haven was service suspended indefinitely on March 16, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.[13][14]

History

The 1905-built Bridgeport station in 1907

View of 1905 station and Water Street in a 1919 postcard.

The current station in Bridgeport was fully completed under ConnDOT and Penn Central in 1975. It replaced a large, ornate structure built in 1905, located to the north of the current station at 41.181206°N 73.187535°W / 41.181206; -73.187535. The relocation was occasioned by the introduction of "Cosmopolitan" M-2 railcars which could only board at high-level platforms, the installation of which was impractical at the old station due to the curvature of the platforms. The 1905 station depot burned down in a fire on March 20, 1979.[8]

A branch line, originally built by New Haven Railroad predecessor Housatonic Railroad to Trumbull, Monroe and Newtown, used to join the main tracks at the old Bridgeport station. All evidence of this junction is now gone, but the related bridges of this line existed near Bridgeport station until the 1990s. Evidence of this line is still visible further north, including a rail bridge crossing the Merritt Parkway near the Route 25 exits, and a rail trail that extends from Trumbull to the Newtown - Monroe town line.[15]

Bridgeport was also close to the scene of three of Connecticut's worst train accidents. The first occurred on July 11, 1911 about a mile west of the station, near where Fairfield Avenue (CT 130) passes underneath and I-95 currently passes overhead. Fourteen people were killed and 40 injured in the disaster; excessive speed through a crossover was the cause.[16] The second occurred on July 14, 1955 due to excessive speed on a sharp curve approaching the station; one person was killed and 58 were injured.[17] Both accidents involved the same train, the northbound Federal Express overnight train from Washington, D.C. to Boston. The third wreck, involving the derailment and sideswiping collision of two Metro-North trains, occurred on May 17, 2013, close to the same location as the 1911 wreck, injuring 60 passengers on both trains.[18] A track defect was suspected pending completion of an investigation.[19]

Station layout

The station from the north

This station has two high-level side platforms, each eight cars long. The western platform, adjacent to Track 3, is generally used by westbound/southbound Metro-North and Amtrak trains. The eastern platform, adjacent to Track 4, is generally used by eastbound/northbound Metro-North and Amtrak trains. The New Haven Line uses four tracks at this location. The two inner tracks, not adjacent to either platform, are used only by express trains, including the Acela Express.[20]^:22

The station has 1,453 parking spaces, with 950 owned by the state.[21]

P Platform level	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Track 3	←      New Haven Line toward Grand Central (Fairfield Metro) ←      Northeast Regional toward Norfolk, Newport News or Roanoke (Stamford) ←      Vermonter toward Washington (Stamford)
	Track 1	←      Acela Express does not stop here
	Track 2	←      Acela Express does not stop here →
	Track 4	←      Vermonter toward St. Albans (New Haven) → ←      Northeast Regional toward Boston or Springfield (New Haven) → ←      Waterbury Branch toward Waterbury (Stratford or Derby–Shelton) → ←      New Haven Line toward New Haven or New Haven State Street (Stratford) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right
G	Street level	Exit/entrance and parking

Bibliography

• Poor, Henry Varnum (1860). History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States of America. New York, New York: J.H. Schultz & Company. Retrieved May 9, 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References

1. Great American Stations. Accessed March 1, 2013.
2. Poor 1860, p. 210.
3. "Special Express Notice". The Evening Post. New York, New York. February 12, 1849. p. 3. Retrieved December 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Bridgeport Station". The Hartford Courant. July 17, 1903. p. 9. Retrieved May 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Bridgeport's New Station". The Hartford Courant. August 15, 1905. p. 5. Retrieved May 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Old Station's Closing Causes Brief Senior Center Lockout". The Bridgeport Post. June 7, 1973. p. 10. Retrieved May 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Dedication Slated Monday for City's Rail Station". The Bridgeport Post. October 22, 1975. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved May 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Fire Razes Old Depot in Bridgeport". The New York Times. March 21, 1979. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
9. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2018, State of Connecticut" (PDF). Amtrak Government Affairs. June 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
10. METRO-NORTH 2018 WEEKDAY STATION BOARDINGS. Market Analysis/Fare Policy Group:OPERATIONS PLANNING AND ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT:Metro-North Railroad. April 2019. p. 6.
11. There is no Amtrak ticket office at the station, but there are "Quick-Trak" machines accessible during station hours."Bridgeport, CT (BRP)". Retrieved July 27, 2008.
12. "www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/commutemetro-north.html". New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
13. @SLEalerts (March 13, 2020). "Effective 3/16/20, ALL weekday (Monday - Friday) CTrail Shore Line East trains will operate on an enhanced weekend schedule until further notice" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. "Shore Line East Service Information" (PDF). April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
15. "Regional Bicycle Trail". Archived from the original on October 11, 2007.
16. Belnap, H. W. "Report No. 6: The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in re Accident at Bridgeport, Connecticut, July 11, 1911" (PDF). Interstate Commerce Commission accident reports. U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
17. "Report No. 3642: The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in re Accident at Bridgeport, Connecticut, July 14, 1955" (PDF). Interstate Commerce Commission accident reports. U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
18. Matt Flegenheimer; Robert Davey (May 18, 2013). "Metro-North Trains Collide in Connecticut; Dozens of Injuries Are Reported". New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
19. Cassidy, Martin B. (May 24, 2013). "NTSB releases findings into Metro-North derailment". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved May 24, 2013.
20. "Metro-North Railroad Track & Structures Department Track Charts Maintenance Program Interlocking Diagrams & Yard Diagrams 2015" (PDF). Metro-North Railroad. 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
21. Task 2: Technical Memorandum parking Inventory and Utilization: Final Report" submitted by Urbitran Associates Inc. to the Connecticut Department of Transportation, "Table 1: New Haven Line Parking Capacity and Utilization", page 6, July 2003 Archived July 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine"

External links

• Media related to Bridgeport station (Connecticut) at Wikimedia Commons

• Bridgeport, CT – Amtrak

• Metro-North station page for Bridgeport
• Bridgeport (BRP)--Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Bridgeport Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
• Water Street entrance from Google Maps Street View