Darien station explained

Darien
Style:Metro-North Railroad
Style2:New Haven Connecticut
Address:33 West Avenue
Borough:Darien, Connecticut
Coordinates:41.0782°N -73.473°W
Owned:ConnDOT
Line:ConnDOT New Haven Line (Northeast Corridor)
Platform:2 side platforms
Tracks:4
Other: CTTransit Stamford: 341, 342, 344
Parking:860 spaces
Accessible:yes
Zone:16
Opened:December 25, 1848[1] [2]
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Custom:
Shape:none
Line:none
Marker:rail
Marker-Color:
  1. EE0034
Zoom:14

Darien station is a commuter rail station on the Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line, located in Darien, Connecticut. Located in downtown Darien, the station has two accessible side platforms serving the outer tracks of the four-track New Haven Line.

Station layout

The station has two accessible high-level side platforms, each 10 cars long. The two inner tracks, not adjacent to either platform, are used only by express trains.[3]

Several parking lots on both sides of the tracks serve the station with a total of 860 spaces.[4] The state owns the parking lots nearest the Post Road and on the west (south) side of the tracks between the Post Road and Leroy Avenue (with 195 spaces[5]). The town owns the "Leroy West" parking lot west of Leroy Avenue (toward New York City). The parking lot at the corner of West and Leroy Avenues is privately owned.[4]

History

Downtown Darien, originally known as "Darien Depot", grew up around the train station, replacing the Noroton commercial district (2 - 3 miles to the east, along the Post Road) by the 1870s. By then, the train connection to New York City allowed wealthy New Yorkers to build vacation homes along the shore, beginning Darien's history as a wealthy suburb.[6]

In the 1890s, the railroad tracks were raised above the street level, creating the railroad bridges over the Post Road, which marks the east side of the station, and over Leroy Avenue, at the western end. A Chinese laundry business has been located near the station since the 1890s, operated by various owners. The historic station building was rehabilitated in 2002.[4]

In 2017, a state report concluded that Darien was the highest priority station in the state for needed repairs. By October 2020, platform replacement and accessibility improvements totaling $34M were planned to begin in February 2022.[7] The project ultimately began in November 2023.[8]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Jenkins . Stephen . The Story of the Bronx from the Purchase Made by the Dutch from the Indians in 1639 to the Present Day . 1912 . G.P. Putnam's Sons . New York, New York . December 12, 2019 . 235.
  2. News: Special Express Notice . December 9, 2019 . The Evening Post . February 12, 1849 . New York, New York . 3. Newspapers.com.
  3. Web site: Metro-North Railroad Track & Structures Department Track Charts Maintenance Program Interlocking Diagrams & Yard Diagrams 2015. 2015. Metro-North Railroad. January 28, 2019.
  4. http://www.ct.gov/dot/lib/dot/documents/dpt/Darien_Individual_Station_Report_092006.pdf
  5. Web site: Task 2: Technical Memorandum Parking Inventory and Utilization: Final Report . October 24, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070712022905/http://www.ct.gov/dotinfo/lib/dotinfo/ctgov/FinalParkingReport.pdf . July 12, 2007 . Urbitran Associates Inc. . Connecticut Department of Transportation . Table 1: New Haven Line Parking Capacity and Utilization, Page 6 . July 2003.
  6. "In Search of the Past: A self-Guided Tour of Darien" by Patricia Q. Wall, a 20-page booklet published by the Darien Historical Society in 1986
  7. News: State DOT outlines $34M in renovations to Darien Train Station . The Darien Times . October 26, 2020 . Susan . Shultz . December 18, 2023.
  8. 1722359538563662042 . The platform at Darien station will be partially closed starting November 13 for infrastructure improvements. Access will be available via the ramp and two stairways. . MetroNorth . Metro-North Railroad.