Union Station (New Haven)

Union Station, also known as New Haven Railroad Station (IATA: ZVE) or simply New Haven, is the main railroad passenger station in New Haven, Connecticut. Designed by noted American architect Cass Gilbert, the beaux-arts Union Station was completed and opened in 1920[5] after the previous Union Station (which was located at the foot of Meadow Street, near the site of the current Union Station parking garage) was destroyed by fire. It served the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad until it fell into decline, along with the rest of the railroad industry in North America after World War II. It was shuttered in 1972, leaving only the under-track 'subway' open for passengers, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1975,[4] but it was almost demolished before the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project in 1979. Reopened after extensive renovations in early 1985, it is now the premier gateway to the city.

"New Haven station" redirects here. For other uses, see New Haven station (disambiguation).
New Haven–Union Station
New Haven Union Station in September 2018
Location50 Union Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut
Coordinates41°17′51″N 72°55′36″W
Owned byConnDOT
Line(s)Northeast Corridor
New Haven–Springfield Line
Platforms4 island platforms
Tracks9
Connections CT Transit: 212, 265, 268, 271, 272, 278, Union Station Shuttle
Greyhound
Megabus
Yale Shuttle
Construction
ParkingUnion Station parking garage
Bicycle facilitiesYes
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeNHV (Amtrak)
ZVE (IATA)
Fare zone21 (Metro-North)
History
Opened1920
Rebuilt1985
Electrified12.5 kV AC overhead catenary
Passengers
FY2019778,534[1]  11.6% (Amtrak)
20183,216[2] (MetroNorth)
Rank16 of 124[2] (MetroNorth)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Stamford
toward Washington, D.C.
 Acela New London
toward Boston South
Bridgeport
toward Norfolk, Newport News or Roanoke
 Northeast Regional Old Saybrook
toward Boston South
New Haven State Street
toward Springfield
Terminus Hartford Line
Valley Flyer New Haven State Street
toward Greenfield
Bridgeport
toward Washington, D.C.
 Vermonter Meriden
toward St. Albans
Preceding station Metro-North Following station
West Haven
towards Grand Central
 New Haven Line New Haven State Street
limited service
Terminus
Preceding station ConnDOT Following station
Terminus Hartford Line New Haven State Street
toward Springfield
West Haven
limited service
toward Stamford
 Shore Line East New Haven State Street
toward Old Saybrook or New London
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Terminus Beacon Hill Branford
toward Boston South
Clamdigger Branford
toward New London
Bridgeport
toward Washington, D.C.
 Montrealer Meriden
toward Montreal
Stamford
toward New York
 Cape Codder Providence
toward Hyannis
Bridgeport
toward Atlantic City
 Atlantic City Express Wallingford
toward Springfield
Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station
Woodmont
toward New York
 Main Line Terminus
New York Penn
Terminus
 Main Line
through service
Terminus Shore Line East Haven
toward Boston
New Haven Railroad Station
LocationUnion Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Built1920
ArchitectCass Gilbert[3]
Architectural styleLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Second Renaissance Revival
NRHP reference No.75001941[4]
Added to NRHPSeptember 3, 1975

The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as New Haven Railroad Station. Its significance is partly as an example of the work of Cass Gilbert, who also designed the Woolworth Building in New York and the U.S. Supreme Court Building.[6]

The restored building features interior limestone walls, ornate ceilings, chandeliers and striking stainless steel ceilings in the tunnels to the trains. The large waiting room is thirty-five feet high and features models of NYNH&HRR trains on the benches.

Prior to the 2002 opening of State Street station, Union Station was referred to as simply New Haven on Metro-North signage and maps.

Current service

Amtrak
Acela Express at New Haven in 2007

Amtrak runs frequent service through Union Station along the electrified Northeast Corridor rail line. Most Amtrak trains are Northeast Regional trains or Acela trains operating between Washington, D.C. and Boston.[7]

Hartford Line trains run to Springfield, Massachusetts via Hartford and Valley Flyer trains travel along the same route but continue on to Greenfield, Massachusetts.[8] Some of these trains connect with Northeast Regional trains; other Northeast Regionals run through to Springfield from New York or vice versa.[7] These through trains must change locomotives at New Haven, as the track north to Springfield is not electrified, unlike the Northeast Corridor. The locomotive change is from a Siemens ACS-64 for the electrified territory to a General Electric P40DC or P42DC for the non-electrified territory, or vice versa. Prior to 2000, when the Northeast Corridor was electrified all the way to Boston, all trains continuing north of Union Station had to change from diesel to electric power.

Additionally, the Vermonter provides through service from Washington, D.C. beyond Springfield to St. Albans, Vermont.[8] At New Haven, the Vermonter also has a P42DC diesel-electric locomotive added to the train.

Amtrak operates a yard on the west side of the tracks, next to the station building.

Because of United Airlines code sharing on select Amtrak trains between Union Station and its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport in the New York City area, Union Station is assigned the IATA airport code of ZVE.[9]

New Haven Union Station is the busiest Amtrak station in Connecticut. The station is the tenth busiest Amtrak station in the country, boarding or detraining nearly two thousand passengers daily.[10]

In March 2020, Vermonter service north of the station was suspended indefinitely as part of a reduced service plan due to the coronavirus pandemic.[11][12]

Metro-North
Cross-platform transfer between Metro-North (left) and Shore Line East trains at New Haven

Metro-North Railroad operates its New Haven Line from Union Station to Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The service is well patronized by commuters, despite the travel time of about two hours. Shore Line East and Metro-North work together on schedules to provide quick transfers of trains for commuters traveling from the Shoreline to Grand Central Terminal or Stamford.[13]

Metro-North operates a large train yard in New Haven on the east side of the tracks, opposite Amtrak's yard. Work is done here, as well as the storing of train cars and locomotives. It is not uncommon to find trains from the Waterbury Branch being stored in New Haven between schedules. The consist usually is made up of one BL20-GH locomotive as well as three Shoreliner passenger cars. Smaller yards are located in Bridgeport and Stamford.

A select number of trains start or end their run two minutes to the east at New Haven State Street.[13]

CTrail

Two rail services run by the Connecticut Department of Transportation under the CTrail brand are based at New Haven. Shore Line East runs between New Haven and New London on the Northeast Corridor, with limited peak-hour service west of New Haven. The Hartford Line runs between New Haven and Springfield on the New Haven–Springfield Line. Service launched on June 16, 2018.[14]

On April 20, 2020, the station became the indefinite western terminus for Shore Line East service, running on a limited schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic.[15]

Buses and shuttles

CTtransit's New Haven Division provides bus service to the station on four routes.[16] One is a free shuttle that connects Union Station to downtown and the New Haven Green for connections to the remainder of the CTTransit New Haven routes, only running on weekdays.[17] Route 271 on the Kimberly Avenue route to Savin Rock and Milford also serves the station. Route 272 serves Union Station from downtown New Haven via South Church Street and returns to downtown New Haven. Route 278 is the Commuter Connection only on afternoon times connecting Shore Line East.

Other providers at Union Station are Greyhound, Megabus, Peter Pan, and the Yale University Shuttle.[18][19][20]

Station layout
Tunnel connecting platforms to station building

This station has four high-level island platforms, which are used for service in both directions. The New Haven Line has nine tracks at the station. The northern platform is adjacent to Tracks 1 and 3 is usually served by Amtrak and can accommodate 8-car trains. The second platform from the north, adjacent to Tracks 2 and 4, is usually served by Amtrak and is 9 cars long. The second platform from the south is adjacent to Tracks 8 and 10, served by Metro-North, Shore Line East, and the Hartford Line, and can fit 7-car trains. The southern platform is adjacent to Tracks 12 and 14, usually serves Metro-North and Shore Line East, and can accommodate 8-car trains. Track 6, not adjacent to any platform in the center of the station, is used only by through trains or idling Shore Line East consists. There are no tracks 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13.[21]:24

All tracks are connected by the stainless-steel tunnel with elevators and staircases leading onto the platforms, as well as escalators, a staircase, and an elevator leading to the tunnel itself. In 2015, LCD displays replaced a mechanical split-flap display departure board made by Solari di Udine. The split-flap display was donated to the Danbury Railway Museum in Danbury, Connecticut, to eventually be put on display.[22]

On either side of the station, the Northeast Corridor merges into four tracks.[21]

P
Platform level		 Track 3 ←      Amtrak services toward Washington (Stamford or Bridgeport)
←      Amtrak services toward Springfield (New Haven State Street or Meriden) →
Island platform
Track 1 ←      Amtrak services toward Washington (Stamford or Bridgeport)
←      Amtrak services toward Boston (Old Saybrook or New London) →
Track 2 ←      Amtrak services toward Washington (Stamford or Bridgeport)
←      Amtrak services toward Boston (Old Saybrook or New London) →
←      Amtrak services toward Springfield (New Haven State Street or Meriden) →
Island platform
Track 4 ←      Amtrak services toward Boston (Old Saybrook or New London) →
←      Amtrak services toward Springfield (New Haven State Street or Meriden) →
←      Hartford Line toward Springfield (New Haven State Street) →
Track 6 ← Passing track →
Track 8 ←      New Haven Line toward Grand Central (West Haven)
Island platform
Track 10 ←      New Haven Line toward Grand Central (West Haven)
←      Shore Line East toward New London or Old Saybrook (New Haven State Street) →
←      Hartford Line toward Springfield (New Haven State Street) →
Track 12 ←      Shore Line East toward New London or Old Saybrook (New Haven State Street) →
Island platform
Track 14 ←      New Haven Line toward Grand Central (West Haven)
T Tunnel Connection between platforms and station building

See also

References
  1. "Amtrak CT Fact Sheet FY19" (PDF). Amtrak Government Affairs. May 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  2. METRO-NORTH 2018 WEEKDAY STATION BOARDINGS. Market Analysis/Fare Policy Group:OPERATIONS PLANNING AND ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT:Metro-North Railroad. April 2019. p. 6.
  3. "National Register of Historical Places - CONNECTICUT (CT), New Haven County". nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  5. "New Haven, CT (NHV)". Great American Stations. December 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  6. Stephen J. Raiche (May 5, 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: New Haven Railroad Station / Union Station". National Park Service. and Accompanying three photos, exterior and interior, from 1975
  7. "Northeast Corridor Boston–Washington, D.C. Schedule" (PDF). Amtrak. September 23, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  8. "Vermonter and Valley Flyer Schedule" (PDF). Amtrak. September 23, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  9. "Destinations Served". United Airlines. January 31, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  10. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2011, State of Connecticut" (PDF). Amtrak. December 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  11. Tourangeau, Ariana (March 27, 2020). "Amtrak's Vermonter train temporarily out of service". WWLP. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  12. "Service Adjustments Due to Coronavirus" (Press release). Amtrak. 2020-04-06. Archived from the original on 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  13. "New Haven Line Timetable" (PDF). Metro-North. September 29, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  14. Porter, Mikaela; Owens, David (June 17, 2018). "Thousands Take A Free Ride On Hartford Line's Inaugural Run". Hartford Courant. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  15. "Shore Line East Service Information" (PDF). April 20, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  16. "New Haven Metro Area Bus System Map" (PDF). CT Transit. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  17. "Union Station Shuttle New Haven". CT Transit. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  18. "Bus Station Locator". Greyhound. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  19. megabus.com. "Bus Stops". megabus. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  20. "Customer Support | Peter Pan". support.peterpanbus.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  21. "Metro-North Railroad Track & Structures Department Track Charts Maintenance Program Interlocking Diagrams & Yard Diagrams 2015" (PDF). Metro-North Railroad. 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  22. MacMillan, Thomas (December 10, 2009). "So Long, Solari". New Haven Independent.

All of the following are filed under Vicinity of Union Avenue and/or Cedar & Lamberton Streets, New Haven, New Haven County, CT:

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