Darien
Darien station building and platform in September 2018
General information
Location33 West Avenue
Darien, Connecticut
Coordinates41°04′41″N 73°28′23″W / 41.078187°N 73.472958°W / 41.078187; -73.472958
Owned byConnDOT
Line(s)ConnDOT New Haven Line (Northeast Corridor)
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
ConnectionsLocal Transit CTTransit Stamford: 341, 342, 344
Construction
Parking860 spaces
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone16
History
OpenedDecember 25, 1848[1][2]
Passengers
20181,873 daily boardings[3]
Services
Preceding station Metro-North Railroad Following station
Noroton Heights
toward Grand Central
 New Haven Line Rowayton
toward New Haven State Street
Danbury Branch
peak service
 Rowayton
toward Danbury
Former services
Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station
Noroton
toward New York
 Main Line Rowayton
toward New Haven

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.[4]: 20 

Several parking lots on both sides of the tracks serve the station with a total of 860 spaces.[5] 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[6]). 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.[5]

History

Platform reconstruction in December 2023

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.[7]

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.[5]

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.[8] The project ultimately began in November 2023.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Jenkins, Stephen (1912). The Story of the Bronx from the Purchase Made by the Dutch from the Indians in 1639 to the Present Day. New York, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 235. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Special Express Notice". The Evening Post. New York, New York. February 12, 1849. p. 3. Retrieved December 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ↑ Metro-North 2018 Weekday Station Boardings. Metro-North Railroad Market Analysis/Fare Policy Group. April 2019. p. 6.
  4. ↑ "Metro-North Railroad Track & Structures Department Track Charts Maintenance Program Interlocking Diagrams & Yard Diagrams 2015" (PDF). Metro-North Railroad. 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 Bureau of Public Transportation of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, "Darien Train Station Visual Inspection Report" dated January 2007 (although parts of the inspection were carried out in September 2006)
  6. ↑ Urbitran Associates Inc. (July 2003). "Task 2: Technical Memorandum Parking Inventory and Utilization: Final Report" (PDF). Connecticut Department of Transportation. Table 1: New Haven Line Parking Capacity and Utilization, Page 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  7. ↑ "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
  8. ↑ Shultz, Susan (October 26, 2020). "State DOT outlines $34M in renovations to Darien Train Station". The Darien Times. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  9. ↑ Metro-North Railroad [@MetroNorth] (November 8, 2023). "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" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

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