Stamford Transportation Center

Stamford
Stamford Transportation Center platforms and tracks in 2018
Location	490 Washington Boulevard (30 South State Street) Stamford, Connecticut United States
Coordinates	41°02′49″N 73°32′29″W / 41.046937°N 73.541493°W / 41.046937; -73.541493Coordinates: 41°02′49″N 73°32′29″W / 41.046937°N 73.541493°W / 41.046937; -73.541493
Owned by	ConnDOT
Line(s)	Northeast Corridor
Platforms	2 island platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks	6 (5 Used)
Connections	CT Transit Stamford: 311, 312, 313, 321, 324, 326, 327, 328, 331, 333, 334, 335, 336, 341, 342, 344, 345, 351, 971 Greyhound
Construction
Parking	1,500
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	STM (Amtrak) ZTF (IATA)
Fare zone	16 (Metro-North)
History
Opened	1849
Rebuilt	1861, 1890s, 1987, 2004
Electrified	12,500V (AC) overhead catenary
Traffic
Passengers (2016)	8.424 million[1]  27% (Metro-North)
Passengers (FY2017)	410,593[2]  2.25% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station New York toward Washington, D.C. Acela Express New Haven toward Boston South Vermonter Bridgeport toward St. Albans New Rochelle toward Norfolk, Newport News, or Roanoke Northeast Regional Bridgeport toward Boston South or Springfield ConnDOT Terminus Shore Line East Bridgeport toward New London Metro-North Railroad Old Greenwich toward Grand Central New Haven Line Noroton Heights toward New Haven State Street or New Canaan Terminus New Canaan Branch Glenbrook toward New Canaan
Former services
Preceding station   New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad   Following station Sound Beach toward New York Main Line Glenbrook toward New Haven

Stamford, officially known as the Stewart B. McKinney Transportation Center^[3] or the Stamford Transportation Center, is a major railroad station in the city of Stamford, Connecticut, serving passengers traveling on Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, and Shore Line East. In addition, it is also a major bus terminal for Greyhound, Peter Pan, and CTtransit buses. Annual ridership on Metro-North exceeded 8.4 million in 2016, making it the second busiest station in the entire system, after Grand Central Terminal.^[4]

The station is 33 miles (53 km) from Grand Central Terminal. Just northeast of the station is the split for the New Canaan Branch. A few Shore Line East trains terminate at Stamford during the morning rush hour, and originate there in the evening.

United Airlines codeshares with Amtrak to provide service out of Stamford station to the train station at United's Northeast hub, Newark Liberty International Airport. As such, the train station has the IATA airport code (as an IATA-indexed train station) ZTF.

Downtown Stamford is directly north of the station, while the South End is directly south. The South End is currently going through one of the largest redevelopment efforts in the nation, branded Harbor Point.^[5]

History

The 1861-built depot in 1868

The 1890s-built station in 1983

Regular daily train service began in Stamford on January 1, 1849. In 1867, a depot was built one block east of the present location. The railroad at that time consisted of two tracks and passed through town on ground level (crossing the streets at grade). In the mid-1890s two more tracks were added to the line and most crossings were elevated and bridged, so the 1867 depot, was razed and replaced.^[6]

In 1987, the New York Times published a review of the then-new Stamford Transportation Center by architecture critic Paul Goldberger. The station was criticized for "a harshness almost unequaled in contemporary architecture" as well as for cost overruns and many functional failings, including the lack of shelter for the track platforms. The route from the cross-tracks waiting room to the platform was so long and indirect that passengers who waited indoors until a train's arrival was announced could not get to the platform in time to board it.^[7]

A complete renovation of the station in the early 2000s, provided for in the original design of the overhead structure, addressed these problems. The two platforms were made island platforms, capable of serving four tracks. Added features included platform canopies, stairs and escalators directly from the waiting room for the tracks, and a new platform crossover, connecting to the parking garage.

Station layout

Stamford Transportation Center lit up at night

This station has two high-level 10-car-long side platforms and two high-level 12-car-long island platforms. The main station concourse straddles the tracks of the Northeast Corridor, and contains the ticket booth, a passenger waiting area, and shops. Below the platform level is an MTA police station, other shops, a Greyhound/Peter Pan office and CT Transit Customer Information Center. Stairs and escalators lead to the platform level. On the south side of the station, across an access street, is a large parking garage connected to the concourse by one pedestrian bridge and directly connected to the east end of the platforms by a second bridge (both bridges connect to Level 4 of the garage).

A bus station is located just to the north of the train station, underneath a large bridge carrying Interstate 95. Taxis, often lined up by the dozens, pick up passengers at a stand on the south side of the station. A car rental agency is located southwest of the station building.

M	Mezzanine	Crossover between platforms
P Platform level	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Track 5	New Canaan Branch toward New Canaan (Glenbrook)→ ← New Canaan Branch toward New York–Grand Central (Harlem–125th Street) ← New Canaan Branch alighting passengers only
	Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
	Track 3	← New Haven Line toward New York–Grand Central (Old Greenwich) ← Danbury Branch toward New York–Grand Central (Greenwich) ← Northeast Regional toward Northern Virginia (New Rochelle) ← Acela Express, Vermonter toward Washington, D.C. (New York–Penn Station)
	Track 1	← Acela Express select trains do not stop here → ← New Haven Line select trains do not stop here →
	Track 2	Acela Express toward Boston (New Haven) → Northeast Regional toward Boston South or Springfield (Bridgeport) → Vermonter toward St. Albans (Bridgeport) → New Haven Line toward New Haven Union Station or New Haven–State Street (Noroton Heights) → Danbury Branch toward Danbury (Noroton Heights) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
	Track 4	New Haven Line toward New Haven Union Station or New Haven State Street (Noroton Heights) → Danbury Branch toward Danbury (Noroton Heights) → New Haven Line alighting passengers only →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right \
G	Street level	Exit/entrance and parking

Ridership

The number of people taking Metro-North to Stamford doubled from 2,155 in 1996 to 4,226 in 2006. In recent years, additional office space has been built near the train station to allow commuters to avoid Interstate 95, which is typically very congested during rush hour. For example, The Royal Bank of Scotland completed a $400 million office building in 2008 within 200 yards of the station.^[8]

Stamford is the busiest Metro-North Railroad station outside of New York City, with the only busier station being Grand Central Terminal. As of 2016, average weekday commuter ridership for the center was 30,000 passengers, ranking among the busiest in the metropolitan area.^[9]

Services

Stamford Transportation Center train platforms

Stamford receives very frequent rail service on the New Haven Line. During peak hours, trains at Stamford come in intervals as little as three or seven minutes apart.^[10] Reverse commute trains during rush hours also operate relatively frequently, at intervals of ten to twenty minutes.^[10] Off-peak trains in both directions arrive at Stamford every thirty to forty minutes, but usually within a half-hour of each other.^[10]

As of 2014, Stamford has been a central stop for a special "Yankee Clipper" Train. The direct train runs to and from all weeknight and weekend games to Yankees–East 153rd Street to serve New York Yankees baseball games and New York City FC soccer matches at Yankee Stadium. The trains are timed to arrive between 45 minutes and 2 hours prior to the start of the game, and depart between 20 and 45 minutes after they end.^[11]

Due to ridership growth in recent years, eastern Connecticut rail service provider Shore Line East announced on March 19, 2007 that it would extend more of its trains to Stamford during peak hours.^[12] To coincide with the extension of this service, Metro-North added another five trains on the New Haven Line to cope with the increases in passenger demand at Stamford.^[12]

Amtrak also runs three routes which stop at Stamford: the Acela Express, the only high-speed rail service in the United States, the Northeast Regional, providing local service along the Northeast Corridor, on which Stamford is a vital station, and the Vermonter, the only train from Connecticut that goes to Vermont. Stamford is now the second-busiest Amtrak station in Connecticut, after New Haven's Union Station.^[2]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stamford Transportation Center.

• Metro-North Railroad web page for the Stamford station

• Amtrak – Stations – Stamford, CT
• Washington Boulevard entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Entrance south of tracks from Google Maps Street View
• Station Building on State Street from Google Maps Street View
• Stamford Amtrak-Metro North-Shore Line East Station (USA Rail Guide - Train Web)
• Stamford (STM)--Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CT-9, "New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, Stamford Station, 44 Station Place, Stamford, Fairfield County, CT", 15 photos, 25 data pages, 1 photo caption page