Stamford Transportation Center

This article is about the United States railroad station. For other stations with similar names, see Stamford station.

Stamford station, officially known as the Stewart B. McKinney Transportation Center^[5] 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, and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. In addition, it is also a major bus terminal for Greyhound, Peter Pan, and CTtransit buses. In 2018, the station averaged over 15,000 Metro-North boardings on weekdays, making it the busiest station on the system aside from Grand Central Terminal.^[4] Its official name honors politician Stewart McKinney.

Stamford
New Haven Line train at Stamford Transportation Center in 2018
General information
Location	490 Washington Boulevard (30 South State Street) Stamford, Connecticut United States
Coordinates	41°02′49″N 73°32′29″W
Owned by	ConnDOT
Line(s)	ConnDOT New Haven Line (Northeast Corridor)
Platforms	2 island platforms 2 side platforms (plus 1 side platform under construction)
Tracks	5 (plus 1 under construction)
Connections	CT Transit Stamford: 311, 312, 313, 321, 324, 326, 327, 328, 331, 333, 334, 335, 336, 341, 342, 344, 345, 351, 971 Greyhound Lines
Construction
Parking	1,500 spaces
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: STM
IATA code	ZTF
Fare zone	16 (Metro-North)
History
Opened	December 25, 1848[1][2]
Rebuilt	1861, 1890s, 1987, 2004
Passengers
FY 2023	323,791 annually[3] (Amtrak)
2018	15,216 daily boardings[4] (Metro-North)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station New York toward Washington, D.C. Acela 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 Preceding station CT Rail Following station Terminus Shore Line East limited weekday service Bridgeport toward New London Preceding station Metro-North Railroad Following station Old Greenwich toward Grand Central New Haven Line Terminus Harlem–125th Street toward Grand Central Noroton Heights toward New Haven or New Haven State Street Terminus New Canaan Branch Glenbrook toward New Canaan Greenwich select weekday service toward Grand Central Harlem–125th Street toward Grand Central Danbury Branch select weekday service Noroton Heights toward Danbury Terminus South Norwalk toward Danbury
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Rye toward Washington, D.C. Montrealer Bridgeport toward Montreal New York Terminus Cape Codder New Haven toward Hyannis Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station Sound Beach toward New York Main Line Glenbrook toward New Haven
Location

The split for the New Canaan Branch is just northeast of the station. Downtown Stamford is directly north of the station; the entrance to the station on the north side is marked by the Stamford Cone, a work of public sculpture situated at the top of Gateway Commons, while the South End is located directly south.

Station layout

The station has a 9-car-long side platform on the south side, a 10-car-long platform on the north side and two high-level 12-car-long island platforms.^[6]: 20 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 pick up passengers at a stand on the south side of the station. A car rental agency is located southwest of the station building.

Services

Stamford Transportation Center with a Metro-North M8 train headed towards Grand Central.

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.^[7] Reverse commute trains during rush hours also operate relatively frequently, at intervals of ten to twenty minutes.^[7] Off-peak trains in both directions arrive at Stamford every thirty to forty minutes, but usually within a half-hour of each other.^[7] Stamford is the busiest Metro-North Railroad station other than Grand Central Terminal, averaging 15,000 boardings on weekdays in 2018.^[4]

The station divides the New Haven Line into an outer zone and an inner zone. Outer zone trains usually run local from New Haven to Stamford, then run express to Grand Central, normally stopping only at Harlem-125th Street. Inner zone trains usually originate here and run local all the way to Grand Central. Passengers transferring between zones can make cross-platform interchanges in Stamford.

In the 2000s, Stamford and Greenwich received increasing numbers of reverse commuters who work in Stamford but live in New York City. Reverse commuting doubled from 1997 to 2007, with 1,900 daily reverse commuters by 2007. Metro-North added trains and express service to serve these commuters. As financial companies moved to Stamford from Manhattan, some employees became reverse commuters. Larger companies farther away than a few minutes walk from the station routinely provided shuttle service for their workers.^[8]

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.^[9]

Due to ridership growth, ConnDOT announced on March 19, 2007 that it would extend more Shore Line East trains to Stamford during peak hours.^[10] 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.^[10] Shore Line East service to Stamford was suspended indefinitely on March 16, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[11][12] Service resumed on October 7, 2024.^[13]

Amtrak also operates three routes which stop at Stamford: the Acela, 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.^[14]

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; the 1867 depot was razed and replaced.^[15]

In 1980, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) awarded $50 million for a new station and parking garage in Stamford. The cost was paid 70% by the FRA, 20% by the state, and 10% by the city. Construction began in 1983. Garage construction was soon halted due to cracks in support beams caused by a contractor omitting components. Additional of a support column failed to solve the issue; the FRA took over the project. The garage and station opened in 1987.^[16]

Architecture critic Paul Goldberger, writing for The New York Times in 1987, criticized the station 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.^[17] Despite these issues, Stamford became the line's busiest station aside from Grand Central by 1989.^[16]

A complete renovation of the station in the early 2000s, provided for in the original design of the overhead structure, addressed the 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 a 1,200-space addition to the parking garage.^[18]

In 2006, the state indicated plans to replace the 1987-built garage.^[19] That plan was cancelled in 2008; by 2012, the state planned to pursue privately-funded transit-oriented development on the garage parcel, with replacement parking possibly located up to a quarter-mile away.^[20] Temporary repairs to the deteriorating original garage were made in 2015; even so, only 200 of the 727 spaces were usable by 2019.^[18]

Construction of a new 928-space, $82 million parking garage northwest of the station began in October 2021.^[21] Located over State Street includes a 320-foot (98 m)-long footbridge connecting to the main waiting room plus a ramp to the southbound (Track 5) side platform.^[22][16] After delay, the new garage opened on February 26, 2024.^[23][24] This allowed demolition of the 1980s-built garage and footbridge (at a cost of $9 million) to begin.^[22] Demolition of the footbridge took place from March 11 to late April 2024, followed by demolition of the garage. Demolition is expected to be complete by late 2024.^[25]

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.
2. "Special Express Notice". The Evening Post. New York, New York. February 12, 1849. p. 3. Retrieved December 9, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Connecticut" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
4. Metro-North 2018 Weekday Station Boardings. Metro-North Railroad Market Analysis/Fare Policy Group. April 2019. p. 6.
5. NEW BUSES HIT THE ROAD ON MONDAY IN STAMFORD Archived May 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine January 11, 2001
6. "Metro-North Railroad Track & Structures Department Track Charts Maintenance Program Interlocking Diagrams & Yard Diagrams 2015" (PDF). Metro-North Railroad. 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
7. "New Haven Line Weekday Timetable" (PDF). Metro-North. March 18, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
8. Prevost, Lisa (August 12, 2007). "Now Arriving: Reverse Commuters". The New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
9. "2018 Yankees "Train to the Game" Service". Metro-North Railroad. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
10. "Metro-North, Shore Line East to operate more commuter trains in Connecticut". Progressive Railroading. March 19, 2007. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
11. @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.
12. "Shore Line East Service Information" (PDF). April 20, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
13. "Stamford Through Service Returns to the Schedule" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. September 30, 2024.
14. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2017, State of Connecticut" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
15. "Photo Archivist's Selection of the Month: December 2000 / What would be a suitable selection for December? How about the railroad?". Stamford Historical Society. Retrieved March 24, 2007.
16. Carella, Angela (November 24, 2023). "As Stamford Garage Comes Down, Future Plans Remain Uncertain". CT Examiner. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023.
17. Goldberger, Paul (December 7, 1987). "A Hard-Edged Station for Stamford". The New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
18. Lytton, Barry (January 18, 2019). "Stamford commuters seek answers to decrepit garage from new state leaders". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
19. Holtz, Jeff (October 29, 2006). "THE WEEK; Old Garage at Stamford Station to Be Replaced". The New York Times.
20. Cassidy, Martin B. (July 16, 2012). "State requests railroad garage plans". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
21. Del Valle, Verónica (October 25, 2021). "Stamford's soon-to-be $81.7M, 928-spot commuter garage project gets official debut". CT Insider. Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
22. Laguarda, Ignacio (October 9, 2023). "How Stamford's gonna spend $17M from state: From train station garage demolition to new playscapes". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
23. "Governor Lamont Announces Grand Opening of New Parking Garage at the Stamford Transportation Center, Releases Master Plan for Future Investments in the City" (Press release). Office of Governor Ned Lamont. February 26, 2024.
24. Weber, Jared (January 31, 2024). "When will Stamford's new train station parking garage open? State blames delays on suppliers". Stamford Advocate. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024.
25. "Demolition of the 1985 Parking Garage and Pedestrian Bridge at the Stamford Transportation Center" (Press release). Connecticut Department of Transportation. April 12, 2024. Archived from the original on May 15, 2024.

External links

• Stamford, CT – Amtrak
• Stamford, CT – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Metro-North station page for Stamford Transportation Center
• List of upcoming Metro-North train departure times and track assignments from MTA
• 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)
• 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