Branchville station


The Branchville station is a commuter rail stop on the Danbury Branch of the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line, located in Branchville area of Ridgefield, Connecticut. The station is to Grand Central Terminal and the travel time from is about 1 hour, 38 minutes regardless of through trains or transfers.
The station has 168 parking spaces, is owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and managed by the town, but Metro-North is responsible for trash removal.

History

The station house was built in 1905. The building is now occupied by the Whistle Stop Bakery, which opened in the 1980s and was designed for commuters in a hurry needing coffee and snacks before boarding departing on the train to New York City. The station is named for the surrounding Branchville neighborhood which in turn takes its name from a now defunct branch line off of the Norwalk to Danbury line that was built in the 1870s into the center of Ridgefield. The line was used for passenger service until 1925 and for freight service until 1964. It is now the Ridgefield Rail Trail and high voltage power line corridor.

Station layout

This station has one three-car-long high-level side platform to the west of the track. The Danbury Branch has one through track at this location, but at the station house a switch leads to a passing loop that extends north well past the platform and station area before rejoining the line.