Westerly is a passenger rail station on the Northeast Corridor located just north of downtown Westerly, Rhode Island. It is served by Amtrak's Northeast Regional. Westerly is one of a small number of Amtrak stations on the Northeast Corridor that does not have high-level platforms for accessible boarding. However, Westerly is still handicapped accessible; passengers may use a portable lift to board trains, and the under-track passage includes a wheelchair lift on its staircases. Westerly is also one of three Northeast Corridor stations that is served exclusively by Amtrak, with no commuter rail service.
History
The Westerly station opened along with the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad on November 17, 1837. The original depot was a small wooden structure, similar to those still extant at nearby Noank and West Mystic. In 1872, a new station - similar to those still standing at Kingston and East Greenwich - was constructed. It had a pedestrian tunnel for passengers to reach the westbound platform and shelter. In 1912-13, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad constructed the present station as part of a curve straightening project. The station building was in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, as were several other New Haven Railroad stations built around the same time. The project included the station building, a new pedestrian tunnel, a westbound shelter that enclosed a tunnel entrance, and a shelter for the tunnel entrance on the eastbound side. A two-story brick freight house, now occupied by Westerly Agway, was constructed the same year. The New Haven Railroad was at that time planning to expand the Northeast Corridor to four tracks along much of the route from New Haven to Boston, especially at busy stations. The bridge abutments to the west of the station over Canal Street and the Pawcatuck River were built for four tracks, although only two-track bridges were ever built. The line was rebuilt for three tracks from just east of the station to just west of Bradford, Rhode Island, with three-track bridges and cuts. A maintenance road now occupies the third track slot. The station received a $2 million renovation in 1998 that restored it to its original state. As part of the project, a lift system was installed in the passenger subway to make the station handicapped accessible. Amtrak closed the Westerly ticket office on October 1, 2016, ceasing all ticketing and passenger assistance services. The building was reopened on August 17, 2018; the waiting area serves as an art gallery and is open Wednesdays through Sundays. Weekday stopping service was scheduled to increase from three northbound and four southbound trains to six northbound and five southbound trains on March 16, 2020. However, on that date Amtrak temporarily reduced Northeast Corridor service due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
