New Canaan (Metro-North station)

New Canaan

Trackside view of the New Canaan station in 2007.
Location 198 Elm Street @ Park Avenue
New Canaan, CT, 06840-5309
Coordinates 41°08′47″N 73°29′44″W / 41.1463°N 73.4956°W / 41.1463; -73.4956Coordinates: 41°08′47″N 73°29′44″W / 41.1463°N 73.4956°W / 41.1463; -73.4956
Line(s)
  New Canaan Branch
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 3
Construction
Parking Yes
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Fare zone 31
History
Opened 1868[1]
Electrified 12,500V (AC) overhead catenary
Services
Preceding station   Metro-North Railroad   Following station
New Canaan BranchTerminus

The New Canaan Metro-North Railroad station is the terminus of the New Canaan Branch of the New Haven Line. It is officially located at 198 Elm Street at Park Avenue in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Description

A 1906 postcard depicting New Canaan.

The station is 41.2 miles (66.3 km) away from Grand Central Terminal. No connecting services (e.g. buses) are available other than local taxi cab services.

In 1998, the state began a 10-year lease (ending June 30, 2008) to the town 2.35 acres (9,500 m2) at both the Talmadge Hill and New Canaan stations, allowing the town to perform some maintenance, repairs and cleaning while the state retains responsibility and control over major structural renovations and repairs. Money collected for parking goes into a special fund to be used for station-related purposes with the state's approval, and the state also must approve parking-fee regulations. The town has the option of renewing the lease for another 10-year term. Part of the agreement reads:[2][2]

"The state retains the sole responsibility for structural renovations and/or repairs and for maintaining and restoring all fencing bordering the tracks, canopies over the platforms, and stairways. The Town is solely responsible for all day-to-day maintenance, including, but not limited to, general structural repairs, snow removal, trash removal and security of any and all platforms, railings, stairs, shelters and ramps."

The town's services to the two railroad stations are provided by three town agencies and a private cleaning company hired by the town:[2]

According to a 2003 report written for the state Department of Transportation, the town didn't have a formal organization chart showing how responsibilities for its train stations were divided up, although the town appeared to be maintaining at least the New Canaan station well, and anyone with a complaint was encouraged to take it to the Office of the First Selectman.[2]

The station is featured in the 1997 film The Ice Storm.

The ticket office at this station was closed July 7, 2010, but tickets can be purchased from vending machines adjacent to the platforms.[3]

The stations has commuter parking in several lots within a short walk from the station. There are 2 lots near the station that have numbered spaces for daily parking. The fee for daily parking is $5 and there is no overnight parking in the daily spots.

Platform and track configuration

1 ■ New Canaan Branch for Grand Central
  ■   siding
  ■   siding

This station has one five-car-long high-level side platform to the west of the tracks. The New Canaan Branch has three tracks at this location. The eastern two tracks, not adjacent to the platform, are used for train storage.

Within walking distance

The John Rogers Studio.

The train station is bordered by Elm Street on the north (the same side as the station house), Park Street on the east and Pine Street on the south. All of downtown New Canaan, a bustling little business district, is well within a mile of the train station. Across Elm Street from the station, to the north, are offices and the visitor transportation area for Philip Johnson's Glass House museum (reservations are often required long in advance). Park Street, a north-south road at the far eastern side of the station, where the tracks end, features the one-time home of Maxwell Perkins who brought manuscripts of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others to his residence at 63 Park Street, half a block north of the station. Further north on Park Avenue are the First Church of Christ Scientist and the First Congregational Church of New Canaan, which played a role in the early history and founding of the community, as a plaque in front of the building relates. Across the street from that church is "God's Acre", a small park on a steeply sloping hill (at the bottom of which is a war memorial in the shape of an Irish cross). Further north, at the intersection of Park and Main streets, is the New Canaan Historical Society, where the John Rogers Studio is located. (Further north on Main Street, which becomes Oenoke Ridge Road, less than a mile beyond the train station, is the New Canaan Nature Center.) Turning south on Main Street, past the war monument, the New Canaan Fire Department and the New Canaan Thrift Shop are on different corners of the intersection of Main Street and Locust Avenue. New Canaan Town Hall is half a block further south on Main Street and displays restored Works Progress Administration murals and artwork from the 1930s. Continuing down Main Street, turning right at the intersection of Main and Elm streets leads past many small businesses and restaurants, as well as the New Canaan Playhouse. Two blocks south of the intersection of Main and Elm is the New Canaan Library. Less than half a mile south of the station, along Park Street, is Mead Memorial Park, with a pond, sports fields and a snack bar.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New Canaan Train Station". Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Connecticut Department of Transportation Individual Station Report for Talmadge Hill, 2003, accessed July 22, 2007
  3. ↑ "mta.info - Metro-North Railroad: Selected Ticket Offices Close On July 7th". Metro North Railroad. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
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