Old Saybrook station

File:Northeast Regional trains at Old Saybrook station, August 2012.JPG

Located on the Northeast Corridor, the busiest passenger railway in the United States, Old Saybrook station serves some of the rail services that pass through the station. Most Northeast Regional trains stop at Old Saybrook. No high-speed Acela trains serve the station, but they can be transferred to at New Haven to the west. However, all Shore Line East commuter rail trains stop at Old Saybrook; it serves as the eastern terminus for some trains.[http://www.shorelineeast.com/trains.htm Shore Line East/Westbound timetable] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070729105718/http://www.shorelineeast.com/trains.htm |date=July 29, 2007 }} Shore Line East Retrieved 2007-07-22 New London is the eastern terminus of the line, with approximately half terminating there.

Old Saybrook features a common track setup, with one island platform and one side platform, each two cars long. Unlike the two-track commuter-rail-only stations on the {{Convert|50.7|mi|km|adj=on}}[http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/oldsaybrook.htm Amtrak - Old Saybrook, CT] TrainWeb Retrieved 2007-07-22 stretch of the Northeast Corridor between New Haven and New London, there are three tracks at Old Saybrook, in order to handle terminal trains on Shore Line East.

{{clear left}}

File:Saybrook Junction 1915 postcard.jpg

The V-shaped wood frame station at Saybrook Junction, constructed in 1873 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, originally served that company as well as the Connecticut Valley Railroad. Passengers of both lines used separate platforms but shared the waiting room.{{cite web |url=http://www.greatamericanstations.com/Stations/OSB |title=Old Saybrook, CT (OSB) |publisher=Amtrak |work=Great American Stations |access-date=November 20, 2012 |archive-date=March 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313063739/http://www.greatamericanstations.com/Stations/OSB |url-status=dead }}

In the mid-1980s, Amtrak leased {{convert|5|acres}} of land around the station for the Saybrook Junction Marketplace development. It was one of the first times that Amtrak offered a long-term lease to a private entity to encourage transit-oriented development around a station.

In 2002, a $2.6 million project added high-level platforms and a pedestrian bridge, making the station fully handicapped accessible. The new platforms opened on November 1, 2002.

File:New parking area at Old Saybrook station, December 2016.JPG

By the mid-2000s, ridership increases rendered the station's 137-space free parking lot for Shore Line East riders insufficient, causing commuters to park in the adjacent Saybrook Junction Marketplace parking lot and along roads in town. In November 2011, the Marketplace began charging a fee for commuters to park in their lot.{{cite news |url=http://valleynewsnow.com/2011/11/commuters-howl-about-paying-for-parking-at-the-old-saybrook-railroad-station/ |title=Commuters Howl About Paying for Parking at the Old Saybrook Railroad Station |newspaper=Valley News Now |first=Jerome |last=Wilson |date=November 26, 2011 |access-date=May 4, 2016}}

In March 2013, local officials announced plans for a state-funded 200-space parking lot west of North Main Street between the Upper Cemetery and the tracks.{{cite news |url=http://valleynewsnow.com/2013/03/200-new-parking-spaces-to-be-added-at-the-old-saybrook-railroad-station/ |title=200 New Parking Spaces to Be Added at the Old Saybrook Railroad Station |newspaper=Valley News Now |first=Jerome |last=Wilson |date=March 11, 2013 |access-date=May 4, 2016}} By September 2013, construction was planned to begin on the {{convert|3.6|acre}} site in late 2014.{{cite press release |url=http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=2135&Q=532216 |title=Public Information Meeting Concerning Parking Expansion at the Old Saybrook Shore Line East Railroad Station off North Main Street |publisher=Connecticut Department of Transportation |date=September 23, 2013}} The state bought the land for $1.577 million in March 2014. In July 2014, the town received a $999,900 state grant to add sidewalks to North Main Street to improve pedestrian access to the station.{{cite news |url=http://www.theday.com/article/20140730/NWS01/307319739/0/SEARCH |title=Enabling a Stroll to Saybrook Station |newspaper=The Day |first=Becky |last=Coffey |date=July 30, 2014 |access-date=May 4, 2016}} The new parking lot was finished in December 2015, but opening was delayed because the handicapped-accessible ramps from the lot to the station were not yet finished. After a deal was brokered for the temporary use of handicapped spaces belonging to the Saybrook Station development, the 199-space lot opened on February 4, 2016.{{cite press release |url=http://portal.ct.gov/Departments_and_Agencies/Office_of_the_Lieutenant_Governor/Press_Room/Press_Releases/2016/02-2016/Thursday__Lt__Gov__Wyman_Attends_Events_in_Old_Saybrook_and_Cheshire/ |title=Thursday: Lt. Gov. Wyman Attends Events in Old Saybrook and Cheshire |publisher=Office of Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman |date=February 4, 2016}}{{cite news |url=http://www.zip06.com/news/20160209/new-old-saybrook-train-station-parking-lot-now-open |title=New Old Saybrook Train Station Parking Lot Now Open |newspaper=Shore Publishing |first=Becky |last=Coffey |date=February 9, 2016 |access-date=May 4, 2016}} The new lot increased Shore Line East parking to 324 spaces and allowed overnight parking for the first time.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405053935/http://shorelineeast.com/stations/old-saybrook-station |archive-date=April 5, 2016 |url=http://www.shorelineeast.com/stations/old-saybrook-station |title=OLD SAYBROOK Shore Line East Train Station |publisher=Connecticut Department of Transportation |date=February 2016}}

{{clear left}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Amtrak web|OSB|Old Saybrook, CT}}

• [https://shorelineeast.com/stations/old-saybrook-station Old Saybrook, CT – Shore Line East]
• [http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/oldsaybrook.htm Old Saybrook Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)]
• [https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3001034,-72.377507,3a,75y,15.36h,84.23t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqTXLa1aBIGVvpCs7ojJmjg!2e0!3e2!7i3328!8i1664 Station from Google Maps Street View]
• [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ct0644/ Historic American Engineering Record entry and images for Old Saybrook station]

{{Amtrak Connecticut stations}}

{{SLE stations navbox}}

Category:Old Saybrook, Connecticut

Category:Amtrak stations in Connecticut

Category:Shore Line East stations

Category:Stations on the Northeast Corridor

Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Middlesex County, Connecticut

Category:Former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad stations

Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1873

Category:Transportation in Middlesex County, Connecticut