Newington Junction station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Newington Junction
Platforms under construction in December 2014
Location	Willard Avenue and West Hill Road Newington, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°43′00″N 72°44′10″W / 41.7167°N 72.7362°W / 41.7167; -72.7362
Owned by	ConnDOT (bus station) Amtrak (rail line)
Operated by	Connecticut Transit
Line(s)	New Haven-Springfield Line
Tracks	2
Bus routes	101, 102, 121, 140F
Bus stands	2 side platforms
Connections	69 (on Willard Avenue)
Construction
Parking	28 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	March 28, 2015 (2015-03-28) (CTfastrak)
Opening	2022 (CTrail, planned)
Services
Preceding station ConnDOT Following station Cedar Street toward Downtown New Britain CTfastrak Elmwood toward Hartford Planned service Berlin toward New Haven Union Station Hartford Line (future infill station) Flatbush Avenue toward Springfield
Newington Junction Railroad Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
1890-built New Haven Railroad freight house
Location in Connecticut Show map of Connecticut Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	160 Willard and 200 Francis Avenues, Newington, Connecticut
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built	1890 (NYNH&H freight house) 1891 (NY&NE station)
Architectural style	Stick/Eastlake
MPS	Newington Junction MRA
NRHP reference No.	86003478
Added to NRHP	December 22, 1986

Newington Junction is a busy transportation spot in Newington, Connecticut. It has a special bus rapid transit station. This station is part of the CTfastrak line, which opened in 2015. You can find it off Willard Avenue (also known as CT-173).

There are also plans for a new train station here, called Newington. It will be right next to the bus station. This train station will be part of the CTrail Hartford Line. Even though the money isn't fully ready yet, they hope to finish building it by 2022.

The bus station and the area around it are named after an old train building. This building is called the Newington Junction Railroad Depot. It's so important that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in the 1890s, replacing an even older station from the 1850s. People used to catch trains here until about 1959. The CTfastrak bus route actually follows an old train track path.

Station History: Trains and Buses

Early Train Service

An old picture from 1916 of the 1890 train station.

The 1891 train station building in 2014, after it was moved and fixed up for the bus project.

The first train tracks came through Newington in 1839. This was the Hartford and New Haven Railroad. But they didn't build a station right away. Then, in 1850, another railroad, the Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad, opened. It shared some tracks with the first railroad.

The Hartford and New Haven Railroad then moved its station from New Britain to Newington. This new station served both train lines. For 40 years, these two railroads shared the station. By 1872, one company paid the other $100 a year to use it.

Later, the railroads became part of bigger companies. A single person, John C. Sternberg, managed the station for many years. He sold tickets, handled packages, and even changed the train tracks. This train junction helped the area grow. It was so important that Newington became its own town, separate from Wethersfield.

Two Stations at the Junction

Around 1890, the number of train riders grew. So, the two railroad companies decided to build their own stations. The New Haven Railroad built a station and a freight house in 1890. The New York and New England Railroad built a very similar station in 1891.

In 1898, the New York and New England Railroad joined the New Haven Railroad. After that, its station was used for passengers going south and west. The other station was for passengers going north toward Hartford.

Train service to New Britain stopped in 1959. At that time, the Newington station closed completely. Trains from New Haven no longer stopped there. The 1890 New Haven Railroad station was taken down sometime after it closed.

The remaining old buildings are very important. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. This listing includes the 1891 station, the 1890 freight house, and a small part of the train tracks. In 2014, the 1891 station building was fixed up and moved a little. This was part of the CTfastrak bus project.

Modern Bus Rapid Transit

Newington Junction is now a bus rapid transit stop. This means buses have their own special lanes. The CTfastrak line follows the old train route from Hartford to New Britain. The station has two platforms where you get on and off the bus. These platforms are at the same level as the bus doors. There are also two middle lanes for express buses to pass through without stopping. The bus station opened on March 28, 2015.

Some other Connecticut Transit Hartford bus routes also stop near the station. These are routes 69 and 140.

Future Train Service: Hartford Line

In 2004, there were plans to build a new train station in Newington. This would be part of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Commuter Rail Line. Early designs showed two platforms for trains and a parking lot. However, Newington and other new stations didn't get money right away. So, when the bus station was built, the train platforms and parking lot weren't included.

In 2012, new plans for future stations were made. This would help speed up building them later. The 2012 plans were very similar to the 2004 ones. On January 12, 2015, the state announced money for designing new train platforms at Newington Junction. In February 2017, even more money was announced to finish the design. The design should be ready by 2020. The state hopes to build all new stations on the line by 2022.

In 2018, there was a new idea to build the station a bit further south. This new spot would be closer to Central Connecticut State University and downtown Newington. This change was suggested because of worries about noise and traffic from neighbors.