The Danbury Branch is a 23.9-mile (38 km) long
branch line of the
Metro-North Railroad
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...
's
New Haven Line
The New Haven Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Connecticut. Running from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City, the New Haven Line joins the Harlem Line ...
in the U.S. state of
Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
, running from downtown
Norwalk north to
Danbury. All trains along the branch make stops at the line's 8 stations, with many weekday Danbury trains continuing along the New Haven Line to and from
Stamford and
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, eliminating the need to transfer at
South Norwalk. It opened in 1852 as the
Danbury and Norwalk Railroad. Until the early 1970s, passenger service continued north from Danbury to
Canaan, Connecticut, and
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...
. Metro-North took over operation of the line from
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...
in 1983, and the modern-day branch is mostly single-tracked.
History

The Danbury and Norwalk Railroad began operating its line from
Norwalk north to
Danbury on February 22, 1852. In July 1872 a branch from the mainline at
Bethel
Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.
Bet ...
northeast to
Hawleyville opened. At Hawleyville, the branch connected to the
Housatonic Railroad, continuing north into
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. Also at Hawleyville, connections with the
Shepaug Railroad to Litchfield were possible.
Starting on May 1, 1874, that connection was supplemented by the New York, Housatonic and Northern Railroad, running from Danbury northeast to the Housatonic. In 1881 the
New York and New England Railroad was completed, giving another connection at Danbury and at Hawleyville. A short branch from
Branchville on the mainline west to
Ridgefield opened July 1, 1870. In July 1882 an extension was built in Norwalk to
docks at
Wilson Point. The
Housatonic Railroad leased the D&N on July 21, 1887; and soon after, the
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
leased the Housatonic.
Long-distance passenger service operated on the line. The ''
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
'' ran on the line from Grand Central to Danbury, to
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...
. Many railroad bridges along the Danbury Branch were damaged or destroyed in the 1955 Norwalk river flood. The NYNH&H merged into
Penn Central in 1969. On January 1, 1971, the
State of Connecticut
Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
leased the Danbury Branch from Penn Central.
The last passenger train from Danbury north to
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...
ran in April 1971, the day before
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
assumed passenger operations. From 1976 until 1983, freight and passenger service on the line was provided by the
Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) under a contract with Connecticut. In 1983 the newly formed Metro-North Commuter Railroad took over operation of passenger service along the line.
Conrail continued to provide freight service on the line until 1993. The
Providence and Worcester Railroad
The Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W; ) is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York (state), New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build ...
now provides freight service along the Danbury Branch.
Upon renovation of the
Merritt 7 station, Metro-North ceased stops at on January 16, 1994, and instead provided service via shuttle bus to Merritt 7 for local employers. By the time of its closing, fewer than 15 passengers used the station daily.
Electrification
The Danbury Line operated electric-powered trains beginning in 1925. The catenary system on the Danbury Line was removed in 1961 when diesel-powered locomotives resumed service on the line.
Steel posts that once carried the overhead catenary system can still be seen along the line. , the
Connecticut Department of Transportation
The Connecticut Department of Transportation (officially referred to as CTDOT, occasionally ConnDOT, and CDOT in rare instances) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, Rail transport, railroads, mass transit systems, por ...
was studying the feasibility of installing catenary wire on the Danbury Branch.
Railway museums
The
Switchtower Museum in
South Norwalk describes to visitors how railroad employees would switch the tracks for trains continuing on the Danbury branch line, then switch them back for trains travelling along the
New Haven main line.
The
Danbury Railway Museum is located in the former
Union Station
A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
of the D&N and
NY&NE in Danbury. It lies just north of the current
Danbury Metro-North station. At the museum are examples of rolling stock retired from service as well as an indoor display of
model trains.
Plans

There have been proposals to re-electrify the Danbury Branch, along with a plan to extend service north from Danbury to
New Milford.
In connection with the planned redevelopment of the Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill as a residential neighborhood, reopening a
Georgetown station between the Cannondale and Branchville stations has been approved, though not yet scheduled or funded.
The previous station was abandoned in the 1970s due to low ridership.
Over $60 million was allocated to the Danbury Branch, approximately half from the
economic stimulus package of 2009, to improve current stations, build siding tracks, and install a new signal system. Connecticut Gov.
M. Jodi Rell held a press conference with local politicians at the
Cannondale station on July 28, 2009, to announce that construction was scheduled to start in late 2009 and finish in 2011.
The new signal system finally began operation in 2013, but extensive work was still ongoing in 2014 because of unresolved problems with the drop gates at grade crossings.
In fall 2012, the focus of the plan was only on improving the corridor as far as Danbury, with no extension.
In May 2015, Governor
Dannel Malloy
Dannel Patrick Malloy (; born July 21, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 88th governor of Connecticut from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he chaired the Democratic Governors Association from 2016 to 2017. In Ju ...
's five-year plan for transportation improvements called "Let's Go CT" only mentioned one point for the Danbury Branch.
This is a new small rail yard called the Danbury Line Dock Yard Improvements. This area in South Norwalk will include electrification of the southern end of the branch. This was to enable work to commence on the Walk Bridge. However, at the same time a 30-year plan was published that does envision electrification of the Danbury Branch, extending service to New Milford and electrifying that extension. Electrification of the portion to Danbury would cost $400 million; the extension to New Milford would cost $450 million, and the electrification of the extension would cost $540 million.
On February 1, 2017, the Connecticut State Bond Commission authorized $21 million in borrowing for upgrades at the Merritt 7 station as well as for the addition of a station on the New Haven Line. The Merritt 7 station would have a footbridge added, a raised platform, and an expanded shelter.
Plans to reopen the long-closed
Wall Street station are under consideration in wake of new housing developments in
Norwalk Center.
Stations
West of , the
New Haven Line
The New Haven Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Connecticut. Running from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City, the New Haven Line joins the Harlem Line ...
continues southwest to
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...
and northeast to
Union Station in New Haven.
All trains stop at all eight stations on the branch. The trip from Danbury to South Norwalk currently (2018) takes about 54 minutes. All peak trains and some off-peak run from Danbury to on weekdays, and limited service runs from Danbury to
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...
as well. Limited through service from Danbury to Grand Central takes about 2 hours. Two weekday trains serve the intermediate stations (, , and ) in peak direction.
The following services that connect to the Danbury Branch are
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
,
Metro-North Railroad
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State publ ...
,
Norwalk Transit District,
and
HARTransit.
Rolling stock
Unlike the New Haven main line or the New Canaan Branch
The New Canaan Branch is an 8.2-mile (13 km) long branch line of the Metro-North Railroad New Haven Line that begins from a junction east of downtown Stamford, Connecticut, north to New Canaan, Connecticut, New Canaan. On weekdays, many bra ...
, the Danbury Branch is not electrified, and uses diesel locomotives in push-pull operation. Usually, the diesels push trains toward Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal station, terminal located at 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York Ci ...
, and pull toward Danbury. All of the passenger cars used are Shoreliner
Shoreliners are a class of locomotive-hauled rail car used by the Metro-North Railroad. They are similar to the Comet (railcar), Comet coaches used by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, New Jersey Transit. Ownership of the fleet is split betwe ...
series cars, powered by GE P32AC-DM Genesis, Brookville BL20GH, or EMD GP40-3H locomotives.
In August 2023, CTDOT approved a contract with Alstom
Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...
for 60 single-level passenger cars. The cars will replace the existing Shoreliner coach fleet on the Waterbury Branch and the Danbury Branch, as well as Mafersa coaches on the Hartford Line. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2026.
See also
* Connecticut Commuter Rail Council
References
Sources
*
External links
Danbury Branch Electrification Feasibility Study
(2003–2016)
{{Connecticut transit
Metro-North Railroad
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad lines
Rail infrastructure in Connecticut
Passenger rail transportation in Connecticut
Danbury, Connecticut
Norwalk, Connecticut
Transportation in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Railway lines opened in 1852