Guilford station is a

regional rail Regional rail is a public transport, public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connectin ...

station on the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

, located slightly south of the town center of

Guilford, Connecticut Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Connecticut, Madison, Branford, Connecticut, Branford, North Branford, Connecticut, North Branford and Durham, Connecticut, Durham, and is situated on Inter ...

. Owned by 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 ...

, it is served by the

CT Rail CT Rail, stylized as CT''rail'', is the brand for commuter rail services overseen by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), in the U.S. state of Connecticut, with services on the Hartford Line extending into Massachusetts. CTDOT ove ...

Shore Line East Shore Line East (SLE) is a commuter rail service which operates along the Northeast Corridor through southern Connecticut, United States. The rail service is a fully owned subsidiary of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and i ...

service.

History

Service to Guilford was begun by the New Haven and New London Railroad in 1852. Most local service ended in the mid 20th century; however, Guilford was a stop on the final local train, the ''

Clamdigger Clamdigger may refer to: * One who engages in clam digging Clam digging is a North American term for a common way to harvest clams (edible infaunal bivalve mollusks) from below the surface of the tidal sand flats or mud flats where they ...

'', until service was discontinued on January 28, 1972. The station building was demolished by

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 ...

on February 23, 2000, due to concerns that the long-abandoned building might collapse. A derelict brick water tower and engine house–rare surviving examples of mid-19th-century railroad buildings–remain at the site. The current station, with accessible-compliant high-level

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...

s, opened on November 28, 2005, replacing the low-level platforms constructed in 1990 for the inauguration of Shore Line East service on May 29, 1990. Ridership increases have rendered the parking lot at Guilford insufficient. 90 spaces were added on the Track 1 side of the Guilford station. Guilford Center was not the only part of Guilford with a train station. Leete's Island station, located off Route 146 near the Branford line, served the Penn Central and later Amtrak ''

'' service until 1972. Sachem's Head station, which was also located off Route 146 closer to Guilford Center, was closed in 1969.

Station layout

Guilford has two high-level

s, each two cars long. Before 10:00am, westbound trains use Track 4 and eastbound trains use Track 1. After 10:00 am, westbound trains use Track 1 and eastbound use Track 4. On weekends, this swap occurs around 1:00pm.

References

External links

Shore Line East - Guilford
{{Amtrak Connecticut stations Shore Line East stations Former Amtrak stations in Connecticut Stations on the Northeast Corridor Buildings and structures in Guilford, Connecticut Railroad stations in New Haven County, Connecticut Former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1990 Transportation in New Haven County, Connecticut