Passenger Trains > A Ctrail Station Coming to Enfield, Ct in the Short term

A brand new train station will be coming to one of the longest stretches of the Springfield Line without a stop, the stretch between Windsor Locks, Ct and Springfield, MA. It will be in Enfield, Ct, located on the east bank of the Connecticut River, just underneath the CT/MA State Line.
https://www.journalinquirer.com/towns/enfield/dot-details-plans-for-enfield-train-platform/article_f301ff08-986e-11eb-bb7d-87059b022d72.html?fbclid=IwAR2N5clECoENpBOXJSD5tm9eFv3DPPYfBF4dd8oiYMlj-3Ii1Usk3LUyBWk

Now if they would only do something with Windsor Locks station, which is a wide spot in the road and not safely walkable to town.

Posted from Android

Windsor Locks Station is being moved about a mile north of the present location which is just south of the 91 overpass. I'm not much of a fan of the current location for the reason that is mentioned. The new location will be much closer to the business district. The downside of WNL depot moving about a mile north is that it will be a little more of a ways from I-91.

Back to Enfield, people who live in Longmeadow, MA who are heading toward Hartford and New Haven will be glad to drive just across the border and not have to cross the river to get a train. It looks like the Enfield Station will be within easy reach of Rt. 5 and I-91.

There's really not anything to walk to..
The station site should be clearend, but it's going to be north of the original station (not just the Amshack).

The Enfield station proposal is still awaiting final approvals, but it will be a welcome addition (let's just hope they add some serious security for unattended vehicles).

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> Now if they would only do something with Windsor
> Locks station, which is a wide spot in the road
> and not safely walkable to town.
>
> Posted from Android

Yes, WNL depot will be located just north of the original station. As for Enfield, it's very important that the parking lot is secured there. I think on a whole, Enfield is a safe community. Of course break ins can happen anywhere. Plus it doesn't help that Enfield is very close to the more crime ridden city of Springfield.

tmurray Wrote:
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> There's really not anything to walk to..
> The station site should be cleared, but it's
> going to be north of the original station (not
> just the Amshack).

Sure there is. Windsor Locks has something of a downtown, and one can walk east to restaurants, a nice motel, and of course the trolley museum. I did not much like having to call a taxi when visiting there a couple of years ago. The highway passing under the Interstate has no shoulder, no sidewalk, no path. 

The trolley museum is in E. Windsor. I visited it last September. After a morning of photographing trains along the canal, I walked along Rt. 140 which at least, has some sort of pedestrian access but you still have to be careful. After visiting the museum, I Ubered to the Windsor Locks Station, located 3-4 miles from the museum. When the brand new WNL depot opens up, it will be about 2 miles from the museum. There isn't much of a downtown area in Windsor Locks. It's located along Main Street between Rt. 140 and Chestnut Street.

As for commercial development in Enfield near the site of the where the station will be, looking at a map, it looks like there are a lot of places already. I see that there are restaurants within a couple of blocks from where the depot will be. The public library is close by. There are hotels not terribly far but they are along I-91 and a little bit up from the tracks.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/21 08:22 by Passfanatic.

Yeah, the Trolley Museum is a hike form the WNL station and is across the rver and canal, but these are truly commuter stations.  I spent some years parking there for commuting and would prefer a better station arrangement. With the recent fire at the station site in Enfield, it's more clear than it was before, unfortunately. I'm not sure if the grading for the new Windsor Locks station has started yet.
 

Yes, the SPG Line is almost like its own commuter service, except since the pandemic, the weekday train schedule hasn't catered too well for those people who need to depend on the north end of the Springfield Line. I hope that sooner rather than later, more trips will be restored to the Springfield Line for those people boarding at any station between Windsor and Springfield who work in Hartford or New Haven. On a more positive note, right now, Cttransit runs a bus from Enfield to Hartford and it looks like it caters well to those people who live in Enfield and the Windsors who work in Downtown Hartford on weekdays. I can only imagine how long the bus takes. I'm sure that there are people who live in Enfield and work in Springfield who would prefer to take the train to their job, especially if rail options are available when they need them.