40-636: 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 . It opened in 1868 as the New Canaan Railroad . The New Canaan Railroad was chartered in May 1866 as a short branch of the New York & New Haven Railroad . It opened July 4, 1868 when
80-510: A common sight along railroads in industrial and rural cities alike. As automobile and roadway technology improved throughout the early and mid-20th century, most low volume industry spurs were abandoned in favor of the greater flexibility and economic savings of trucking. Today, railroads remain the most economical way to ship large quantities of material, a fact that is reflected in industrial spurs. Most modern day spurs serve very large industries that require hundreds, if not thousands, of carloads
120-464: A mainline, they tend to have lower maintenance and signaling (train control) standards. Before the rise of the long-distance trucking in the early 1930s, railroads were the primary means of transportation around the world. Industries of the era were commonly built along railroad lines specifically to allow for easy access to shipping. Short (under a mile, oftentimes only several hundred yards) industrial spurs with very small (under ten car) capacities were
160-786: A section of the West Rail line . Discontinued services include the Sha Tau Kok Railway and the Wo Hop Shek Branch . A spur line to Siu Sai Wan has been proposed. Delhi On the Delhi Metro , the Blue Line has a Branch Line with 8 Stations, linking Yamuna Bank to Ghaziabad via Anand Vihar ISBT and terminating at Vaishali. The first section of the Branch opened on 8 January 2010 with Anand Vihar as its terminal with six stations. It
200-523: A subsidy for grain transport, and instead allowed railways to absorb branch line subsidies freely without making effort to improve the profitability of the lines. The term "grain-dependent branch lines" began being used as early as 1978 to refer to the special case of these branch lines in agricultural areas whose viability depended on the economics of grain transport. The Western Grain Transportation Act of 1983 addressed this case specifically, but
240-599: A train ran from Stamford to New Canaan. Within a year of the opening of operations a branch from the NY&;NH main line south in Stamford to the pier at the Pine Island Steamboat Landing was opened to allow passengers and freight to switch to steamboats running on Long Island Sound . Despite such attempts to increase revenue on January 1, 1879, the company went bankrupt , and it was taken over in foreclosure in 1883 by
280-461: A year. There is an international branch line between Italy and Vatican: the 300-metre Vatican Railway , connecting from the Pisa-Rome railway mainline at Roma San Pietro railway station , to Vatican City station . Many British railway branch lines were closed as a result of the " Beeching cuts " in the 1960s, although some have been re-opened as heritage railways . The smallest branch line that
320-569: Is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line . A very short branch line may be called a spur line . Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located on a main line. Branch lines may also connect two or more main lines. An industrial spur is a type of secondary track used by railroads to allow customers at a location to load and unload railcars without interfering with other railroad operations. Industrial spurs can vary greatly in length and railcar capacity depending on
360-552: Is still in operation in the UK is the Stourbridge Town Branch Line from Stourbridge Junction going to Stourbridge Town . Operating on a single track, the journey is 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometres) long and the train takes around two and a half minutes to complete its journey. In North America, little-used branch lines are often sold by large railroads to become new common carrier short-line railroads of their own. Throughout
400-504: Is under consideration for the line or just past it on the New Haven Line. In 2011, the three tracks at the terminus – the 10-car main track, a middle track, and what was a short 4-car "Bulk" track – were improved. The "Bulk" track was extended absorbing a row of parking to meet the length of the middle and main track allowing for 3 full trains to 'stack' at the end of the line during the morning and evening rush hours. Electronic switching
440-529: The Bay of Plenty Region , lines were built inland to provide rail access to large logging operations. Today, many of the branch lines have been closed, including almost all of the general-purpose country lines. Those that remain serve ports or industries far from main lines such as coal mines, logging operations, large dairying factories, and steelworks . In Auckland and Wellington , two branch lines in each city exist solely for commuter passenger trains. For more, see
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#1732845052734480-717: The Gladstone Branch in New Jersey; as well as the New Canaan Branch , Danbury Branch , and Waterbury Branch in Connecticut . The Long Island Rail Road also refers to its services as "branches". In Chile, there are a lot of branch lines on its main line, of only a few remain operational. Most only operating in turistic services (like the Antilhue-Valdivia branch line), others have been taken over by other railways (like
520-1013: The Grand Trunk , Canadian National , or Canadian Pacific ) which would acquire formerly independent short line railways for use as branch lines, with the short line often continuing to exist as a subsidiary. For example, when the Canadian Pacific acquired the Algoma Eastern Railway (a short line) in 1930, it soon after abandoned much of the Algoma Eastern mainline, but retained sections close to Algoma Eastern–Canadian Pacific junctions as short branch lines or spurs. The National Transportation Act of 1967 provided government subsidies for branch lines. Western railway development in Canada worked in concert with land settlement and cultivation, as pioneers were settled near railway lines, often on land
560-548: The Hoyt Street crossing in Darien. The lead cars of each train were almost completely destroyed. The National Transportation Safety Board report concluded that the cause was the northbound train's failure to stop at a meeting point as stated on train orders. On July 13, 1976, two trains collided, killing two and injuring 29. In October 1976, the CDOT released their report which only blamed
600-761: The North South Line between Jurong East and Choa Chu Kang stations was operated as a separate line, known as the Branch line . It was merged into the North–South Line with the opening of the Woodlands Extension in 1996. The future Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line will also have branch lines. New Zealand once had a very extensive network of branch lines, especially in the South Island regions of Canterbury , Otago , and Southland . Many were built in
640-672: The South Tseung Kwan O Spur Line to LOHAS Park station , opened in 2009. Earlier, a spur line was built in 1985 on the East Rail line to serve Racecourse station , bypassing Fo Tan station . Also, the Tsim Sha Tsui Extension [ yue ] was built in 2004 on the East Rail line to serve East Tsim Sha Tsui station . However, after the Kowloon Southern Link was completed in 2009, this spur line turns into
680-564: The Stamford and New Canaan Railroad , which incorporated in 1882. The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad leased the line on October 1, 1884, and on October 1, 1890, it was merged into the NYNH&;H. On August 7, 1898, the line was electrified using 500V DC overhead catenary. On November 1, 1907, the use of 500-volt DC overhead catenary was discontinued, and in 1908, it was replaced with 11,000 volt AC operation. Costs were reduced by supplying
720-468: The engineer of the northbound train (Number 1994) for excessive speed. The engineer's union contended that there was a problem with the train brakes, that there was an automatic track lubricator which had been putting down excessive oil for two weeks before the incident and an insufficient signal system . The National Transportation Safety Board released their final report on the incident on May 19, 1977 as Report Number RAR-77-04. That report concluded that
760-602: The list of New Zealand railway lines . Connecticut Route 106 Route 106 is a state highway in southwestern Connecticut , running from Stamford to Wilton . Route 106 begins at a junction with I-95 (exit 9) and US 1 in the East Side of Stamford as Courtland Avenue then turning right on Glenbrook Road. It runs parallel to the New Canaan Line of the Metro-North Railroad , heading northeast through
800-503: The overhead catenary wires. Shuttle buses replaced all trains. The railroad announced that regular service resumed on November 13. This resumption was marred by slippery rails caused by rain and fallen leaves, to the extent that service had to be shut down again that afternoon to deploy Metro-North's rail-washing train. Train service resumed in time for the evening commute. On February 14, 2023 at approximately 7:30 a.m., an out of service train being moved to enter passenger service overran
840-578: The New Canaan station, running through the bumper block and crashing through the station fencing before coming to a stop. The engineer and conductor onboard were injured, but not seriously. While this incident caused a suspension of service on the branch throughout the morning rush and midday hours; following repairs, service was restored with the 4:39 p.m. train from Stamford. The following connecting services are available to Amtrak , Metro-North Railroad , and CT Transit . Branch line A branch line
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#1732845052734880-514: The Noroton River Bridge and resurfacing the entire line. Upon completion, a stretch of the branch within the Stamford region will have its speed limit increased, from 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). On August 20, 1969 at about 8:20 p.m., a northbound commuter train with a 3-man crew and about 60 to 80 passengers hit an empty southbound train carrying only 5 employees, killing 4 and injuring 40 just north of
920-666: The San Rosendo-Talcahuano branch line, which has been taken over by Biotrén and the Laja-Talcahuano train service) however, there is one branch line that still remains as fully operative. The Talca-Constitución branch line, which uses trains with bus motors. Two extensions to the MTR rapid transit network were built as branches of existing lines: the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line to Lok Ma Chau station , which opened in 2007; and
960-599: The U.S. state of New Jersey . The line is a short branch of the Northeast Corridor Line , running from Princeton Junction northwest to Princeton with no intermediate stops. Also known as the "Dinky Line", at 2.9 mi (4.7 km) it is the shortest scheduled commuter rail line in the United States. The run takes 4 minutes, 47 seconds. Other than the Princeton Line, other surviving branch lines include
1000-469: The United States and Canada, branch lines link smaller towns too distant from the main line to be served efficiently, or to serve a certain industrial site such as a power station either because of a location away from the main line or to reduce congestion. They were typically built to lower standards, using lighter rail and shallow roadbeds when compared to main lines. Much of Canada's branch line history relates to large rail transport conglomerates (such as
1040-574: The branch to install high-level platforms at stations. In 1983, the Metro-North Commuter Railroad took over the operation of trains on the branch. Like the New Haven mainline from Mt. Vernon, New York , to New Haven, Connecticut , the entire branch is electrified with overhead catenary, although it is currently the only entirely electrified branch of the New Haven Line. Beginning in March 2011,
1080-553: The cause was "the failure of the engineer of train No. 1994 to perceive the train ahead and to apply the brakes at the earliest possible time". It also cited problems with the design of the signal system, design of the M2's exit doors and interior design of the trains. The New Canaan Branch was severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy on October 29–30, 2012. The line was blocked by fallen trees in 37 different locations; many of these trees also brought down
1120-552: The first president of the Canadian National Railway , said that although most branch lines cannot pay for themselves, they are even essential to make main lines pay. In the United States, abandonment of unproductive branch lines was a byproduct of deregulation of the rail industry through the Staggers Act . The Princeton Branch is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) in
1160-534: The late 19th century to open up inland regions for farming and other economic activities. The branches in the South Island regions were often general-purpose lines that carried predominantly agricultural traffic, but lines elsewhere were often built to serve a specific resource: on the West Coast , an extensive network of branch lines was built in rugged terrain to serve coal mines, while in the central North Island and
1200-588: The line from the Cos Cob station instead of by independent power. The NYNH&H was merged into Penn Central in 1969. On January 1, 1971, the State of Connecticut leased operation of passenger service along the New Canaan Branch to Penn Central for $ 100,000 per year. On July 17, 1972, the stations at Woodway and Springdale Cemetery were both closed. On April 10, 1972, Penn Central briefly suspended off-peak service on
1240-399: The newly delivered Kawasaki M8 railcars started running in revenue service along the branch, and eventually took over operation from the older Budd M2 railcars. In contrast with the main New Haven Line, the branch is entirely single-tracked except for the storage tracks at New Canaan , and there are frequent grade crossings along the branch. As of July 2007, a Stamford East Side station
New Canaan Branch - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-534: The northwest edge of Darien into the center of New Canaan . In Darien, the road is known as Hoyt Street. Upon entering the town of New Canaan, the road changes name to Old Stamford Road, where it has an interchange with the Merritt Parkway (at exit 36) as it heads into downtown New Canaan where it becomes Bank Street. It then continues north, briefly overlapping Route 124 for 0.62 miles (1.00 km) then heads eastward as East Avenue and Silvermine Road into
1320-556: The railways had owned. However, by the mid-20th century, railways began neglecting lines in western agricultural regions. This was historically driven by factors such as the Crow Rate , which regulated the price railways could charge for shipping grain. Railways had little incentive to invest in rural Prairie branch lines, but were legally unable to abandon them under the National Transportation Act , which also did not provide
1360-507: The requirements of the customer the spur is serving. In heavily industrialized areas, it is not uncommon for one industrial spur to have multiple sidings to several different customers. Typically, spurs are serviced by local trains responsible for collecting small numbers of railcars and delivering them to a larger yard, where these railcars are sorted and dispatched in larger trains with other cars destined to similar locations. Because industrial spurs generally have less capacity and traffic than
1400-531: The town of Wilton . In Wilton, the road is known as New Canaan Road and Wolfpit Road. Route 106 crosses the Norwalk River as well as the railroad tracks of the Danbury Branch then briefly overlaps U.S. Route 7 and Route 33 (0.18 miles) in downtown Wilton, then resumes its eastward journey along Sharp Hill Road then south along Chestnut Hill Road until its end at an intersection with Route 53 . Route 106
1440-606: Was added in the years following this improvement. This was recommended in the 2010 Branch Study. PTC (Positive Train Control) was installed on the branch in 2019. In 2019, the Stamford Atlantic Bridge replacement project incorporated a new "Track 7" for the New Canaan Branch operation. A new Platform, canopy, and catenary lines were installed to support this new capacity at the Stamford Station. The platform construction
1480-415: Was established as a result of the 1962 Route Reclassification Act from previously unsigned state-maintained roads. Middlesex Road, Hoyt Street, Old Stamford Road, and Park Street in Darien and New Canaan was taken over by the state in 1962 as SR 749. The following year, SR 749 was redesignated as part of Route 106. North of New Canaan, other former unsigned state roads (SR 403 and SR 414) were incorporated into
1520-496: Was further extended to Vaishali in 2011. The line is planned to be extended from Vaishali to Mohan Nagar via Sahibabad Station to link with the main line. The East West Line of the MRT system in Singapore has a two-station branch to Changi Airport . The first station, Expo , opened in 2001. It was extended to Changi Airport station the next year. From 1990 to 1996, the section of
1560-634: Was halted during 2022 and remains unfinished as of 2023. Improvements are planned on the line to make service more frequent. A siding and second platform will be built at Springdale. Construction was expected to cost $ 15 million and begin in 2020. On May 30, 2023, and continuing through August 2023, the New Canaan Branch was shut down for track rehabilitation work, with all service being replaced by shuttle buses. The work entails replacing 8,000 rail ties, 1,600 feet (490 m) of rails, and insulating rail joints. Repairs will also be made to mud spots, drainage and rail anchors, along with replacing bridge timbers on
1600-488: Was repealed in 1994 in the wake of the North American Free Trade Agreement and budget-balancing initiatives in favour of a one-time payout by the federal government directly to farmers, to arrange transport of grain themselves. From the mid-1970s to the late 2010s, more than 9,300 kilometres (5,800 mi) of Prairie branch lines were abandoned or had a discontinuance of service. David Blyth Hanna ,
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