Berlin station (Connecticut)

Berlin
Temporary platform opened in April 2016
Location	51 Depot Road Berlin, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°38′08″N 72°45′55″W / 41.6356°N 72.7653°W / 41.6356; -72.7653Coordinates: 41°38′08″N 72°45′55″W / 41.6356°N 72.7653°W / 41.6356; -72.7653
Line(s)	New Haven–Springfield Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	CT Transit New Britain: 512
Construction
Parking	172 spaces 220 after construction is fully complete in Fall 2018
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Other information
Station code	BER
History
Opened	December 1839
Rebuilt	1848; 1893; 1896; 1900 Early May 2018 (planned)
Traffic
Passengers (FY 2017)	14,007  14.2%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Meriden toward New Haven New Haven – Springfield Shuttle Hartford toward Springfield Meriden toward Norfolk, Newport News, or Roanoke Northeast Regional Meriden toward Washington, D.C. Vermonter Hartford toward St. Albans   Future service   ConnDOT Meriden toward New Haven Union Station Hartford Line Beginning June 16, 2018 Hartford toward Springfield Newington Junction Proposed toward Springfield

Berlin is a train station located in the Kensington neighborhood of Berlin, Connecticut. It on the New Haven–Springfield Line and is served by Amtrak's Northeast Regional, New Haven–Springfield Shuttle, and Vermonter. High-level platforms connected by an overhead pedestrian bridge are expected to open in early May 2018.

On December 21, 2016, the historic 1900-built station building was destroyed by a fire. A temporary platform is in use until the new station is completed.

The Hartford and New Haven Railroad (H&NH) opened from New Haven to Meriden in December 1838, and to Hartford in December 1839. The first ticket office was located about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) south of the modern location, possibly in a general store. It was replaced by a wooden station at the modern site in 1848, after the original first depot was vacated and sold to Daniel C. Spencer sometime between 1840 and 1855, which he used a steam wheel shop until March 1, 1871. Spencer sold the property the "steam wheel shop" was on to William Daniels who stated in the deed that "said shop is to be removed from the premises at the convenience of the grantor".

Middletown residents, unhappy at the H&HN skipping their town, constructed the Middletown Railroad to Berlin in 1849; it was taken over by the H&NH in 1850. It connected with the mainline at a wye, with the station inside the wye. The New Britain and Middletown Railroad as built from Berlin to New Britain in 1865; the H&NH operated it from the beginning and purchased it in 1868. In 1870, all three lines connecting at Berlin became part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

The New Haven replaced the 1848 station with a standard yellow brick design, similar to those extant at South Norwalk and Torrington, opening around August 24, 1893 on the east side of the mainline tracks. The two branch lines were extended on a diamond crossing across the mainline around this time. The 1893-built station burned in 1896 and was replaced by a nearly identical building in red brick, which in turn burned on June 27, 1900. The walls and foundation of the later station were largely intact and used to build a new station, which opened in December 1900.