Westbrook (Shore Line East station)

Westbrook
New station under construction in December 2013
Location	Norris Avenue & Essex Road Westbrook, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°17′20″N 72°26′52″W / 41.2888°N 72.4479°W / 41.2888; -72.4479Coordinates: 41°17′20″N 72°26′52″W / 41.2888°N 72.4479°W / 41.2888; -72.4479
Owned by	CDOT
Line(s)	Shore Line East
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	Estuary Transit District
Construction
Parking	210 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	1852 (NH&NL) May 29, 1990(SLE)
Closed	April 1936 (NYNH&H)
Rebuilt	January 15, 2001 March 25, 2014
Electrified	25,000V (AC) overhead catenary
Services
Preceding station   ConnDOT   Following station Clinton toward Stamford Shore Line East Old Saybrook toward New London

Westbrook is a regional rail station on the Northeast Corridor, located off Connecticut Route 153 just north of the village center of Westbrook, Connecticut. It is served by the Connecticut Department of Transportation's Shore Line East commuter rail service; Amtrak's Acela Express and Northeast Regional services run through the station without stopping.

The first Westbrook station opened in 1852, was replaced in 1906, and closed in 1936. A new station for Shore Line East opened in 1990; and was rebuilt in 2001. A new station with a larger lot and two handicapped-accessible platforms opened on March 25, 2014. The larger lot now allows the station, which is less than half a mile from I-95 and US-1, to serve as a park-and-ride station.

The New Haven & New London Railroad was chartered in 1848, began construction in 1850, and opened for service in July 1852. A station was located on the north side of the tracks off Essex Road (the modern location) just north of downtown Westbrook. The line was owned by the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad (the "Stonington Road") from 1858 to 1862, and by the Shore Line Railway from 1864 until it was acquired by the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad (the "New Haven") in 1870. The original 1852-built Westbrook combination depot still stands just north of the tracks at the original site, although it has been turned and moved slightly back from the tracks. A NYP&B emblem from the 1858-1862 ownership was formerly displayed on one end of the building.

The 1852 depot was replaced in 1905-06 by a station building similar to Mystic, no longer extant, located on the south side of the tracks. The new station was locally popular, with the Hartford Courant calling it a "beauty" versus the "barnlike" original. However, the stop at Westbrook was discontinued in April 1936. The station building was demolished several years afterwards, possibly by the 1938 New England Hurricane.