{"id":2436,"date":"2022-09-02T22:48:54","date_gmt":"2022-09-03T02:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/?p=2436"},"modified":"2024-04-21T20:58:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T00:58:42","slug":"new-london-union-amtrak-sle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/2022\/09\/02\/new-london-union-amtrak-sle\/","title":{"rendered":"New London Union (Amtrak\/CTrail)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alrighty, the eastern terminus of the Shore Line East! And, boy, does this one look nice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The bus waiting area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, the bus waiting area is a little ways up the street from the station, but it’s within view of the station, so it’s not far. It consists of a shelter and a bunch of benches. For it being SEAT’s New London hub, I’d expect more but whatever. Walking to the station, the platforms are in a similar configuration to what one would find on the Providence Line’s MBTA stations if anything, with a mini-high (though these are several cars long, not just one) and a low-level platform area on the other side of the street. Fortunately, the mini-highs are sheltered, but you better run to track 2 before the gates come down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Down the tracks!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The high platform for track 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Amtrak sign<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Moving into the waiting area in the station building, it’s quite nice. In a way, it feels like something you’d expect from a modern station, while retaining the vintage feel of the building. Here, Amtrak and Greyhound ticketing can be found, along with a cafe area. Apparently the womens’ bathroom smelled like fish, per a friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The waiting area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Track 1’s mini-high<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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This is nice.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The station building<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Westbound from the low platform on track 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Track 6’s decrepit platform, unused<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Oh look, an M8!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The good: It’s centrally located in downtown New London! And, for a station serving a small town of about 25000, it’s pretty well used with similar ridership figures to Kingston\/URI<\/a>. Furthermore, most Shore Line East trains end here, along with many Regional trains stopping here. The station building itself is also pretty nice.

The bad: However, the bus area could be better. Yeah, it’s nice it’s sheltered, but I’d think a dedicated berth or three would be better. I mean, you have Greyhound and SEAT primarily. Also, the grade crossing. It’s a major “screw you” should you be running late. Shoulda kept the footbridge instead of demolishing it. And, why is track 6 unused and un-electrified? I think it’d be better to have the M8s lay over there instead of obstructing one of the two mainline tracks. Also, would countdown signs outside like at Kingston<\/a> or Old Saybrook<\/a> have been too much?

Nearby points of interest: Pretty much all of New London, plus SEAT’s reach. There’s also Block and Long Islands via the ferries.

Transit connections:
Amtrak (Northeast Regional)
CTrail (Shore Line East)
9 Town Transit (643)
SEAT (1, 2, 3, 12, 13, 14, 15, 108)
Greyhound
Prison (via Amtrak police)

Overall, I like this station as well. It managed to survive into the 21st century retaining its vintage feel, but with a modern refurb. The fact track 6 isn’t used is irritating though. It’s also a scenic place to railfan, if that’s your thing.

Rating: 7\/10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HOLY FUCKING SHIT, THE VETERAN’S LIVERY!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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There it is!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Oh yeah, it blocks the street.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Another Regional, wrong track<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Oh, that’s why.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alrighty, the eastern terminus of the Shore Line East! And, boy, does this one look nice! So, the bus waiting area is a little ways up the street from the station, but it’s within view of the station, so it’s not far. It consists of a shelter and a bunch of benches. For it being … Continue reading “New London Union (Amtrak\/CTrail)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,10,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-irl","category-public-transit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2436"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7135,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions\/7135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseascorner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}