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Connecticut Looks To Add Another Train Station In Bridgeport

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- Commuters should have more options -- and more places to park -- when Metro-North adds a new Fairfield County train station in Bridgeport on its New Haven Line by 2018, Gov. Dannel Malloy announced Wednesday.   

Bridgeport will be getting another Metro-North train station.

Bridgeport will be getting another Metro-North train station.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Malloy made the announcement at the former Remington Arms factory, a brownfield property, which will be the location of the city’s second train station.

“With this investment in the Barnum Train Station, we are improving the quality of life for residents in Bridgeport’s East Side and East End while at the same time encouraging transit-oriented and economic development in our largest city,” said Malloy. 

“Moving this project forward demonstrates our commitment to helping municipal partners and stakeholders make their communities more accessible, more walkable centers of cultural and economic activity."

The State Bond Commission at its next meeting will approve $2.75 million for the Connecticut Department of Transportation to hire a consultant to complete the engineering, design and environmental permitting to develop the site of the new Barnum Train Station, he said.

When this funding is in place, the 18-month design phase can begin. Soil remediation can begin in spring of 2016, and construction on the station could occur in 2017 for a start of operations in the fall of 2018, according to a statement from Malloy's office.

“We’re making smart investments in the future,” said Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch. “Key investments include the East Bridgeport Development Corridor, which will serve as a catalyst for growth in the city’s East End, East Side, and Mill Hill neighborhoods. This project is already gaining steam. But it will never reach its full potential without a train station nearby. The proposed Barnum Station, which will be the second train station in our state’s largest city, will help ensure the East Bridgeport Development Corridor becomes a place where people want to live and work, and where companies want to invest and hire people."

ConnDOT Deputy Commissioner Anna M. Barry applauded the project. 

“If we are going to get people out of their cars and onto public transportation, we have to make it convenient, clean, safe and reliable,” said Barry. “Adding a new station helps move us further along toward that goal. It will also help us fulfill another commitment to the people of Connecticut – the creation of new transit-oriented development.”

Malloy said the funding for Barnum Station is just one part of a coordinated strategy to increase ridership along the New Haven Line by investing in new stations, train cars and rail infrastructure to ensure safer, faster and more reliable service for residents. 

The State Bond Commission is scheduled to vote on the item at its July 25 meeting at 10:30 a.m. in Room 1E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

In recent years, the state has opened new train stations at Fairfield Metro and West Haven in Connecticut. 

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