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The Danbury Branch is a 23.9-mile (38 km) long branch line of the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line in the U.S. state of Connecticut, running from downtown Norwalk north to Danbury. All trains along the branch make stops at the line's 8 stations, with many weekday Danbury trains continuing along the New Haven Line to and from Stamford and New York City, eliminating the need to transfer at South Norwalk. It opened in 1852 as the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad. Until the early 1970s, passenger service continued north from Danbury to Canaan, Connecticut, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Metro-North took over operation of the line from Conrail in 1983, and the modern-day branch is mostly single-tracked.
Starting on May 1, 1874, that connection was supplemented by the New York, Housatonic and Northern Railroad, running from Danbury northeast to the Housatonic. In 1881 the New York and New England Railroad was completed, giving another connection at Danbury and at Hawleyville. A short branch from Branchville on the mainline west to Ridgefield opened July 1, 1870. In July 1882 an extension was built in Norwalk to docks at Wilson Point. The Housatonic Railroad leased the D&N on July 21, 1887; and soon after, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the Housatonic.
Long-distance passenger service operated on the line. The Berkshire ran on the line from Grand Central to Danbury, to Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Many railroad bridges along the Danbury Branch were damaged or destroyed in the 1955 Norwalk river flood. The NYNH&H merged into Penn Central in 1969. On January 1, 1971, the State of Connecticut leased the Danbury Branch from Penn Central. The last passenger train from Danbury north to Pittsfield, Massachusetts ran in April 1971, the day before Amtrak assumed passenger operations. From 1976 until 1983, freight and passenger service on the line was provided by the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) under a contract with Connecticut. In 1983 the newly formed Metro-North Commuter Railroad took over operation of passenger service along the line. Conrail continued to provide freight service on the line until 1993. The Providence and Worcester Railroad now provides freight service along the Danbury Branch.
Upon renovation of the Merritt 7 station, Metro-North ceased stops at on January 16, 1994, and instead provided service via shuttle bus to Merritt 7 for local employers. By the time of its closing, fewer than 15 passengers used the station daily.
The Danbury Railway Museum is located in the former Union Station of the D&N and NY&NE in Danbury. It lies just north of the current Danbury Metro-North station. At the museum are examples of rolling stock retired from service as well as an indoor display of .
In connection with the planned redevelopment of the Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill as a residential neighborhood, reopening a Georgetown station between the Cannondale and Branchville stations has been approved, though not yet scheduled or funded. The previous station was abandoned in the 1970s due to low ridership.
Over $60 million was allocated to the Danbury Branch, approximately half from the economic stimulus package of 2009, to improve current stations, build siding tracks, and install a new signal system. Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell held a press conference with local politicians at the Cannondale station on July 28, 2009, to announce that construction was scheduled to start in late 2009 and finish in 2011. The new signal system finally began operation in 2013, but extensive work was still ongoing in 2014 because of unresolved problems with the drop gates at grade crossings.
In fall 2012, the focus of the plan was only on improving the corridor as far as Danbury, with no extension.
In May 2015, Governor Dannel Malloy's five-year plan for transportation improvements called "Let's Go CT" only mentioned one point for the Danbury Branch. This is a new small rail yard called the Danbury Line Dock Yard Improvements. This area in South Norwalk will include electrification of the southern end of the branch. This was to enable work to commence on the Walk Bridge. However, at the same time a 30-year plan was published that does envision electrification of the Danbury Branch, extending service to New Milford and electrifying that extension. Electrification of the portion to Danbury would cost $400 million; the extension to New Milford would cost $450 million, and the electrification of the extension would cost $540 million.
On February 1, 2017, the Connecticut State Bond Commission authorized $21 million in borrowing for upgrades at the Merritt 7 station as well as for the addition of a station on the New Haven Line. The Merritt 7 station would have a footbridge added, a raised platform, and an expanded shelter.
Plans to reopen the long-closed Wall Street station are under consideration in wake of new housing developments in Central Norwalk.
All trains stop at all eight stations on the branch. The trip from Danbury to South Norwalk currently (2018) takes about 54 minutes. All peak trains and some off-peak run from Danbury to on weekdays, and limited service runs from Danbury to Grand Central Terminal as well. Limited through service from Danbury to Grand Central takes about 2 hours. Two weekday trains serve the intermediate stations (, , and ) in peak direction.
The following services that connect to the Danbury Branch are Amtrak, Metro-North Railroad, Norwalk Transit District, and HARTransit.
| Weekday service only | |
| Closed stations |
| NY | 1 | Manhattan | Grand Central Terminal | October 6, 1871 | : , (at Grand Central Madison) NYC Subway: (at Grand Central–42nd Street) NYCT Bus, MTA Bus | ||
| October 25, 1897 | : , NYC Subway: (at 125th Street) NYCT Bus | ||||||
| Connecticut | 16 | Stamford | Stamford Transportation Center | December 25, 1848 | : , , : , : (limited service) CT transit Stamford, UConn Stamford Shuttle Intercity bus: Greyhound Lines, Peter Pan | ||
| Darien | CTtransit Stamford | ||||||
| December 25, 1848 | CTtransit Stamford | ||||||
| Norwalk | Norwalk Transit District | ||||||
| 17 | : Norwalk Transit District | ||||||
| 41 | Wall Street | 1860 | 1956 | ||||
| 1985 | HARTransit, Norwalk Transit District | ||||||
| Wilton | January 12, 1976 | January 16, 1994 | |||||
| 1852 | HARTransit | ||||||
| 1852 | HARTransit | ||||||
| 1970s | |||||||
| 42 | Ridgefield | 1852 | HARTransit | ||||
| Redding | Sanford | 1852 | 1938 | ||||
| 1852 | HARTransit | ||||||
| Bethel | 1852 | HARTransit | |||||
| Danbury | 1852 | HARTransit | |||||
In August 2023, CTDOT approved a contract with Alstom for 60 single-level passenger cars. The cars will replace the existing Shoreliner coach fleet on the Waterbury Branch and the Danbury Branch, as well as Mafersa coaches on the Hartford Line. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2026.
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