The Connecticut Department of Transportation has started construction on major upgrades to four stations on the Metro-North Waterbury Branch Line, located in Derby-Shelton, Ansonia, Beacon Falls, and Seymour – construction that is anticipated to be completed by spring 2028.
[Above image by CTDOT]
The agency said the upgrades will transform those stations with new 350-foot platforms designed to accommodate full train boarding, along with covered canopies and enclosed windscreens to improve comfort in all weather, along with real-time arrival information, ticket vending, improved lighting, and clear wayfinding.
CTDOT added that those four projects are part of a broader statewide initiative to upgrade all six stations along the Waterbury Branch Line between 2025 and 2028 at an estimated cost of $193 million – all aimed at modernizing a critical regional rail corridor with safer, more accessible, and more reliable infrastructure for riders.
“For too long, riders on the Waterbury Branch Line have been making do with aging and inaccessible infrastructure. That changes now,” Governor Ned Lamont (D) noted in a statement.
“These investments are about more than about improved stations; they’re about giving working families in the Naugatuck Valley the same quality of service that riders elsewhere take for granted, and building the kind of connected, affordable communities that keep people here,” he said.
“Bringing the Waterbury Branch Line into the 21st century means delivering stations that are accessible, comfortable, and built for how people travel today,” added Garrett Eucalitto, CTDOT commissioner, who also served as president of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
“This is a major step forward for riders and the communities along the line,” he said.
To support construction, rail service will be temporarily replaced with bus service on the Waterbury Branch Line from July 2026 through May 2027, which will allow CTDOT to advance bridge, signal, and infrastructure upgrades between Stratford and Bridgeport as well.
The agency said that completing those efforts together should save more than $47 million and shorten the Waterbury Station improvements by approximately one year.
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