Station Review #173: Windsor Locks (Amtrak/ctTransit)


Windsor Locks is a station along the New Haven-Springfield line, a line that has services ran on it by Amtrak and ctTransit. 


History


The first Windsor Locks station was opened in 1839 as part of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad.  The station was rebuilt in 1875, and the old station building still remains. In the 1970s, the entire Springfield line was bought out by Amtrak. The station was rebuilt by Amtrak in 1981 in its current site. 
 
A new station is being built close to the original station, and it's expected to solve most of the problems this station has. 
 
 

Services

  
These services run to Windsor Locks:

  • Hartford Line: This is a commuter rail service ran by ctRail and Amtrak between New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield, MA. 7 round trips a day run on this service, with some being Amtrak trains and some being ctRail trains
  • Northeast Regional (Springfield Branch): About two or so round trips a day of the northeast regional between Springfield, MA and DC stop at Windsor Locks
  • Valley Flyer: This is an Amtrak train that runs between New Haven and Greenfield, MA. This runs around five round trips a day. 
  • Vermonter: This is a long distance train ran by Amtrak between DC and St. Albans, VT. This train runs one round trip daily


Tour

Shelter

This station is so small I didn't even have to leave the bustitution to get all the pictures needed for it. This is a ramp, shelter, platform, and parking lot. 
Everything

Like I said, this is basically everything. 

Ramp and ctRail TVM

Despite this, Windsor Locks Station is still not accessible as it's only accessible for Amtrak trains, and not the ctRail trains that run here. It's more likely that people who use this station will take a ctRail train than an Amtrak train. 

Parking

If you use a bus in this parking lot, you need to reverse on the grass north of it to get out.

Bus Connections

Windsor Locks Park and Ride

There are a few buses that go to Windsor Locks station, these include:

  • 24 - Windsor Locks-Bradley International Airport: This bus is essentially a loop that runs between train station and Bradley International Airport. This bus runs every 30 minutes. 
  • 96 - John Fitch Boulevard: This bus links Windsor Locks to Hartford via South Windsor. Most buses turn back at South Windsor however. This bus runs at completely random frequencies between every 10 minutes and every hour. Only a few trips a day go all the way to Windsor Locks.
  • 905: Windsor Locks/Enfield Express: This bus runs from Hartford Union station to Enfield via Windsor Locks and I-91. This bus runs about hourly, and you pick it up from the Windsor Locks Park and Ride, if you can even reach that from the station.  

Points of Interest Near Windsor Locks Station

Road.

There's nothing here. This is basically a highway, nothing is walkable. 

Statistics


Name: Windsor Locks
Agency: Amtrak/ctTransit
Line(s): Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, Valley Flyer, Vermonter
Locality: Windsor Locks
Municipality: Windsor Locks
County: Capitol
State: Connecticut
Ridership: 35,458 riders per year (Amtrak), or about 97 riders per day (2024). 

Amenity Checklist


Accessibility: × (Only Amtrak trains) 
Bicycle parking: ×
Clean: ×
Connections to other transit routes: ✓
Easy passage to either side: ×
Existence is justifiable: ×
Fare Payment Kiosks/TVMs: ✓
Good Wayfinding: ✓
Lighting: ×
Maps: ×
Near places people are: ×
Adequate Parking: ×
Safe to use: ×
Shelters: ✓
Seating: ✓
Station in Good Condition: ✓
Train Departure/Arrival Info (countdown clocks): ×
Updated/Useful Signage: ×

Final Verdict: 1.75/10


Station Directory


--------VERMONT--------
--------Franklin County--------
St. Albans
--------Chittenden County--------  
 Essex Junction
--------Washington County------- 
Waterbury
Montpelier
--------Orange County--------
Randolph
--------Windsor County--------
White River Junction
Windsor
--------NEW HAMPSHIRE--------
--------Sullivan County--------
Claremont
--------VERMONT--------
--------Windham County--------
Bellows Falls
Brattleboro
--------MASSACHUSETTS--------
--------Franklin County--------
Greenfield
--------Hampshire County--------
Northampton
--------Hampden County--------
Holyoke
Springfield Union
--------CONNECTICUT--------
--------Capitol Planning Region--------
Windsor Locks
Windsor
Hartford Union
Berlin
--------South Central Connecticut Planning Region--------
Meriden Transit Center
Wallingford
State Street
New Haven Union
--------Greater Bridgeport Planning Region--------
Bridgeport
--------Western Connecticut Planning Region--------
Stamford Transportation Center
--------NEW YORK--------
--------Westchester County-------- 
New Rochelle 
--------Manhattan Borough-------- 
New York Penn
--------NEW JERSEY--------
--------Essex County--------   
Newark Penn
--------Middlesex County-------- 
Metropark
--------Mercer County-------- 
--------PENNSYLVANIA-------- 
Philadelphia-30th Street
--------DELAWARE--------
--------New Castle County--------  
Newark
--------MARYLAND-------- 
--------Harford County-------- 
Aberdeen
--------Baltimore City-------- 
--------Anne Arundel County-------- 
BWI Airport
--------Prince George's County-------- 
New Carrolton
--------DC--------  
Washington DC Union 

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