Gov. Ned Lamont and CTDOT announced the start of construction on major upgrades to four stations on the Metro-North Waterbury Branch Line, located in Derby-Shelton, Ansonia, Beacon Falls and Seymour. Construction on all four stations is began in May 2026 and is anticipated to be completed by spring 2028.
The upgrades will transform these stations with new 350-ft. platforms designed to accommodate full train boarding, along with covered canopies and enclosed windscreens to improve comfort in all weather. Stations will feature real-time arrival information, ticket vending, improved lighting and clear wayfinding. Each location will be ADA accessible, with better pedestrian access and safer passenger flow.
In Derby, the project will restore the vacant historic station building to provide indoor waiting space and add new bus bays to strengthen connections with local transit services, creating a more seamless regional hub.
These 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. Led by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), the program is 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," said Gov. Lamont. "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."
To support construction, rail service will be temporarily replaced with bus service on the Waterbury Branch Line from July 20, 2026, through May 31, 2027. Because the line operates on a single track, major work at the Ansonia and Beacon Falls stations cannot be completed safely while trains are running. This includes shifting the track to align with new, longer platforms. Suspending service allows crews to work at both locations at the same time and complete the work as quickly as possible.
The outage also allows CTDOT to advance bridge, signal and infrastructure upgrades between Stratford and Bridgeport where the Waterbury Branch Line connects to the New Haven Line. Coordinating this work, which is under the Track Improvement Mobility Enhancement for Connecticut (TIME FOR CT) Program, reduces the need for additional future disruptions and keeps the overall project on schedule.
By completing these efforts together, the state expects to save more than $47 million and shorten the Waterbury Station improvements by approximately one year. These savings are driven in large part by using a single extended outage to complete both the station track work and TIME For CT improvements. Bus service will be provided during this period.
For more information, visit portal.ct.gov/WBLstations.
