Union Station

Um. I love Union Station, in all honesty, but I am knocking down this review by 2 stars because they replaced the vintage timetable with a digital board. Really, dudes?
The benches aren’t that comfortable, but they’ve stood up to thousands of bottoms waiting for their trains or taxis. You can barely fit two people inside the Dunkin Donuts on either level. You get lost in the tunnel looking for your platform. But it’s Union Station, so you love it.

Made mistake of buying ticket from the rudest human being I’ve ever dealt with… made me feel like a piece of dirt… next time I’ll use the automated system and hopefully this piece of scum will lose his job eventually.

Over the years I have seen this train station try to establish itself more. Wishing that they would offer more variety for food selections other than Dunkin and sbarros. Always make sure when riding Metro North to purchase your ticket ahead of time or it will cost more on the train. Beware during the morning rush hour — do NOT place your coffee on top on the seating where the train displays are or be prepared to be reminded a million times that it is not safe.

While the interior has nice architectural features and it is a convenient place to catch the Amtrak or Metro North, the waiting area is not the most comfortable. The benches are extremely hard and straight-​backed and it is difficult to find a seat because there isn’t a lot of space when many people are traveling and have luggage, further complicating trying to walk between the benches.
Also, every time I have departed this station to go to Washington, DC, the train has been delayed!
It is a short walk from the waiting area to the platforms, you have to go down an escalator, through a tunnel, and then up a flight of stairs to get to the platform. Also, there isn’t a lot of cover or places to wait that are very warm when you’re on the outside platform waiting for the train to come, especially when you think the train is going to come and then it’s delayed only by a few minutes at first and then they add onto the time, but you don’t have enough time to go back inside to wait.
Another issue is the pick/​up drop off area is very congested. Often there is a backup in the street waiting to turn in to very small drop off/​pick up area. It’s also tight to try to get around other parked/​waiting cars because the area is so narrow.
My last comment is that they complete shut down the bathrooms when they’re being cleaned. They don’t just close a stall, they shut the whole bathroom down. The problem with this is, it is the ONLY bathroom. So a huge line formed and had to stand there for about 10 – 15 minutes while they cleaned the bathrooms. While I appreciate clean bathrooms as much as the next person, when you just want to use the bathroom and there are no other options, you aren’t as concerned about it being clean and having such a huge line doesn’t work well for people who have to make trains! They definitely need to come up with a way to partially clean the bathrooms so it doesn’t have to be closed down when there is a line of more than 20 people waiting.

It’s a train station. It’s not the most glamorous, but it’s pretty enough once you get past the dimly lit tunnels and the generic food stands. Keep in mind that from the entrance to the actual train platforms is quite a walk, so factor in an extra 5 minutes if you’re used to cutting it close. The taxi and Über situation is a shitshow if it’s a busy weekend, so probably best to wait across the street.

This is by far one of the better small city train stations in the United States. In terms of architecture, it is well designed, giving you that feeling of a being in a vibrant civilization. More importantly, it is super clean, well designed, and efficient for getting to your train.
You just walk through one tunnel and that is it — not a mega mess of mazes. Oh and you don’t have that ridiculous pushyness of crowding, even on a busy weekday.
I am a fan.

New Haven’s Union Station serves Amtrak trains, Metro North trains and Connecticut DOT Shore Line East trains which run between New Haven and New London. Also many local buses stop in front of the station and there is a parking garage next to it.
Inside it is handsome but confusing. There are a bank of ticket windows, each with a light in front but most are closed. One small room off to the side has some ticket vending machines and another small room has timetables and a place for an information clerk but there is no clerk. I couldn’t find any local bus schedules. The central room is comfortable as train stations go; it has traditional seating. There is a new stand and souvenir shop. And there are modern electronic departure boards at various locations.
To get to the trains you go through a long tunnel which has the feel of a science fiction movie and then you climb two long flights of stairs. If you have bags or a mobility problem look around; you will find a half hidden elevator to the tracks. New York bound Metro North trains originate at this station so they are open for several minutes before they depart.
Be aware that Metro North tickets are much cheaper than Amtrak tickets. Amtrak fare one way is between $ 41 and $ 102. Metro North Peak fare is $ 28; off peak is $ 22 and senior and children ride for less. Amtrak trains arrive in New York Penn Station; Metro North arrive in Grand Central Terminal. To transfer between stations take the No. 1, 2 or 3 train from Penn Station to Times Square and then the No. 7 or S (shuttle) to GCT).
Finally frugal travelers from as far south as Philadelphia can ride SEPTA, NJT, change stations and then Metro North. The trip is longer but a lot cheaper. Coming from Boston Amtrak is the only option except for those coming from New London or south. CT DOT runs Shore Line East trains there.

As clean as New Haven can be. Right near Yale and I-​95/​I-​91. I only use it for MetroNorth but off peak rides are my jam. Don’t know much about the buses that run there, but the cops/​MTA don’t bother you too much when you’re idling waiting for someone.

This station is cute, it’s like a little grand central. It’s reasonably clean and easily accessible. They don’t have a ton of food choices, but then again it’s not all that big. This leads to another plus that it’s easy to navigate.

I connect through New Haven Union Station quite a bit, as the train to NYC is cheap, and I can catch a Greyhound bus to Foxwoods here. I’ve even rented a car here before for a reasonable price. It’s not big or fancy, but that’s what I like about it. It’s easy to get around. There’s also plenty of free wifi hotspots that seem to work great. Add a Dunkin Donuts for your caffeine fix and I have very few complaints about this train/​bus station.

You will never find parking near here but at least they have sanitary ladies rooms, seating areas & a charging station where you can actually charge your cell phone. They have escalators so you’re not stuck having to take stairs all the freaking time. They do have some food places here, cabs nearby and a police presence. It’s not the nicest or fanciest but you can do a LOT worse.

It’s super small, but I’m a fan. I like that parking is relatively easy (the garage is right next door, or there’s valet parking if that’s full for just a but more $- it’s going to be expensive either way, so why not?) and that you can’t get lost, or form blisters trekking from one end to the other. I spend enough time at Penn station to really appreciate this bite-​sized station.
It would be nice if they’d add QuickScan machines for Amtrak, since the way my company does ticket bookings, I have to scan a barcode to get my actual tickets upon arriving at the station. But, the lines for the Amtrak tellers are usually short, and they’re usually friendly. There’s a Dunkin Donuts upstairs and downstairs, and a Subway sandwiches. There’s also wifi if you get there a little early.

On my most recent trip through NH Union Station, I saw on the board that my train was getting in 15 minutes late. I’ve been burned by incorrect ETAs before, but then a voice announcement of the delay was made, so I figured that I was safe and went to grab a coffee. Except the end of the delay message was then abruptly cut off by a «Last call, all aboard!» announcement for THE SAME DAMN TRAIN. Which was awesome, because if there’s one thing I love, it’s sprinting up and down stairs carrying a suitcase and a cup of nuclear hot coffee.
I wish I could say this was an isolated instance of stupidity, but not even close. They really need to get their shit together and implement a better train monitoring system.

Metro North to Grand Central station from New Haven’s Union Station is the best way to go to NYC. Overnight secure parking at the station garage runs about $ 22/​24hrs or so when compared to NYC parking of $ 44/​24hrs. The train ride is less than two hours and prices at off peak are $ 30/​pp round trip and you can save an additional 10% if you by a web – ticket. Union Station is well lit and clean making travel safe, secure and convenient especially when you consider that you avoid the inevitable traffic congestion on the drive to the city.

There are a few stores here serving your usual coffee and snacks although operationally, this is the worst Amtrak station I’ve used.
In particular, the trains that depart from this station are very frequently delayed. I don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes, but they don’t have their stuff together.
The delayed notices on the board are also wildly inaccurate, so even if you’re told ’30 mins delayed’ on your 11am train, keep watching carefully: At 11:05am that board might easily change to ‘All aboard’ (seriously, I’ve seen this happen A LOT).
I wish I could recommend alternative New Haven stations, but of course that’s not how train stations work, so I’ll just recommend to keep your expectations very low.

This is a ok train station that serves Amtrak, metro north, and shore line east trains.
It is just south of downtown New Haven and around a 15 minutes walk to the Yale campus.
The building is a historical landmark with a grand main waiting area.
The food selections here are kind of lacking and limited to Dunkin Donuts, Sbarros, and a convenience store.
The bathrooms are nasty = Not clean and too small.

So… it’s a train station. Right? Right.
There’s several stores, a Dunkin Donuts, a Sbarros, and a convenience store. The bathrooms exist, they’re always being cleaned, but they can’t keep up with the volume going through here, and it’s a lot of volume.
There’s vending machines (that accept credit cards), free wifi, and plentiful seating (though it’d be nice if there was a train board on the back wall too since half the seating faces the wrong way…)
There’s a taxi stand right outside, and there’s a spot to pull up and either pickup or dropoff your friends/​relatives. Just… don’t be that jerk that sits here forever. Throw your stuff in the car and go, if you need to greet someone more enthusiastically park and go in the station.

I’ve done a fair amount of train travel in my life — particularly for someone who doesn’t commute that way — and nearly all of it has begun and ended at Union Station. It’s home.
It’s a pretty impressive home. Built as the southern Connecticut hub of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, it was built with a sense of grandeur. The long line of ticket windows reflect the way it used to be done. You can still get tickets there from an actual human being, but you’ll also find several automated machines for both Metro North and Amtrak.
The food options aren’t great. Subway and Dunkin and Sbarro, oh my. The two DDs do help trainloads of passengers board well caffeinated.
And they still have a Solari board — one where the letters and numbers flip around on a spindle. Its distinctive chatter is a helpful alert to a change in train status.
There’s a good deal of seating on old-​fashioned wooden benches whose seats wrap around the backs. Model trains recall the glory days of the NYNH&H atop each one.
Most of all, it’s home: where adventures begin and where they come gracefully to an end.

Didn’t go in the station itself only connected here. Or no that’s airplane talk. Connected to a different engine that is. If you are coming into the State of New York, they require a so called «Electric» engine instead of the diesel, which is actually a diesel powered engine just with electric wheels, known as trucks.
Anyway, it’ felt safe up on the platform. This is where you can get out of the train and walk around while the engines are being switched. Seems to take about 10 minutes. Yet there’s not a damned thing to eat up here except some vending machines.

Yanno — it’s not everyday that that I go to a travel hub, take a step back and proceed to «ooh» and «ahh» at my surroundings. More often than not, I loathe having to go through excessively large travel hubs because I’m so soured by Penn Station and TImes Square…
But sometimes travel hubs can be a work of art like Grand Central or the new Wall Street Pavillion type thing that makes me feel like I’ve transported to Puerto Rico’s San Juan airport…
Union Station is one of those travel hubs. It’s a Metro North thing and the New Haven lines run through it. It’s got a clean Dunkin Donuts, Subway sandwiches, loud tacky Sabarro’s (aren’t they all tacky though?), clean bathrooms, vending machines, really shiny and well kept wooden pews, tall U-​shaped arches that give it an old-​timey feel and a beautiful ceiling of bronzey-​golden casted and detailed flowers, I could stare at the ceiling for days… if I were into that sorta thing.
Getting here isn’t too bad as it’s near a main highway and they’ve got a pretty large parking lot adjacent to the entrance and you can purchase tickets with Metro-​North ticketing machines or with people (if you don’t mind waiting in line).
All in all I’m sure I’ll be back soon because I enjoy visiting Connecticut with my beau who was born and raised in New Britain/​Plainville (not really close to this station, almost a 2 hour drive away actually and practically in New England town, haha!).
Thanks for the memories Union Station, you’re alright in my book!