Stamford tourist information

Stamford is a transportation hub for smaller communities in Fairfield County and is one of the largest cities on the route between New York City and Boston. It is located on one of the busiest stretches of highway in the nation, and is in the vicinity of six major airports.

Mass transit
Stamford is located on the main branch of the New Haven Line on the Metro-North Railroad, the commuter rail system for metropolitan New York City. Stamford Station is the last express station in the direction of New York City, and thus serves as a major transfer point for faster trains into New York City. Stamford Station is also the terminus of a Metro-North branch line that ends in New Canaan, about 15 miles (24 km) away. There are two smaller local stations in Stamford, Glenbrook and Springdale along the New Canaan Branch.

A major increase in the population of Fairfield County in the 1990s put Metro North service under increasing strain to cope with the increase in commuters. Currently, the system operates at capacity with an express train departing from Stamford Station in both directions of the New Haven line every hour during off-peak hours and every 10 to 15 minutes during peak hours. The antiquated M2 railcars have started to break down more regularly, although there is a large service depot located near Stamford Station. While Metro North, in conjunction with New York State for funding, has replaced all the M1A railcars with newer M7A's on all New York State-only lines, it continues to operate the M2's to Connecticut, as the New York State-only lines run on third-rail, and the Connecticut portion is overhead wired, as it is shared with the Northeast Corridor. In 2005, Connecticut outlined a plan to replace the trains on the New Haven Line, with the M8's scheduled to enter revenue service in 2008.

Stamford Station is also a major Amtrak station and has its own Amtrak ticket counter. Stamford is served by the high-speed Acela trains that run from Washington, DC to Boston. Metroliners also connect Stamford to the rest of the country via Pennsylvania Station in New York City. During the height of the dot com bubble, there was talk of starting a ferry service between Stamford, Long Island, and New York City, but the plans have fallen by the wayside as tax revenue for the city declined.

Airports
Stamford does not have its own airport. However, its location is within an hour of six major airports. International flights come in to John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. Commuter and short-haul flights arrive at Westchester County, LaGuardia, and Tweed-Tweed New Haven airports.

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Buses
Bus transportation is provided by CT Transit which is run and financed by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The bus terminus for the city is located under the highway across State Street from Stamford Station. Bus service runs along major arterial roads as well as connecting the city to Darien, Norwalk, Greenwich and Port Chester, New York.

Highways
Stamford is located on one of the busiest road transportation corridors in the United States. Interstate 95, which runs through the southern portion of the city, is the main highway between New York City and Boston. There are four exits in Stamford, two of which service downtown where the highway is elevated to allow traffic to pass underneath.

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The Merritt Parkway runs through northern Stamford. It is has been designated a historic road by the State of Connecticut for the art deco design of many of the bridges that pass over it. Due to the low height of the bridges, no trucks of any kind are allowed on the road, so it serves little commercial transportation use. However, it is used heavily by commuters into Stamford, Greenwich, and New York.

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