Brewster | ||||||||||||||||
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 The station complex in 2025 | ||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | 9 Main Street,Brewster, New York | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°23′41″N73°37′11″W / 41.3947°N 73.6198°W /41.3947; -73.6198 | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Metro-North | |||||||||||||||
| Line | Harlem Line | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1island platform | |||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Connections | Putnam Transit: PART 1 Housatonic Area Regional Transit: 3, Danbury Shuttle | |||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Parking | 517 spaces | |||||||||||||||
| Accessible | yes | |||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 7 | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | December 31, 1848[2][3] | |||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | August 21, 1931[4] | |||||||||||||||
| Electrified | 1984 700V (DC)third rail | |||||||||||||||
| Passengers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 1,174[1] (Metro-North) | |||||||||||||||
| Rank | 54 of109[1] | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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| Former services | ||||||||||||||||
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Brewster station is acommuter rail stop on theMetro-North Railroad'sHarlem Line, located inBrewster, New York, United States.
A sizable amount of the station's ridership comes from across theConnecticut state line given the quicker trips, shorterheadways, and (outside peak hours) lack of a mid-trip transfer toGrand Central as opposed to taking theDanbury Branch of theNew Haven Line. Because of this,Housatonic Area Regional Transit (theGreater Danbury-area mass transit provider) has a route and a shuttle connecting Danbury to Brewster station.
Railway service in Brewster can be traced as far back as December 31, 1848 when theNew York and Harlem Railroad expanded their main line fromCroton Falls toDover Plains stations. Realizing that the NY&H was going to run through the Town of Southeast, Walter and James Brewster constructed passenger and freight stations in 1848, and donated the buildings to the railroad.[3][5] By 1869 it also served as the terminus of a railroad named theNew York and Boston Railroad which eventually became theNew York and Putnam Railroad, and by 1881 it was also a terminus for theBoston, Hartford and Erie Railroad which was eventually acquired by theNew York and New England Railroad.
On March 7, 1913, the NY&P officially became thePutnam Division[6] trains of theNew York Central Railroad and Brewster served as the terminus of that line up until May 28, 1958 when passenger service was discontinued on the Putnam Division main line. After that point, there remained oneHarlem Division train which traveled up theLake Mahopac Branch to the Mahopac railroad station and continued over Putnam tracks and making stops on upper Putnam stations until arriving at Brewster station. This "around the horn"[7] train lasted until April 2, 1959 when all passenger service on the Putnam Division was terminated.
It was one of the stations on the Harlem Line to serve theBerkshire Hills Express and other limited stop trains that went from New York City all the way toPittsfield, Massachusetts andNorth Adams, Massachusetts in theBerkshires.[8][9] Such through trains were replaced by shuttle transfers in 1950.[10]
As with most of the Harlem Line, the merger of New York Central withPennsylvania Railroad in 1968 transformed the station into aPenn Central Railroad station. Penn Central merged with theNew Haven Railroad and its affiliates in 1969 giving them control of all lines in the village. Penn Central's continuous financial despair throughout the 1970s forced them to turn over their commuter service to theMetropolitan Transportation Authority which made it part of Metro-North in 1983.
The station itself which dates back to 1931, is located next to downtown Brewster, onUS 6. Since parking on the nearby streets is extremely limited, a largeparking lot slightly uphill from the station servescommuters. Smaller parking lots are located along eastbound US 6 and on a private road named Ellen Avenue, where it is also notable for having agrade crossing right next to the station, likeKatonah.Anti-trespass panels are embedded on the ground and within the tracks between the end of the station platform and the crossing.
The station has one four-car-long high-levelisland platform serving trains in both directions.[11]: 13
