Abandoned rail freight siding to be restored? Naugatuck, CT Rail Freight Park - June 2026

There’s not much to see at this abandoned siding along the Metro North Waterbury Line in Naugatuck, CT today but there may be future development that would bring back freight service to this site. The Berkshire & Eastern Railroad, owned by Genesee & Wyoming, holds the freight rights on the Metro North Waterbury Branch through Naugatuck but they rarely use them. Berkshire & Eastern operates former Pan Am Southern trackage in New England and New York as a neutral operator after the CSX buy out of Pan Am. Very occasionally they make a rare move to serve a customer in Seymour but otherwise freight trains are non-existent on this section of the line. Passengers trains run regularly through here but as of July 2026 the line will be closed for 10 months for upgrades. As of last year the borough here is trying to develop a public-private partnership to redevelop an old industrial site along Elm St. for rail freight with G&W called the Naugatuck Rail Freight Park. Previous attempts at redevelopment, like the Port of Naugatuck, fell through. That project would’ve shipped containers in and out of Naugatuck but this project seems more realistic in my opinion. According to a CTinsider article from last year “Some of the potential uses include warehousing, lumber distribution, bulk propane and recycling and transloading”. Naugatuck would ultimately decide what goes in here but those are just some of the potential uses as part of this industrial park. Quoting the CTinsider article once again “they will have to redesign the lower portion of the site by moving the road that the sludge trucks go over now from right next to the rail line to back up and move it west against the ridge so the businesses can have frontage on the rail spurs without having to cross the road. Moving the road will improve lot access to rail and add three more lots for a total of nine in that area”. This means this view will look very different if all goes well. Not far from Naugatuck is Waterbury where freight rail upgrades are already underway on a different project. Bridge work and replacements have already taken place and materials for future work are stockpiled here. I;m told the unused yard here will be rebuilt for use by Berkshire & Eastern and the Naugatuck Railroad to interchange. By rebuilding the yard they can increase operational flexibility as both B&E and Naugatuck trains currently have to meet to interchange their cars. With the yard reopened both railroads can come in and out as they please without the same level of coordination. This may also result in more operational flexibility for freight trains to serve the future Naugatuck industrial park. Time will tell…Stay tuned for future updates on this project when the time comes! Thanks for watching! Facebook:   / mslrailmedia   Comments? Questions? Just leave a note in the comment section and I'll get back to you. ©2025 South Coast Rail Videos