Fire tore through the old Amtrak train station at 51 Depot Road, in the Kensington section of Berlin, on Wednesday morning and destroyed everything inside.
More than 50 firefighters from several towns responded to the station before dawn.
Fortunately, no one was inside, but one of the town’s most historic buildings might be a total loss.
"It's sad to see it go," Mayor Mark Kacynski said. "The plan was to restore it all to some of it's former glory, so it's too bad."
The depot first opened to passengers in 1900 and was active until earlier this year, when it closed to allow for a new facility being built as part of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Rail Project, according to the Great American Stations web site.
“It was a beautiful building when it was built and still inside," Mark Lewandowski, chief of Kensington Fire Rescue, said. "I’ve been in there, it had really nice wood furnishings. It was under the process of being restored to be a focal point in the community.”
As crews battled the fire, all service on Amtrak’s Springfield line was suspended, according to Amtrak’s district manager.
Trains are now getting through, but the fire marshal said trains can pass by but cannot stop in Berlin.
Local
Officials from Amtrak said the Northeast Regional Train, 141, which operates between Springfield, Massachusetts and Washington, DC was delayed until 6:45 a.m. It was stopped, with 108 passengers onboard, until the fire marshal allowed the trains to pass through.
No one was injured and no other trains were delayed.
Travelers are advised to pick up their trains from New Haven.
Mayor Kacynski said the main thing is that no one was hurt during the fire.
