Lowell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 101 Thorndike Street (Route 3A) Lowell, Massachusetts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 42°38′12″N71°18′53″W / 42.6366°N 71.3148°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | Lowell Regional Transit Authority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | New Hampshire Route Main Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 island platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connections | LRTA: 1/8, 2, 3/4, 5, 6/9, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 MVRTA: 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parking | 695 spaces ($8.00 fee) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bicycle facilities | 18 spaces | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fare zone | 6 (MBTA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1983 [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passengers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2018 | 1,522 (weekday average boardings) [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Lowell station, officially the Charles A. Gallagher Transit Terminal, is an intermodal transit station in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is located off Thorndike Street (Route 3A) near the end of the Lowell Connector south of downtown Lowell. The station is the northern terminal of the MBTA Commuter Rail Lowell Line, with three garages for park and ride purposes. The Robert B. Kennedy Bus Transfer Center is the hub for Lowell Regional Transit Authority local bus service. The station complex is accessible, with elevators connecting the station building to the rail platform.
The Boston and Lowell Railroad (B&L) opened to Lowell in 1835, with a station downtown near Merrimack Street. The Nashua and Lowell Railroad opened in 1838. Union Station was opened at Middlesex Street in 1848 so that through trains did not have to back into the downtown station. It was also used by the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad (opened 1848), Salem and Lowell Railroad (opened 1850), and Framingham and Lowell Railroad (opened 1870). All except the Framingham and Lowell were under control of the B&L from 1858 onwards. [3] The original downtown station was replaced in 1853 by Merrimack Street station, which also held city offices and the Huntington Hall auditorium.
The Lowell and Andover Railroad was opened by B&L rival Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1874. It did connect with the B&L system, instead following the east bank of the Concord River to Central Street station, which was located at Central Street and Green Street. The B&M acquired the B&L in 1887 and constructed a new Union Station at the same site in 1894. B&M trains switched from Central Street station to Union Station the next year. Merrimack Street station was closed in 1905, leaving only Union Station. [3]
As well as local service, Union Station was also a stop for intercity service. Most of these trains were jointly operated by the B&M and connecting railroads. They included Boston–Montreal services ( Alouette , Ambassador , New Englander, Red Wing) and New York City–Maine services ( Bar Harbor Express , Down Easter, East Wind , State of Maine ). [4] Montreal and Maine service ended by 1960, leaving just Boston–Lowell commuter service plus limited New Hampshire service (which ended in 1967). [3]
Union Station was demolished in the 1950s for a road construction project. A small station was constructed about 1⁄4 mile (0.40 km) to the south. The Charles A. Gallagher Transit Terminal opened in 1983 at that site. It included a brick station building, a parking garage, and a footbridge to an island platform. [1] A second parking garage was added in the 1990s. In 2005, the Robert B. Kennedy Bus Transfer Center opened at the Gallagher Terminal as a new hub for all LRTA bus routes. [5] A third parking garage located over the tracks opened around that time.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network includes the MBTA subway with three metro lines, two light rail lines, and a five-line bus rapid transit system ; MBTA bus local and express service; the twelve-line MBTA Commuter Rail system, and several ferry routes. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 239,981,700, or about 755,500 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023, of which the rapid transit lines averaged 267,100 and the light rail lines 80,300, making it the fourth-busiest rapid transit system and the third-busiest light rail system in the United States. As of the fourth quarter of 2023, average weekday ridership of the commuter rail system was 97,100, making it the fifth-busiest commuter rail system in the U.S.
North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtrak Downeaster intercity service. The concourse is located under the TD Garden arena, with the platforms extending north towards drawbridges over the Charles River. The eponymous subway station, served by the Green Line and Orange Line, is connected to the concourse with an underground passageway.
Wellington station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Orange Line rapid transit station in Medford, Massachusetts, near the border of Everett. It is located on the Revere Beach Parkway, slightly east of its intersection with Route 28. Wellington functions as a park and ride with more than 1,300 spaces, and a bus hub with eight routes terminating at the station. The Station Landing development, connected to the station by an overhead walkway, includes residential and retail buildings and additional parking. Wellington Carhouse, the primary repair and maintenance facility for the Orange Line, is located adjacent to the station.
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over 394 mi (634 km) of track to 134 stations. It is operated under contract by Keolis, which took over operations on July 1, 2014, from the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR).
The Lowell Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts. Originally built as the New Hampshire Main Line of the Boston & Lowell Railroad and later operated as part of the Boston & Maine Railroad's Southern Division, the line was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in Massachusetts.
Sullivan Square station is a rapid transit station on the MBTA subway Orange Line, located adjacent to Sullivan Square in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is a major transfer point for MBTA bus service, with 12 routes using a two-level busway. The station has two island platforms serving the two active Orange Line tracks plus an unused third track. The Haverhill Line and Newburyport/Rockport Line pass through the station on separate tracks but do not stop.
The Urban Ring was a proposed project of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, to develop new public transportation routes that would provide improved circumferential connections among many existing transit lines that project radially from downtown Boston. The Urban Ring Corridor is located roughly one to two miles from downtown Boston, passing through the Massachusetts cities of Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Medford, Somerville, Cambridge, and Brookline. The project was expected to convert 41,500 car trips to transit trips daily.
Community College station is a rapid transit station on the MBTA Orange Line in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located in the Charlestown neighborhood off Austin Street near New Rutherford Avenue (MA-99), under the double-decked elevated structure carrying Interstate 93 to the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge. The station is named for the adjacent Bunker Hill Community College. The station opened in April 1975, replacing the City Square and Thompson Square stations of the Charlestown Elevated. It was made accessible around 2005.
The Senator Patricia McGovern Transportation Center, also known as the McGovern Transportation Center or simply Lawrence station, is a transit station in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Commuter Rail Haverhill Line and Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority local bus service. The station, which opened in 2005, is the latest of seven distinct stations located in Lawrence since 1848; it is located in the city's Gateway District.
Ayer station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station located off Main Street in the Ayer Main Street Historic District of Ayer, Massachusetts. It serves the Fitchburg Line. There are three tracks through the station, two of which are served by a pair of low-level side platforms, which are not accessible. There is a shelter on the inbound platform.
The history of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and its predecessors spans two centuries, starting with one of the oldest railroads in the United States. Development of mass transportation both followed existing economic and population patterns, and helped shape those patterns.
Lynn station is an intermodal transit station in downtown Lynn, Massachusetts. It is a station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line and a hub for the MBTA bus system. The rail station and parking garage temporarily closed on October 1, 2022, pending a reconstruction project, while the busway remained open. Interim platforms nearby opened in December 2023.
Salem station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station served by the Newburyport/Rockport Line. The station is located off Bridge Street near its interchange with North Street at the north end of downtown Salem, Massachusetts. The station has a single accessible full-length high-level platform serving the single track of the Eastern Route. Just south of the station is the Salem Tunnel, which carries the line under Washington Street. Salem is a major park and ride center, with a 700-space parking garage, as well as an MBTA bus terminal. It is the busiest commuter rail station in the MBTA system outside of the central Boston stations, with an average of 2,326 daily boardings in a 2018 count.
Mishawum station is an MBTA Commuter Rail Lowell Line station located in the north part of Woburn, Massachusetts just north of the Route 128/I-95 beltway. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. Mishawum is a limited-service flag stop intended for reverse commuting to the adjacent office park, with no weekend service. With just 32 boardings on an average weekday in 2018, Mishawum is one of the least busy stations on the commuter rail system.
The Fitchburg Intermodal Transportation Center is a regional rail and bus station located in downtown Fitchburg, Massachusetts. It is a stop on the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line and a hub for Montachusett Regional Transit Authority local and intercity bus routes.
The Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, charged with providing public transportation to the Greater Lowell area. This primarily includes the city of Lowell and the towns of Billerica, Burlington, Dracut, Chelmsford, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Westford and Wilmington. The LRTA provides fixed route bus services and paratransit services within this area, although some fixed lines do extend beyond these towns.
Framingham station is a historic Boston and Albany Railroad station located in downtown Framingham, Massachusetts. Designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson, it was one of the last of the railroad stations he designed in the northeastern United States to be built. The station, built in 1884–85, served as a major stop on the B&A Main Line as well as a hub for branch lines to Milford, Mansfield, Fitchburg, and Lowell. After years of deterioration, the station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as the Framingham Railroad Station, and restored a decade later.
Union Station is a railway station located at Washington Square in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the western terminus of the MBTA Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester Line and a stop for the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited service. A bus terminal adjacent to the station is the hub for Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA) local bus service; it is also used by PVTA, MART, Peter Pan, and Greyhound intercity buses.
Magoun Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located at Lowell Street south of Magoun Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. The accessible station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Medford Branch. It opened on December 12, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line, and is served by the E branch.
South Sudbury was a commuter rail station in Sudbury, Massachusetts. It was located at the junction of the Central Massachusetts Railroad and the Framingham and Lowell Railroad slightly north of Boston Post Road in South Sudbury. The Boston and Maine Railroad station was incorporated into the MBTA Commuter Rail through subsidies in 1965. The station was closed in November 1971 when the branch's last remaining round trip was discontinued. The 1952-built station building was a private business until its closure in 2019, and the building is now abandoned. In August 2023 the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation offered the building to the Town of Sudbury at no cost.
Media related to Lowell station at Wikimedia Commons