Pawtucket/Central Falls | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() An MBTA train at the station in December 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 300 Pine Street Pawtucket, Rhode Island | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 41°52′43″N71°23′32″W / 41.8787°N 71.3922°W | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Amtrak Northeast Corridor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 2 side platforms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Connections | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parking | 201 spaces | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1847; January 23, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | February 20, 1981 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | June 16, 1916 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Passengers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
March 2024 | 701 daily boardings [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pawtucket/Central Falls station is a commuter rail station in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It opened for MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line service on January 23, 2023. The station has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Northeast Corridor. It is also a hub for RIPTA local bus service.
A former station, located slightly northeast on the border of Pawtucket and Central Falls, opened in 1916 to replace separate stations in the two cities. The station building was closed in 1959, and passenger service ended in 1981. The derelict station building, located above the Northeast Corridor tracks, is still extant.
The station was originally built in 1915-16 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad as a replacement for two separate stations in both Pawtucket and Central Falls as part of a grade separation program. [2] The project was approved on April 29, 1912; grade crossings were eliminated on April 11, 1914, and trains began using the new alignment on December 20. [3] The new station opened for passengers on January 16, 1916. [2] [3] [4] It was originally built with two island platforms and four tracks, with each platform serving one center main track and one siding. [5]
In 1959, the station building itself was in disrepair and was closed. Thereafter passengers accessed the platforms via stairways from Barton Street. [5] The station was served by New Haven Railroad trains, then later by MBTA Commuter Rail, until Rhode Island stopped funding service past Attleboro on February 20, 1981. [6] The station building was considered for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, but this was deferred due to concerns about its structural integrity. [7] During the Northeast Corridor Electrification Project in the 1990s, the station tracks were relocated to increase clearances for the Acela Express to tilt when going around the curve. The center main tracks were replaced with a single southbound main track, while the northbound siding track was replaced with a new northbound main track. The southbound siding is now the "FRIP track" (Freight Rail Improvement Project) for the exclusive use of Providence and Worcester Railroad freight trains. [5]
When Rhode Island resumed funding MBTA service to Providence in 1988, the Pawtucket/Central Falls stop was not resumed due to limited funding and the deteriorated condition of the station. The MBTA opened a new station at South Attleboro on June 20, 1990 to reach the Pawtucket/Central Falls market without adding a second stop in Rhode Island, which Rhode Island did not wish to pay for. [6] The station site at Route 1A is located less than a mile east of the point where the line enters Rhode Island, and offered room for a parking lot whereas the downtown Pawtucket location did not. However, it is too far from the old location to be walkable for most Pawtucket and Central Falls residents, and until 2013 RIPTA buses were prohibited by federal law from crossing the state line to deliver passengers to the station. [8] [9]
In the early 1990s, Rhode Island began planning for a substantial increase in commuter rail service, with more service to Boston as well as Providence-focused intrastate service. With South Attleboro station open, the need for a downtown Pawtucket/Central Falls station was initially discounted. A 1994 RIDOT study of rail corridors in the state analyzed commuter rail service to Woonsocket, but a Pawtucket station was not included. [10] During the next decade, the state focused on adding additional Boston-Providence trains and extending service to the South County area with stations at T. F. Green Airport and Wickford Junction. [11] [12] In 1998, RIDOT began planning a layover yard - but no station - in Pawtucket; the $18.5 million facility began construction in May 2003 and opened in July 2006. [13] [14]
In 2005 the City of Pawtucket began discussions with RIDOT about adding a Pawtucket stop in addition to the South County service. [5] The city commissioned a $344,000 study, released in 2007, which estimated between 1,080 and 1,161 daily riders to Boston, 269 to 562 daily riders to Providence, and 27 to 45 daily riders to T.F. Green Airport. [5] [15] The study considered reopening the former station with new platforms to the north, or building an all-new station at the Providence and Worcester Railroad yard to the south. The renovated station was estimated to cost $58.5 million versus $45.1 million for an all-new station, but the former was recommended based on better walkability, fewer impacts to businesses, and concerns about toxic materials in the rail yard. [5]
Reusing the former station site was determined to be impractical after further analysis. The dilapidated condition of the building would markedly increase costs, and the track geometry was unsuitable for a modern station: there is insufficient room in the trench to add additional tracks to allow Amtrak trains to pass stopped commuter trains, and the sharp curve makes high-level handicapped accessible platforms impossible to build without large platform gaps. [16]
In April 2016, RIDOT submitted an application for a $14.5 million TIGER grant, which would part of the $40 million construction cost of the new station. If the grant is approved,[ needs update ] the state would contribute $3.6 million and the two cities $3.0 million, with federal funding expected to cover the remaining half. [17] Environmental review and preliminary design are to be completed by September 2016, with a $3.0 million design contract awarded in December. The TIGER application lowered the expected ridership to 519 daily boardings, of which all but 89 would be diverted from Providence and South Attleboro. [17] In October 2016, state and city officials unveiled a sign marking the site of the planned station. [18] Ground for the new station was broken in November 2018. [19] [20]
After construction delays, the station opened on January 23, 2023. [21] [22] RIPTA bus routes in Pawtucket were also moved to the new station. [23] [22] The station reached 400 daily boardings within the first week, close to projections of 520 daily. RIDOT indicated it would expand the 200-space parking lot, which was already at capacity, later in 2023. [24] Ridership was at 439 daily boardings by May 2023. [25] Construction of the 275-space lot expansion began that July and opened in January 2024. [26] The station had 701 daily boardings in a March 2024 count. [1]
RIPTA plans to construct an indoor waiting room at the station for rail and bus passengers. It was originally planned as part of the station project; it was removed to reduce cost, then re-added with American Rescue Plan funds. RIPTA issued a request for proposals in April 2023. [27] As of January 2024 [update] , construction is expected to begin later in 2024, with completion in late 2025 or early 2026. [28] [29]
In March 2023, the Central Falls city solicitor reported that "[a]ll signs point toward demolition" of the former station. [30] Earlier that year, Amtrak estimated a $9.9 million cost to demolish the structure. [31] In August 2024, the court-appointed special master applied for a Federal Railroad Administration grant to demolish the building. [32]
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls and Lincoln to the north, and North Providence to the west. The city also borders the Massachusetts municipalities of Seekonk and Attleboro.
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 135 stations. It is operated under contract by Keolis, which took over operations on July 1, 2014, from the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR).
South Attleboro station is an MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line station in Attleboro, Massachusetts. It is located under Newport Avenue in the South Attleboro neighborhood, just north of the Rhode Island border. The station has two side platforms serving the two tracks of the Northeast Corridor, formerly connected by a footbridge to a park-and-ride lot; only the north platform is in use.
The Fairmount Line or Dorchester Branch is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Except for a short portion in Milton, it lies entirely within Boston, running southwest from South Station through the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park. Weekend service began on November 29, 2014. Most trains reverse direction at the south end at Readville, but some Franklin/Foxboro Line trains use the Fairmount Line rather than the Northeast Corridor.
The Boston and Providence Railroad was a railroad company in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island which connected its namesake cities. It opened in two sections in 1834 and 1835 - one of the first rail lines in the United States - with a more direct route into Providence built in 1847. Branches were built to Dedham in 1834, Stoughton in 1845, and North Attleboro in 1871. It was acquired by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, which in turn was leased by the New Haven Railroad in 1893. The line became the New Haven's primary mainline to Boston; it was realigned in Boston in 1899 during the construction of South Station, and in Pawtucket and Central Falls in 1916 for grade crossing elimination.
Providence station is a railroad station in Providence, Rhode Island, served by Amtrak and MBTA Commuter Rail. The station has four tracks and two island platforms for passenger service, with a fifth track passing through for Providence and Worcester Railroad freight trains. It is now the 11th busiest Amtrak station in the country, and the second-busiest on the MBTA Commuter Rail system outside of Boston.
Foxboro station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Foxborough, Massachusetts, located adjacent to Gillette Stadium and the Patriot Place shopping center. The station has a single side platform serving the main track of the Framingham Secondary. It is the terminus of a branch of the Franklin/Foxboro Line service, and is served by trains from Boston via the Franklin/Foxboro Line and from Providence via the Providence/Stoughton Line during events at Gillette Stadium.
T. F. Green Airport station is a train station and intermodal facility in Warwick, Rhode Island, on the Northeast Corridor, adjacent to T. F. Green Airport. It extends the MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line from Boston, which previously only went as far as the Providence train station. The station was completed in October 2010 and MBTA service began on December 6, 2010. On November 14, 2011, service expanded to 10 weekday trains in each direction. Trips to and from Boston's South Station take 75 to 90 minutes.
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) provides public transportation, primarily buses, in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The main hub of the RIPTA system is Kennedy Plaza, a large bus terminal in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Average daily ridership as of the first quarter of 2024 is 40,900. The agency operates 59 fixed-route bus routes and 7 demand-responsive routes, together serving 37 out of 39 Rhode Island municipalities.
Wickford Junction station is a commuter rail station located in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States. It is the southern terminus of the MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line and serves as a park and ride location for commuters to Providence and Boston. The station consists of a single high-level side platform on a stub-end siding next to the Northeast Corridor mainline.
The Providence/Stoughton Line is an MBTA Commuter Rail service in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, primarily serving the southwestern suburbs of Boston. Most service runs entirely on the Northeast Corridor between South Station in Boston and Providence station or Wickford Junction station in Rhode Island, while the Stoughton Branch splits at Canton Junction and terminates at Stoughton. It is the longest MBTA Commuter Rail line, and the only one that operates outside Massachusetts. The line is the busiest on the MBTA Commuter Rail system, with 17,648 daily boardings in an October 2022 count.
The East Junction Branch is a rail line in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally built by the Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) in 1835, the line connects Attleboro, Massachusetts, and East Providence, Rhode Island via Seekonk, Massachusetts. As built, the line continued across the Seekonk River to Providence via the India Point Railroad Bridge; this connection was removed during the 1970s. The East Junction Branch meets the Northeast Corridor in Attleboro at a point known as East Junction, and ends at a connection to the East Providence Branch in East Providence. CSX Transportation operates freight service on the branch in Attleboro, while the Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W) operates freight service in East Providence and across the state line into Seekonk. The line is owned by the P&W in Rhode Island, and by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Massachusetts.
Kingston is a historic railroad station located on the Northeast Corridor in the village of West Kingston, in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island. It was built at this location in 1875 by the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad, replacing earlier stations dating back to the opening of the line in 1837. Current rail services consist of Northeast Regional trains in each direction, most of which stop at the station. Historically Kingston provided commuter rail service to Providence and Boston via Amtrak's commuter rail services. The MBTA is looking at extending their commuter service on the Providence/Stoughton Line.
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Attleboro station is a commuter rail station on the MBTA's Providence/Stoughton Line located in Attleboro, Massachusetts. By a 2018 count, Attleboro had 1,547 daily riders, making it the fourth busiest station on the system outside Boston.
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The R-Line is a Rapid Bus service in Rhode Island, United States, running from Pawtucket to Cranston via downtown Providence. This route was a combination of the old routes 11 and 99. Operated by the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), it is the agency's first rapid bus route, and the second such system to open in New England. After several years of planning and construction, R-Line service began on June 21, 2014.