Shawmut | |||||||||||||
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General information | |||||||||||||
Location | Dayton Street at Clementine Park Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts | ||||||||||||
Coordinates | 42°17′37″N71°03′57″W / 42.29371°N 71.06591°W | ||||||||||||
Line(s) | Ashmont Branch (Shawmut Branch) | ||||||||||||
Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||
Structure type | Underground | ||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||
Opened | 1872 (original station) September 1, 1928 (rapid transit) [1] | ||||||||||||
Closed | 1926 (original station) | ||||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1981, 2004–2009 | ||||||||||||
Previous names | Melville Avenue; Centre Street | ||||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||||
FY2019 | 2,286 boardings (weekday average) [2] | ||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||
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Shawmut station is a subway station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the Ashmont branch of the MBTA's Red Line. It is located on Dayton Street in the Dorchester neighborhood. The station, the only underground station on the Red Line south of Andrew station, sits in a shallow cut-and-cover subway tunnel that runs from Park Street south to Peabody Square where it surfaces at Ashmont station. Shawmut opened along with Ashmont on September 1, 1928, as part of a southward extension of the Cambridge–Dorchester line.
Shawmut station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. The headhouse connects the two platforms and serves as a free crossover between them, with two elevators from the paid lobby to each platform. Emergency exits near the south end of the platforms lead to small brick buildings on the entrance plaza. Shawmut does not have any MBTA bus connections because the station is located in a residential neighborhood away from major streets.
In 1872, the Old Colony Railroad took over the Shawmut Branch Railroad, which branched off the main line at Harrison Square and ran through Dorchester to Milton. [3] The branch line originally included stations at Melville Avenue and Centre Street, just one-quarter mile apart, which were consolidated into Shawmut station on October 11, 1884. [4] [5] [6] Shawmut station was located between Mather and Centre streets on the east side of the tracks. [7]
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad acquired the Old Colony and took over operations in 1893. [8] In 1924, the Boston Elevated Railway bought the Shawmut Branch Railroad and part of the Milton Branch in preparation for extending the Cambridge–Dorchester line, although New Haven trains ran on the line until 1926. [3]
The Shawmut Branch reopened as a rapid transit extension in two sections: to Fields Corner (with intermediate stops along the Old Colony mainline at Columbia and Savin Hill) in November 1927, then further to Ashmont with an intermediate stop at Shawmut on September 1, 1928. [1]
On January 13, 1961, the MTA began operating "modified express service" on the line during the morning rush hour, following the introduction of similar service on the Forest Hills–Everett line the month before. Every other train bypassed Shawmut and three other stations. [9] This was discontinued in September 1961 to reduce wait times at the skipped stations, most of which were outdoors. [10] The Cambridge–Dorchester line became the Red Line in August 1965. [1]
The station was retrofitted in 1981 to accommodate six-car trains, which started service in 1988. [1] The station was originally built with 420-foot platforms, making in the only pre-WWII station on the line designed for six-car trains. [11]
The MBTA issued a $4.3 million design contract for renovations of Ashmont, Shawmut, and Fields Corner stations on May 3, 2001. [12] : 24 Shawmut and Fields Corner reached 100% design by January 10, 2003; Ashmont was delayed due to design changes. [12] : 25 The MBTA broke ground for the Red Line Rehabilitation Project – a $67 million reconstruction of Shawmut, Fields Corner, and Savin Hill stations – in October 2003. [13] Construction began in March 2004. [14]
Unlike the other two stations, which were completely rebuilt, Shawmut received more modest changes. [13] Extensions in the original style were built on both sides of the headhouse to accommodate redundant elevators for accessibility, required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The historic headhouse and platforms were also restored, and new landscaping built around the station for walkability and noise control. [15] Original plans to include public art as part of the Arts on the Line program were removed in budget cuts; only historical interpretive panels were installed. [16] [17] The modernization was completed in 2009. [18]
Buses replaced service on the Ashmont Branch from October 14–29, 2023, to allow for track work. [19] [20]
The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) as part of the MBTA subway system. The line runs south and east underground from Alewife station in North Cambridge through Somerville and Cambridge, surfacing to cross the Longfellow Bridge then returning to tunnels under Downtown Boston. It continues underground through South Boston, splitting into two branches on the surface at JFK/UMass station. The Ashmont branch runs southwest through Dorchester to Ashmont station, where the connecting light rail Mattapan Line continues to Mattapan station. The Braintree branch runs southeast through Quincy and Braintree to Braintree station.
The Mattapan Line is a partially grade-separated light rail line which forms part of the MBTA's Red Line rapid transit line. The line, which runs through Boston and Milton, Massachusetts, opened on August 26, 1929, as a conversion of a former commuter rail line. It exclusively uses PCC streetcars built in the 1940s. Passengers must transfer at Ashmont to access the rest of the Red Line, which uses heavy rail metro rolling stock.
Harvard station is a rapid transit and bus transfer station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Located at Harvard Square, it serves the MBTA's Red Line subway system as well as MBTA buses. Harvard averaged 18,528 entries each weekday in FY2019, making it the third-busiest MBTA station after Downtown Crossing and South Station. Five of the fifteen key MBTA bus routes stop at the station.
JFK/UMass station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transfer station, located adjacent to the Columbia Point area of Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by the rapid transit Red Line; the Greenbush Line, Kingston/Plymouth Line, and Middleborough/Lakeville Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, and three MBTA bus routes. The station is named for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the University of Massachusetts Boston, both located nearby on Columbia Point.
As with many large cities, a large number of Boston-area streetcar lines once existed, and many continued operating into the 1950s. However, only a few now remain, namely the four branches of the Green Line and the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, with only one running regular service on an undivided street.
Fields Corner station is a rapid transit station on the Ashmont branch of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Red Line, located in the Fields Corner district of Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts. It is a major transfer point for MBTA bus service, serving routes 15, 17, 18, 19, 201, 202, and 210. The station opened in 1927 and was completely rebuilt from 2004 to 2008, making it fully accessible.
Ashmont station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station located at Peabody Square in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the southern terminus of the Ashmont branch of the rapid transit Red Line, the northern terminus of the connecting light rail Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, and a major terminal for MBTA bus service. Ashmont has two side platforms serving the below-grade Red Line and a single side platform on an elevated balloon loop for the Mattapan Line. The station is fully accessible for all modes.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) maintains a large public transit system in the Boston, Massachusetts area, and uses various methods to name and number their services for the convenience of users.
Mattapan station is an MBTA light rail station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the southern terminus of the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, part of the Red Line, and is also an important MBTA bus transfer station, with eight routes terminating there. It is located at Mattapan Square in the Mattapan neighborhood. At the station, streetcars use a balloon loop to reverse direction back to Ashmont station. Mattapan station is fully accessible, with mini-high platforms.
The Washington Street Elevated was an elevated segment of Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway system, comprising the southern stretch of the Orange Line. It ran from Chinatown through the South End and Roxbury, ending in Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston.
Savin Hill station is a rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the Ashmont branch of the MBTA's Red Line. It is located at 121 Savin Hill Avenue adjacent to Sydney Street in the Savin Hill area of the Dorchester neighborhood. Opened in 1845 as a commuter rail station, Savin Hill was converted to rapid transit in 1927 and rebuilt in 2004–05 for accessibility. Averaging 2,199 daily boardings by a FY 2019 count, Savin Hill is the least-used station on the Red Line.
Wollaston station is a rapid transit station in Quincy, Massachusetts. Located in the Wollaston neighborhood, it serves the MBTA's Red Line. It was opened in September 1971 as the second of three stations in the original South Shore Extension, replacing a mainline rail station which had been located there from 1845 to 1959. Wollaston station was closed from January 8, 2018, to August 16, 2019, for renovations to the station, including flood mitigation and accessibility improvements.
Broadway station is a subway station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA's Red Line. It is located at the intersection of Dorchester Avenue and Broadway in South Boston. It was opened on December 15, 1917, as part of the Dorchester Extension from Downtown Crossing to Andrew. The station has a single island platform to serve the two tracks.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates rapid transit, light rail, and bus rapid transit services in the Boston metropolitan area, collectively referred to as the rapid transit, subway, the T system, or simply the T.
Milton station is a light rail station in Milton, Massachusetts. Located in the Dorchester-Milton Lower Mills Industrial District, it serves the MBTA's Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line. This station is accessible via wooden ramps on both platforms.
Cedar Grove station is a light rail station on the Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line located in the southern part of the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The station, named for the adjacent Cedar Grove Cemetery, has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. It is accessible via wooden ramps on both platforms.
Butler station is a light rail station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line. It is located at Butler Street in the Lower Mills section of the Dorchester neighborhood. It serves a small residential area sandwiched between the Neponset River, Cedar Grove Cemetery, and Dorchester Park. Butler station has no MBTA bus connections. It is accessible via a wooden mini-high ramp on the station's single island platform.
Central Avenue station is a light rail station located off Central Avenue near Eliot Street in Milton, Massachusetts. It serves the Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line, a branch of the MBTA Red Line. Central Avenue consists of two side platforms which serve the Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line's two tracks.
Capen Street station is a light rail station in Milton, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line. It is located on Capen Street off Eliot Street; the westernmost of the four MBTA stations in Milton, it consists of two side platforms flanking the eponymous street's grade crossing. The platforms are staggered to allow trains to make the stop at Capen Street before crossing the street itself, as there is no signal at the grade crossing. Capen Street is accessible via wooden ramps on both platforms. Capen Street opened in September 1930 as an infill station on the line.
The Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It ran between Neponset Village in Dorchester, Massachusetts, through the town of Milton to the village of Mattapan. It was opened in 1847 and became part of the Old Colony Railroad system in 1848. The western portion was converted to a streetcar line in 1929, while the eastern portion remained in use for freight until the 1980s.