Attleboro station (Massachusetts)

Attleboro 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.[1]

For the station in England, see Attleborough railway station.
Attleboro
Northbound view along tracks
Location75 South Main Street
Attleboro, Massachusetts
Coordinates41°56′29″N 71°17′06″W
Owned byMBTA
Line(s)Northeast Corridor
Attleboro Branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Connections GATRA: 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 24
Construction
Parking796 spaces
Bicycle facilities28 spaces
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone7
History
Opened1835
Rebuilt1906–1908
Passengers
20181,547 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
South Attleboro
toward Wickford Junction
 Providence/​Stoughton Line Mansfield
toward South Station
South Attleboro
toward Providence
 Providence/​Stoughton Line
(Special events)
 Mansfield
toward Foxboro
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Providence
toward New York
 Cape Codder
1986–1989
 Taunton
toward Hyannis
Preceding station Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad Following station
Terminus Attleboro Branch
(1988)
 Taunton
toward Hyannis or Falmouth
Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station
Pawtucket-Central Falls
toward New Haven
 Shore Line Mansfield
toward Boston
Northbound and Southbound Stations
Location1 and 3 Mill St., Attleboro, Massachusetts
Built1906
ArchitectEdward Hagel
Architectural styleRichardsonian Romanesque
NRHP reference No.88003128[2]
Added to NRHPJanuary 5, 1989

Attleboro has had railroad service to its downtown area continuously since 1835. The two-story northbound and southbound station buildings, now private businesses, were built during a grade crossing elimination project in 1906-1908 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. MBTA trains stop at platforms located slightly south of the historic buildings.

Attleboro is an important transfer station for the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority, with seven routes converging at the adjacent Attleboro Intermodal Transportation Center.

History
The original station in 1906
Early postcard of the northbound building
A Conrail freight passes the then-closed station buildings in 1983

The original Boston and Providence Railroad station, a complex Victorian Gothic building, was located north of Mill Street at a grade crossing.[3] Service began in June 1835 from Boston to Providence. Two branches opened from Attleboro: The Attleboro Branch Railroad (run by the B&P) opened in January 1870, followed by the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad's Attleboro Branch (to Taunton) in August 1871.[4]

The Boston & Providence was taken over by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, which itself was absorbed by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1893. The lease of the Attleboro Branch Railroad expired in 1901; the New Haven built a different connector to the Walpole and Wrentham Railroad and the branch was returned to its owners. It was converted to an interurban trolley line locally known as the "Gee Whiz Line" in June 1903. Taken over by the Rhode Island Company in 1907, service lasted as long as 1932.[5] The town plans to convert part of the right of way into a recreational trail.[6]

In 1891, the town petitioned the New Haven Railroad to eliminate dangerous grade crossings in the town. In 1905, the railroad set out to construct a lengthy viaduct for the mainline and the branch to Taunton. The project removed 13 grade crossings and made the line four tracks through Attleboro - one of the few locations east of New Haven where the railroad completed quadruple-tracking plans. Two-story Romanesque station buildings were built on both sides; the northbound building opened in 1906 and the larger southbound building two years later.[3]

Service on the branch to Taunton lasted until 1958, with summer-only long-distance service to Cape Cod lasting until 1964. In April 1979, off-peak MBTA service to Providence was cut back to Attleboro due to a reduction in subsidy from the state of Rhode Island. All service was cut to Attleboro on February 20, 1981.[7]

The station served Amtrak's Cape Codder during the summers of 1986 to 1988, with the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad operating additional state-funded service from Attleboro to Hyannis in 1988. The CC&HR stopped operation after the 1988 season due to elimination of state subsidies.[8] The Cape Codder discontinued its Attleboro stop in 1989 as it served just 3 riders per train, though the service ran until 1996.[9]

Rush hour MBTA service was restored to Providence on February 1, 1988. Off-peak and weekend service was extended to South Attleboro upon its opening on June 20, 1990; those trains were later extended to Providence under expanded funding agreements.[7] On January 5, 1989, the station buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places.[10] Both buildings are owned by private businesses. On January 16, 1989, the MBTA began a $990k renovation project, which included the installation of mini-high platforms to make the station accessible.[11] The station was accessible by late 1990.[12]

In August 1971, the MBTA began operating Boston–Foxboro and Providence–Foxboro service for events at the new Foxboro Stadium. Providence service was soon discontinued, but began again in 1994, with Attleboro as one of the intermediate stops.[7][13]

A 782-space garage was planned around 1999 to deal with overcrowding in the surface parking lots, but was never built.[14]

The Attleboro Intermodal Transportation Center was opened on November 7, 2013 to provide better connections between local bus and commuter rail services. The facility includes dedicated busways and a waiting room located on the west side of the railroad viaduct.[15]

Bus connections
Attleboro Intermodal Transportation Center viewed from the southbound MBTA platforms

GATRA operates seven local bus routes connecting to the station:

  • Route 10 - Attleboro to North Attleboro
  • Route 12 - South Attleboro to Attleboro
  • Route 14 - Attleboro to Plainville
  • Route 15 - Oak Hill
  • Route 16 - Seekonk to Attleboro
  • Route 18 - Attleboro, Norton, and Taunton
  • Route 24 - Attleboro to Pawtucket

See also

References
  1. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 126–127. ISBN 9780942147087.
  4. Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 146–152, 327–330. ISBN 0942147022.
  5. Hannan, Bill (20 March 1999). "HANNAN: Finally, on the right track". Sun Chronicle. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  6. Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee (July 2009). "Open Space and Recreational Plan" (PDF). City of Attleboro, Massachusetts. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  7. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  8. A. Joseph DeNucci (29 October 1990). "State Auditor's report on the activities of the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad under the 1986, 1987 and 1988 passenger service agreements with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts". Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  9. Jonathan Saltzman (25 June 1989). "Trains to the Cape don't stop in Attleboro anymore". Providence Journal.
  10. "National Register of Historic Places". National Park Service. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  11. Sanborn, George M. (1992). A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority – via Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  12. Operations Directorate Planning Division (November 1990). "Ridership and Service Statistics" (3 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. pp. 1–5 – via Internet Archive.
  13. Smith, Sean (September 14, 1997). "If you're going to the game..." Boston Globe. p. 64 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Preer, Robert (November 21, 1999). "MBTA set to expand station parking". Boston Globe. pp. 21, 32 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Jessen, Klark (7 November 2013). "Attleboro RTA Intermodal Center Celebrated". MassDOT Blog. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
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