Braintree station (MBTA)

Braintree is an intermodal transit station in Braintree, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA's Red Line and the MBTA Commuter Rail Old Colony Lines as well as MBTA buses.

Braintree
Red Line trains at Braintree station in August 2018
Location197 Ivory Street, Braintree, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°12′27″N 71°00′05″W
Line(s)Old Colony Main Line
Braintree Branch
Platforms1 island platform (Red Line)
1 island platform (Commuter Rail)
Tracks2 (Red Line)
2 (Commuter Rail)
Connections MBTA bus: 226, 230, 236
Construction
Parking1,322 spaces ($9.00 fee)
Bicycle facilities30 spaces; "Pedal and Park" bicycle cage
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone2 (Commuter Rail)
History
OpenedMarch 22, 1980 (1980-03-22) (Red Line)
September 29, 1997 (1997-09-29) (Commuter Rail)
Passengers
FY20194,473 weekday boardings[1] (Red Line)
2018204 (weekday boardings)[2] (Commuter Rail)
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Quincy Adams
toward Alewife
 Red Line Terminus
Quincy Center
toward South Station
 Middleborough/​Lakeville Line Holbrook/​Randolph
toward Middleborough/​Lakeville
Kingston/​Plymouth Line South Weymouth
toward Kingston or Plymouth
South Station
Terminus
 CapeFLYER Brockton
toward Hyannis
Former services
Preceding station Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad Following station
Terminus Braintree-Hyannis
Closed 1988
 Holbrook
toward Hyannis or Falmouth

It is located at Ivory and Union Streets. The tracks of the Red Line and commuter rail lines are all parallel to one another, their platforms are offset; the commuter rail platform is located north of Union Street, while the Red Line platform is south of the street. The station features a large park and ride garage, with space for 1,322 automobiles. Braintree is fully accessible on all modes.

History
The 1997-opened commuter rail platform

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 13, 1977.[3] The station opened on March 22, 1980, for Red Line service.[4] Between 1984 and 1988, the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad operated a state-subsidized seasonal weekend service from Braintree to Hyannis, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.[5][6] Commuter rail service began on September 26, 1997, when the Old Colony Lines re-opened.[4] The station has been accessible since at least 1989.[7]

From 1980 to 2007, a double entry fare and single exit fare were charged at Braintree and Quincy Adams when leaving the subway. The extra fares were discontinued as part of a fare increase and service change on January 1, 2007.[8] Similar charges existed until 1980 on the inner stations on the Braintree Branch.

Although built to last 50 years, the parking garage at Braintree began suffering concrete damage due to water leakage and ill-fitting structural elements. Repairs were performed to the Quincy Adams and Braintree garages in the mid 1990s. In 2015, the MBTA began a $4.4 million project to address urgent structural issues with the two garages, though full repair or replacement was still needed.[9] Further construction on the Braintree garage took place in 2016.[10] The deteriorated footbridge between the garage and station was closed in February 2017.[11] The garage is being fully renovated from May 2018 through 2021 at a cost of $29 million; the station and garage will remain open during the whole project. The work includes a canopy over the ramp to the commuter rail platform, and a canopy to replace the former footbridge.[11] 400 garage spaces closed on February 10, 2020 to allow the project to be completed by June 2021 rather than December 2021.[12] The garage was closed for three months beginning on October 5, 2020.[13]

Station layout

The two island platforms are highly offset, with different street entrances.

P
Platform level		 Northbound ←      Middleborough/Lakeville, Kingston/Plymouth lines toward South Station (Quincy Center)
←      CapeFLYER toward South Station (Terminus)
Island platform
Southbound ←      Middleborough/​Lakeville Line toward Middleborough/​Lakeville (Holbrook/​Randolph) →
←      Kingston/​Plymouth Line toward Kingston/Route 3 or Plymouth (South Weymouth) →
←      CapeFLYER toward Hyannis (Brockton) →
Track 1 ←      Red Line toward Alewife (Quincy Adams)
→      Red Line termination track →
Island platform
Track 2 ←      Red Line toward Alewife (Quincy Adams)
→      Red Line termination track →
M Red Line mezzanine Fare control, overpass to parking garage
G Street level Exit/entrance, buses

Bus connections
A route 236 bus at Braintree in 2018

Three MBTA bus routes serve a busway next to the Red Line platform at Braintree:

References
  1. "A Guide to Ridership Data". MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation. June 22, 2020. p. 9.
  2. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  3. A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 1981. p. 11 – via Internet Archive.
  4. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  5. Longcope, Kay (February 19, 1989). "RECORD NUMBER OF VEHICLES CROSSED CAPE COD CANAL IN JULY AND AUGUST". Boston Globe – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Ackerman, Jerry (July 5, 1989). "MASS. SPENT $1.2M ON DEPOTS WHERE TRAINS NOW SELDOM GO". Boston Globe. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Tran Systems and Planners Collaborative (August 24, 2007). "Evaluation of MBTA Paratransit and Accessible Fixed Route Transit Services: Final Report" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  8. Waltz, Vicky (11 November 2006). "End of the Line for Free T". BU Today. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  9. Burrell, Chris (16 November 2015). "Stopgap repairs being made to crumbling MBTA garages in Quincy, Braintree". Patriot Ledger. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  10. "Subway Service Alerts: Red Line: Current". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 17 February 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016.
  11. "MBTA Contract No. W46CN04: South Shore Parking Garage Repairs" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 6, 2018.
  12. "Parking Will Be Reduced at Braintree Garage as Accelerated Work Begins" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. January 28, 2020.
  13. "South Shore Garages". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. September 28, 2020. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020.
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