Fairmount station (MBTA)

Fairmount (sometimes written as Fairmount Avenue) is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the Fairmount Line. It is located in the Hyde Park area, under the Fairmount Avenue overpass. It is the last stop outbound on the Fairmount Line before it joins the Franklin Line at Readville station. Fairmount station opened in 1979 during Southwest Corridor reconstruction; intended to be temporary, it eventually became a permanent stop.

Fairmount
Station, looking northeast (inbound) viewed from Fairmount Avenue bridge
LocationFairmount Avenue at Truman Highway
Hyde Park, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°15′14″N 71°07′09″W
Owned byMBTA
Line(s)Midland Branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections MBTA bus: 24
Construction
Parking51 spaces
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone1A
History
Opened1855; November 3, 1979
Closed1944
Rebuilt2003-05
Previous namesHyde Park
Passengers
2018543 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Readville
Terminus
 Fairmount Line Blue Hill Avenue
toward South Station
Readville
toward Forge Park/495 or Foxboro
 Franklin Line
limited service

History

Previous service
Early postcard of Fairmount station

Service on the Fairmount Line (as the Dorchester Branch of the Norfolk County Railroad and later the New York and New England Railroad and New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad) began in 1855 and lasted until 1944. The service included a stop named Hyde Park at Fairmount Avenue, and a stop named Fairmount (also called Glenwood) near Glenwood Avenue.[2] Another station, currently known as Hyde Park, is located in Hyde Park six blocks to the west. During their histories, both stations were referred to both as "Hyde Park" and as "Fairmount".[3]

Fairmount Line

The Dorchester Branch (also known as the Midland Route) was reopened as a bypass in November 1979 during Southwest Corridor construction, including stops at Uphams Corner, Morton Street, and Fairmount.[4] This station was originally built at minimal cost, with small low-level platforms and no direct access to Morton Street. The station was not handicapped accessible, as service over the route was intended to be temporary. However, it was popular with residents of the communities the line passed through: by 1983, over 600 riders per day boarded at Fairmount, enough to justify service to both Fairmount and nearby Hyde Park after the end of construction.[5]

When the Southwest Corridor reopened in October 1987, the Fairmount shuttle service was retained as the Fairmount Line.[4] Fairmount was the terminus of the line until it was extended to Readville on November 30, 1987.[4]

Renovation
These ramps and mini-high platforms were added in the 2005 renovation

A major renovation of Fairmount station began in early 2003.[6] The $7 million project, which was completed in 2004-05, added 1-car-length high platforms and ramps to the Fairmount Avenue overpass to make the station handicapped accessible.[7][8] During the construction, new temporary platforms were built slightly northeast of the station.

Uphams Corner and Morton Street stations received full-length high level platforms in renovations that finished in 2007. When Blue Hill Avenue, the last of four new stations, is completed in 2017, Fairmount and Readville will be the only stations on the line without full-length high-level platforms. The MBTA wishes to eventually add high-level platforms at Fairmount to speed boarding, but there are no current plans to do so.[9]

As part of a long-term shift of the Fairmount Line from commuter rail to a rapid transit-like service, Fairmount was shifted from Zone 1 to Zone 1A on July 1, 2013, making a trip to South Station equal to a rapid transit fare. This equalized all fares on the line except trips to/from Readville.[10]

References
  1. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  2. Rand Mcnally Maps (1903). "Boston 1903". Ward Maps. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  3. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 146, 295. ISBN 9780942147087.
  4. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  5. Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. Inside front cover. ISBN 9780685412947.
  6. Edwards and Kelcey Inc. (June 2004). "Fairmount Corridor Improvement Project: Needs Assessment (Executive Summary)" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. viii. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  7. "Accessibility Projects at the MBTA" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 2005. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  8. "MBTA Begins Upgrading Fairmount Line" (PDF). TRANSreport. Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. May 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  9. Jacobs, Edwards; Kelcey Engineering (April 2008). "Fairmount Line Corridor Improvements Project: Service Enhancements Study (Final Report)" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  10. Rocheleau, Matt (24 June 2013). "Fairmount commuter rail line to see service boost, some cheaper fares". Boston Globe. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
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