Newburyport/Rockport Line

The Newburyport/Rockport Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running northeast from downtown Boston, Massachusetts towards Cape Ann and the Merrimack Valley, serving the North Shore. The first leg, operating via the Eastern Route of the former Boston and Maine Railroad, serves Chelsea, Lynn, Swampscott, Salem, and Beverly. From there, a northern branch continues via the Eastern Route to serve Hamilton, Ipswich, Rowley, and Newburyport, while other trains operate east from Beverly via the Gloucester Branch, serving Manchester, Gloucester, and Rockport. A bicycle coach is offered on the Rockport branch during the summer.[3]

Newburyport/Rockport Line
An outbound train in Manchester-by-the-Sea in 2014
Overview
OwnerMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
LocaleGreater Boston
TerminiNorth Station
Newburyport or Rockport
Stations12 (Newburyport–Boston)
14 (Rockport–Boston)
(7 serve both routes)
Service
TypeCommuter Rail
SystemMBTA Commuter Rail
Services2
Operator(s)Keolis North America
Daily ridership14,962 (2018)[1]
Technical
Line length36.2 miles (58.3 km) (Newburyport–Boston)
35.3 miles (56.8 km) (Rockport–Boston)[2]
Track gauge4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Route map

56.9 mi
91.6 km
Portsmouth (closed)
48.7 mi
78.4 km
North Hampton (closed)
46.5 mi
74.8 km
Hampton (closed)
36.2 mi
58.3 km
Newburyport
31.2 mi
50.2 km
Rowley
27.6 mi
44.4 km
Ipswich
22.7 mi
36.5 km
Hamilton/Wenham
20.8 mi
33.5 km
North Beverly
Gloucester Branch
35.3 mi
56.8 km
Rockport
31.6 mi
50.9 km
Gloucester
30.6 mi
49.2 km
Harbor (closed)
29.6 mi
47.6 km
West Gloucester
25.4 mi
40.9 km
Manchester
Manchester Draw
22.9 mi
36.9 km
Beverly Farms
22.2 mi
35.7 km
19.8 mi
31.9 km
Montserrat
18.3 mi
29.5 km
Beverly Depot
Beverly Draw (Danvers River)
16.8 mi
27 km
Salem
Peabody Branch
Salem Tunnel
Salem (closed)
South Salem (proposed)
12.8 mi
20.6 km
Swampscott
11.5 mi
18.5 km
Lynn
9.9 mi
15.9 km
4.6 mi
7.4 km
Chelsea
0.8 mi
1.3 km
0 mi
0 km
North Station

History

After 22 years terminating at Ipswich, the line was restored to Newburyport in 1998

The Eastern Route main line between Boston and Portsmouth, New Hampshire opened in 1836 as the Eastern Railroad. Ferries were used to transport passengers between the East Boston terminal and Boston proper. The line was extended to Portland, Maine, in 1842 under a track-sharing agreement with the Boston and Maine Railroad.[4] The Gloucester Branch was constructed in 1847, but despite local support, it was not extended to Rockport until November 1861.[5] In 1854, with the opening of the Grand Junction Railroad, the Eastern Railroad acquired direct access to downtown Boston.[4] This access was more convenient than its previous access, which required using the Saugus Branch or the South Reading Branch Railroad.

The Boston & Maine leased the Eastern Railroad in 1884, and in 1893 the new North Union Station became the terminus of the B&M, its subsidiaries the Eastern Railroad and Boston & Lowell Railroad, and the Fitchburg Railroad.

In the 1970s, the B&M's passenger services - which, by that time, were almost exclusively commuter services - began to become financially unviable until the MBTA subsidized, and then acquired, the services. The line beyond Newburyport was abandoned in 1982; however, commuter service had been cut back from Newburyport to Ipswich in 1976.[4] In 1998, service was restored to Newburyport at a cost of $46 million.[6]

In the late 1980s, the MBTA planned to construct a park and ride relief station off Route 107 in Saugus. A $400,000 planning study was funded in February 1988; the proposed $11 million station would have had 1,000 parking spaces and opened in late 1991.[7] The station was not built; instead, a high-level platform and parking garage opened at Lynn in January 1992.[8]

In July 2019, Wynn Resorts proposed a combination commuter rail and Silver Line station in Everett to serve the newly-owned Encore Boston Harbor casino and proposed surrounding development.[9] Schedule changes effective November 2, 2020 shifted some peak service to off-peak, providing 30-minute midday headways on the inner portion of the line.[10]

Movable bridges and replacements

Draw Number 7 shortly before replacement

Owing to its position along the North Shore coastline, the Newburyport/Rockport Line has a large number of river crossings, including movable bridges over the Saugus River and Danvers River on the mainline as well as Days Creek and the Annisquam River on the Rockport Branch. Draw Number 7 over the Mystic River between Somerville and Everett, built in 1877, was the oldest horizontally folding drawbridge in the country[11] until it was replaced by a fixed high-level concrete span on August 26, 1989. The new $34.2 million bridge, which was completed nine months ahead of schedule, eliminated the 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) speed restriction on the old bridge.[12][13]

The Beverly Drawbridge spanning the Danvers River was replaced in 2017. The abutments of the approach spans were repaired, followed by a 21-day service shutdown from July 17 to August 13, 2017, for the complete replacement of the swing bridge section.[14][8] The MBTA Board approved the $16.2 million contract in February 2016; work will last from March 2016 to December 2017.[15] The line was shut down on weekends from July 8 through August 27, 2017, for the installation of Positive Train Control equipment in order to meet a 2020 federal deadline; four of those weekends overlapped with the already planned service curtailments for drawbridge work.[16][8]

The Gloucester Drawbridge over the Annisquam River consists of a steel drawbridge and western approach span with a timber trestle for the eastern approach. It was built in 1911, modified in 1932, and substantially repaired in 1984-85. It will be completely replaced with a modern box beam bridge on steel piles.[17] By February 2016, bidding was planned to begin by June for the four-year, then-$34 million project, though funding had not been allotted.[18] The MBTA Board approved a $56.9 million contract in October 2017; funding is split between federal and state funds. The 44-month project was to require 10 weekend shutdowns of the branch.[19] All service between West Gloucester and Rockport was replaced by buses from June 1 to 30, 2019 to allow for construction.[20] On April 29, 2020, service between West Gloucester and Rockport was indefinitely replaced by buses due to a failure of the old bridge.[21] That June, the MBTA indicated the closure would continue until the completion of the bridge replacement in mid-2021.[22]

South Salem

In February 2001, the MBTA began two parallel planning processes for the North Shore region: a Draft Environment Impact Statement for the Blue Line Extension (DEIS), and a Major Investment Study (MIS) for other projects primarily north of Salem. The MIS, released in 2004, identified a number of possible improvements to the Newburyport/Rockport Line, including upgrades to current stations, grade crossing eliminations, signal system improvements, increased frequencies, a second Salem tunnel, a branch line to Danvers, and new stations at Revere and South Salem.[23] A South Salem station would serve Salem State University, the North Shore Medical Center, and residential areas south of downtown Salem - some of which were served by the pre-1987 station, but only by the 455 and 459 buses thereafter. The station was estimated to cost $12.2 to $13.8 million, with a single island platform serving the line's two tracks, and would draw about 600 daily riders.[23] Two possible locations were considered: one with access from Laurel Street and the platform running to the north, and one with access from Ocean Avenue and the platform running to the south.[24][25]

None of the projects in the DEIS or MIS was actually built due to lack of funding, except for parking structures at Salem and Beverly which were mandated as Big Dig mitigation. In January 2015, Salem mayor Kim Driscoll indicated her support for a South Salem station in her State of the City address.[26] A feasibility study, released in March 2016, analyzed four possible station locations, including three sites near the MIS locations plus one at Jefferson Avenue to the south. The station would have two side platforms and cost between $15 million and $20 million depending on the site.[27] The study received mixed reactions from Salem residents, including concerns about construction, lights, and trains idling near a residential area but also hope for improved transit accessibility and higher property values.[28][29]

As of November 2016, a site off Canal Street near Lauren Street was considered the preferred alternative. Part or all of an adjacent industrial property could be purchased to provide pedestrian access and possibly a small parking lot on the west side of the tracks, improving access to the nearby North Shore Medical Center.[30][31]

Station listing

State Fare zone Location Mile (km)[2] Station Connections and notes
MA 1A Boston 0.0 (0.0) North Station Amtrak: Downeaster
MBTA Commuter Rail: Fitchburg Line, Lowell Line, and Haverhill Line
MBTA subway: Orange Line, Green Line (C branch and E branch)
MBTA bus: 4
Chelsea 4.6 (7.4) Chelsea MBTA bus: 111, 112, 114, 116, 117
Station to be moved 0.4 miles (0.6 km) west and made accessible in 2021
2 Lynn 9.9 (15.9) River Works For River Works employees only
11.5 (18.5) Lynn MBTA bus: 426, 426W, 429, 435, 436, 439, 441, 442, 455, 456
3 Swampscott 12.8 (20.6) Swampscott MBTA bus: 441, 455
Salem 16.8 (27.0) Salem MBTA bus: 450, 450W, 451, 455, 456, 465
Was located 0.5 miles (0.8 km) to the south until 1987
4 Beverly 18.3 (29.5) Beverly Depot CATA: Beverly Shuttle
MBTA bus: 451
Split with Gloucester Branch
5 20.8 (33.5) North Beverly MBTA bus: 451
Hamilton 22.7 (36.5) Hamilton/Wenham
6 Ipswich 27.6 (44.4) Ipswich CATA: Purple Line
7 Rowley 31.2 (50.2) Rowley
8 Newburyport 36.2 (58.3) Newburyport MVRTA: 54
Pre-1976 location was 1.1 miles (1.8 km) north
NH Hampton 46.5 (74.8) Hampton Closed January 4, 1965
North Hampton 48.7 (78.4) North Hampton Closed January 4, 1965
Portsmouth 56.9 (91.6) Portsmouth Closed January 4, 1965
  Currently operating station

Gloucester Branch

Fare zone Location Mile (km)[2] Station Connections and notes
4 Beverly 18.3 (29.5) Beverly Depot CATA: Beverly Shuttle
MBTA bus: 451
Split from main line
19.8 (31.9) Montserrat
5 22.2 (35.7) Prides Crossing Closed January 23, 2021
22.9 (36.9) Beverly Farms
6 Manchester-by-the-Sea 25.4 (40.9) Manchester
7 Gloucester 29.6 (47.6) West Gloucester CATA: Purple Line
30.6 (49.2) Harbor Closed January 7, 1985
31.6 (50.9) Gloucester CATA: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple lines
8 Rockport 35.3 (56.8) Rockport CATA: Blue, Green, and Red lines
  Currently operating station

References

  1. "Commuter Rail Ridership Counts" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. January 28, 2019.
  2. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  3. MBTA. "MBTA Bike Train" (PDF). Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  4. T. Zabek (January 1, 2010). "Eastern Division". Remnants of the Boston & Maine Railroad. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  5. Hurd, Duane Hamilton (1888). History of Essex County, Massachusetts: with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Volume 2, Part 1. J. W. Lewis & Co.
  6. Dodge, John (October 1998). "The railroad returns to Newburyport". Trains. 57 (10): 48.
  7. Howe, Peter J. (February 18, 1988). "MBTA OK'S FUNDS FOR SAUGUS STUDY REPORT WILL EVALUATE IMPACT, PREPARE DESIGNS: [THIRD Edition]". Boston Globe. ProQuest 294362650.
  8. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  9. Chesto, Jon (July 11, 2019). "Wynn offers investors a glimpse of Everett's development potential". Boston Globe.
  10. DiAdamo, Rob (September 14, 2020). "Fall 2020 Commuter Rail Schedule Changes" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  11. "Mystic River Drawbridge No. 7, Spanning Mystic River at Boston & Maine Railroad Eastern Route, Somerville, Middlesex County, MA". Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division). December 1988.
  12. Coughlin, William (August 25, 1989). "Swing-Bridge Operators Drawing Down Curtain". Boston Globe. ProQuest 405609447.
  13. Ackerman, Jerry (August 28, 1989). "MBTA MULLS ASKING STATE FOR $6M". Boston Globe. ProQuest 294507543.
  14. Jessen, Klark (March 24, 2015). "Beverly: Drawbridge Project Community Meeting April 1" (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  15. Oemig, Jennie (February 10, 2016). "Contractor named for Beverly drawbridge project". Wicked Local Beverly. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  16. "Commuter Rail Positive Train Control (PTC): Update and Communications Plan for Suspension of Weekend Service" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 27, 2017. p. 6.
  17. "Gloucester Drawbridge Replacement". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  18. Lamont, Ray (February 23, 2016). "'We need to get going on this': MBTA bridge plans to be outlined Tuesday night". Gloucester Times. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  19. "Contract H62CN03: Replacement of Gloucester Drawbridge over the Annisquam River" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. October 16, 2017.
  20. "Rockport and West Gloucester Shuttle Bus Replacement Extended 2 Weeks Through June 30" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 13, 2019.
  21. "Rockport Line Service Changes". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 29, 2020. Archived from the original on May 1, 2020.
  22. "Newburyport/Rockport Trains between Rockport and West Gloucester Replaced with Shuttle Buses through Summer 2021" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 9, 2020.
  23. PB/DMJM+HARRIS, Joint Venture (March 2004). "Chapter 3: Project Definition & Assessment" (PDF). Draft North Shore Transit Improvements Project-MIS. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  24. PB/DMJM+HARRIS, Joint Venture (March 2004). "Figure 3-7: South Salem Station (North Option)" (PDF). Draft North Shore Transit Improvements Project-MIS. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  25. PB/DMJM+HARRIS, Joint Venture (March 2004). "Figure 3-8: South Salem Station (South Option)" (PDF). Draft North Shore Transit Improvements Project-MIS. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  26. "Our view: New commuter rail stop is worth exploring". The Salem News. January 11, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  27. "Conceptual Design Presentation: Public Meeting" (PDF). City of Salem. March 22, 2016.
  28. Luca, Dustin (March 2016). "City to unveil plans for South Salem train stop". The Salem News. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  29. Forman, Ethan (March 2016). "South Salem stop gets bumpy first ride". The Salem News. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  30. "South Salem Stop: Conceptual Design Update" (PDF). The Salem Partnership. November 14, 2016.
  31. Luca, Dustin (November 14, 2016). "New train stop hinges on land access". The Salem News. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
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