Route 128 station

Route 128 station (sometimes titled Route 128/University Park[6]) is a passenger rail station located at the crossing of the Northeast Corridor and Interstate 95/US Route 1/Route 128 at the eastern tip of Dedham and Westwood, Massachusetts. The station is shared by Amtrak and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It is served by most MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line trains, as well as by all Amtrak Northeast Regional and Acela intercity trains. The station building, platforms, and parking garage are all fully accessible.

Route 128
An Amtrak Northeast Regional at Route 128 station in 2017
Location50 University Avenue
Westwood, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°12′37″N 71°08′50″W
Owned byAmtrak (station and platforms)
MBTA (parking garage and tracks)[1]
Line(s)Northeast Corridor
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Parking2,578 spaces ($7.00 fee)[2]
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeRTE (Amtrak)
Fare zone2 (MBTA)
History
OpenedApril 26, 1953[3]
Rebuilt1965, 1998–2000[1]
Passengers
2019459,082[4] 1.27% (Amtrak)
20181,721 (MBTA daily boardings)[5]
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Providence Acela Boston Back Bay
Providence Northeast Regional
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Canton Junction Providence/​Stoughton Line Hyde Park
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Providence
toward New Haven
Beacon Hill Boston South
Terminus
Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station
Canton Junction
toward New Haven
Shore Line Readville
toward Boston

The Boston and Providence Railroad and its successors Old Colony Railroad and New Haven Railroad served Green Lodge station, near the modern station site, from the 1860s to the 1920s. In 1953, the New Haven opened Route 128 station as a park and ride station adjacent to the Route 128 expressway. The original station buildings were replaced in 1965. Local service was taken over by the MBTA beginning in 1964, while Amtrak took over intercity service in 1971. The two agencies rebuilt the station from 1998–2000 with high-level platforms, a postmodern station building, and a four-story parking garage. The station attracted nearby transit-oriented development, but has suffered from unreliable escalators and elevators.

Station design

Platforms, footbridge, and station building viewed from the garage roof

Route 128 station is located just south of the Route 128/I-95 beltway near the tripoint of Canton, Dedham, and Westwood, about 11 miles (18 km) south of downtown Boston.[1] The station has two 1,050-foot (320 m)-long side platforms (the standard Amtrak length[7]) serving the two tracks of the Northeast Corridor. The platforms are connected by a glass-walled footbridge, which connects to the upper level of the three-story station building on the west side of the tracks.[1] An Amtrak waiting room is located on the first floor; ticketing is on the third floor.[1] The second floor is reserved for maintenance purposes.[8] The building is a postmodern design "composed of intersecting volumes", with metal and glass walls.[1]

West of the garage is a four-story parking garage with 2,578 spaces.[2] About 550 spaces are reserved for Amtrak (with overnight parking allowed), with an entrance from Blue Hill Drive.[9][10] The remaining spaces are for daily MBTA parking, with an entrance from University Avenue. Amtrak spaces are on the ground floor for convenient access to the waiting room and the southbound platform; MBTA spaces are on the upper levels for access to the footbridge to the northbound platform.[11] Unlike most MBTA stations, credit cards and even E-ZPass transponders are accepted for payment of parking fees.[12][13] The station area and platforms are owned by Amtrak, but the MBTA owns the parking garage and tracks.[1]

History

Green Lodge station

The Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) was extended south from Dedham Lodge to Canton on September 12, 1834.[14]:29 The B&P opened Green Lodge station, located at the crossing of the eponymous street near the modern station location, around 1860.[14]:31 The B&P was leased by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, and in turn by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1893; Green Lodge station was closed in the mid-1920s.[14]:31 The grade crossing was replaced with a bridge around 1932 as part of the construction of the original Circumferential Highway.[15] A Westwood woman, Marie Spokesfield, was struck by a train below the bridge on September 21, 1934. Her husband, accused of having murdered her and thrown the body from the bridge, was found not guilty by a directed verdict in March 1935.[16][17]

Route 128 station

A southbound Amtrak train at Route 128 station in November 1974

The New Haven Railroad opened Route 128 station on April 26, 1953, on the same site as the former Green Lodge station.[18][3] Intended for intercity passengers driving from the suburbs on the then-under-construction Route 128 expressway, the station had 1,500-foot (460 m)-long platforms to accommodate intercity trains and a 1200-space parking lot.[18] Two small prefabricated shelters, manufactured as garages, served as waiting rooms.[1] The station was built in one week at a cost of $300,000 (equivalent to $2,330,000 in 2019).[18] Opened at the direction of New Haven president Frederic C. Dumaine, Jr., Route 128 station was among the first dedicated park and ride stations built in the country.[1] It quickly became a preferred station for suburban commuters, who represented a majority of station traffic by the 1980s.[14]:31

The original station structures were replaced in 1965 with larger brick buildings.[1] A pedestrian overpass originally from Wickford Junction was added in 1971.[19] The New Haven Railroad folded into Penn Central at the end of 1968; Amtrak took over intercity service on May 1, 1971, with the former B&P part of its Northeast Corridor mainline. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), formed in 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter service, gradually took over local trains.[20] The MBTA bought Penn Central's southside lines and stations on January 27, 1973, and began subsidizing service as far as Canton Junction on the Stoughton Branch and Sharon on the Providence Line in June 1973.[20] Conrail took over Penn Central on April 1, 1976; beginning on March 12, 1977, the MBTA contracted the Boston and Maine Railroad to run all southside service.[20]

By the early 1990s, Boston–Foxboro trains for events at Foxborough Stadium operated over the Northeast Corridor, with intermediate stops including Route 128.[21] When Providence–Foxboro event service resumed in 1994, Boston–Foxboro service was rerouted over the Franklin Line.[20][22][23]

The bridge that carried Green Lodge Street over the tracks was closed around 1977 and later removed; the abutments still flank the platforms.[24][25][26] Plans to rebuild the bridge were delayed in 1992–93 as capital funds were redirected to restoration of the Old Colony Lines.[27] Canton officials, seeking to avoid additional traffic on the residential portion of Green Lodge Street, opposed a new bridge; by 1998, it was no longer planned.[24]

Rebuilt station

The Amtrak waiting room in 2016

A late 1980s proposal to construct a parking garage and hotel at the station was scrapped due to local opposition.[28] By 1990, plans for the Northend Electrification Project included the construction of accessible high-level platforms at the station.[29] Conceptual designs for a replacement station were completed in June 1991.[30] By 1995, the parking lot frequently reached capacity, forced riders to park on nearby streets.[28][31] In November 1997, the MBTA Board approved plans to replace the aging station.[32] The 850-space surface lot (which usually had 100–200 additional vehicles illegibly parked around its perimeter) would be replaced by a 2,750-space, four-level parking garage. The MBTA would pay $20.6 million of the $43.2 million cost, with Amtrak funding the remaining $22.6 million.[33]

Construction of the new platforms began in August 1998. That month, construction of the garage was delayed until 1999 because Dedham and Westwood objected to potential runoff from the garage. The towns insisted on a roof over the parking garage, which the MBTA claimed would add $1 million to the cost.[34] The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection approved the garage project in December 1998.[35] Station construction began in late 1998, but the garage was further delayed due to continued dispute with the towns.[8] Garage construction ultimately began in May 1999.[36]

The first portion of the garage, with 550 spaces, opened on November 1, 1999.[37][38] The remainder of the garage, except for the top level, opened in on January 18, 2000.[11][10] The new station building, platforms, and footbridge opened in 2000; the older station buildings were demolished that November.[39]:312[1] The Acela Express service (which could only use high-level platforms) began running in December 2000.[1]

The MBTA began planning for transit-oriented development adjacent to the station by the 1990s.[40]:3.18 In 2006, two development companies announced plans for a 30-building, 130-acre (53 ha) project called Westwood Station.[41] The project was controversial with local residents due to traffic concerns and the proximity of an exit ramp to existing residences.[42] The project was shelved in 2010 due to the recession, but construction on the renamed University Station project began in 2013.[43] Most construction was completed by 2019; that year, Citizens Bank agreed to construct an office as a major commercial anchor for the project.[44]

Parking issues

The MBTA entrance to the garage in 2017

The financing plan for the garage controversially relied heavily on customer revenues, which initially failed to meet expectations.[45] This plan caused parking fees to be higher than other MBTA Commuter Rail stations; the daily fee increased from $1 to $3 when the garage opened.[46][38] By October 2003, only about 1,000 of the garage spaces were used, in part due to the higher fees.[46] In July 2004, the MBTA attempted to sell sponsorship rights for the garage, which is visible from Route 128/I-95.[47] The top floor of the garage was not opened with the rest of the garage in 2000 due to an environmental agreement between the MBTA, Dedham, and Westwood. It opened around 2005 with the completion of a widened ramp from Route 128/I-95 eastbound to I-95 southbound.[10][48][49]

Some local commuters continued to park on the east side of the station along Green Lodge Street to avoid parking fees. The MBTA planned to curtail this by shutting off pedestrian access, but abandoned this plan in March 2000 after pressure from Canton officials.[50][26] The Metropolitan District Commission closed an illegal unpaid dirt lot on the east side of the station in November 2001 due to water pollution concerns, though parking on Green Lodge Street remained.[51] In 2003, Canton began charging for daily parking along Green Lodge Street.[52][53]

As of January 2021, the MBTA plans to issue a $12 million contract for repairs to the garage in 2021.[54]

Elevator and escalator issues

The northbound platform elevator in 2016

The 2000-opened elevators and escalators, which are necessary for many passengers to access the platforms, soon proved unreliable.[55][56] In early 2013, the escalator serving the southbound platform failed and was not repaired due to lack of funding for replacement.[57] The northbound platform escalator and one elevator failed in early 2015, prompting Amtrak to initiate replacement of both escalators and elevators. The replacement process was originally expected to require both elevators to be out of service until the project was complete in early 2016.[58] The elevators were taken out of service on July 20, 2015; Amtrak provided an accessible shuttle service between both platforms and the station building.[59] The elevators returned to service on September 1, 2015, though the escalators remained out of service for several months longer.[60] However, elevators and escalators inside the station building suffered similar issues for the next several years. Because Amtrak is except from state and local building laws, it circumvented normal rules that require regular elevator inspections.[61]

Proposed changes

Extension of the Orange Line rapid transit service from Forest Hills to Route 128 has been considered on several occasions. The 1966 Program for Mass Transportation recommended a bifurcated Orange Line, with one branch to West Roxbury or Bird's Hill and another to either Readville or Route 128 via Hyde Park.[62] Various reports over the next two decades continued to recommend various combinations of the extensions; however, due to cost, the 1987 relocation of the Orange Line to the Southwest Corridor was terminated at Forest Hills.[63] The 2004 Program for Mass Transportation listed an extension to Route 128 with intermediate stops at Mount Hope, Hyde Park, and Readville at a cost of $342.8 million. The extension was listed as low priority due to environmental issues with crossing the wetlands south of Readville, and because the corridor already has commuter rail service.[64]

Planning for the Northend Electrification Project indicated that a third track between Readville and Route 128 would be required by 2008 to allow Amtrak trains to pass MBTA trains.[40]:A.38[65] In the 2010 Northeast Corridor Master Plan, Amtrak indicated medium-term plans to add this third track. The third track would be located west of the southbound platform, with it converted to an island platform.[66]

References

  1. "Westwood - Route 128 Station, MA (RTE)". Great American Stations. Amtrak. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  2. "Route 128". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  3. Baer, Christopher T. "PRR Chronology: 1953" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society.
  4. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2019, Commonwealth of Massachusetts" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2019.
  5. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  6. "Route 128/University Park Station Intermodal Transportation Facility Opens" (PDF). TRANSreport. Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. March 2000. p. 3.
  7. "Chapter 1 – Introduction, and Purpose and Need". South Station Expansion Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Section 4(f) Determination. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. March 2017. p. 1.13.
  8. Preer, Robert (March 28, 1999). "Amtrak rail riders may need taxi first". Boston Globe. pp. B1, B4 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Overnight Parking". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  10. Palmer, Thomas C., Jr (December 13, 1999). "Easton residents debate MBTA proposal to extend rail service". Boston Globe. p. 22 via Newspapers.com.
  11. Palmer, Thomas C., Jr. (January 17, 2000). "Mayor's transportation study unlikely to cure many commuter ills". Boston Globe. p. 18 via Newspapers.com.
  12. Forman, Judith (April 23, 2003). "Winter's over, but potholes go on forever". Boston Globe. p. 127 via Newspapers.com.
  13. Kath, Ryan (January 18, 2018). "I-Team: MBTA Commuters Sprint To Their Cars To Avoid Garage Gridlock". CBS Boston. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  14. Humphrey, Thomas J. & Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. ISBN 9780685412947.
  15. "Truck Driver Killed in Crossing Crash". Boston Globe. November 25, 1931. p. 7 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Dead Before She Hit Train, Charge". Boston Globe. March 5, 1935. p. 15 via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Verdict Frees Spokesfield". Boston Globe. March 9, 1935. p. 2 via Newspapers.com.
  18. "New Dedham R.R. Station Ready for Rte. 128 Traffic Tomorrow". Boston Globe. April 26, 1953. p. 27 via Newspapers.com.
  19. Humphrey, Thomas J. & Clark, Norton D. (1986). Boston's Commuter Rail: Second Section. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 54.
  20. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  21. "MBTA rail service is available to Patriots games". Boston Globe. September 12, 1993. p. 39 via Newspapers.com.
  22. Hernandez, Efrain (June 17, 1994). "How to get to the game". Boston Globe. p. 108 via Newspapers.com.
  23. Smith, Sean (September 14, 1997). "If you're going to the game..." Boston Globe. p. 64 via Newspapers.com.
  24. Bushnell, Davis (March 1, 1998). "Route 128 station is meeting topic". Boston Globe. p. 23 via Newspapers.com.
  25. "Ask The Globe". Boston Globe. October 22, 1982. p. 43 via Newspapers.com.
  26. Ellement, John (March 13, 2000). "MBTA delays vow to cut pedestrian access to Route 128 station". Boston Globe. p. B2 via Newspapers.com.
  27. Grunwald, Michael (January 3, 1993). "Commuter rail project sidetracks road work". Boston Globe. pp. 19, 22 via Newspapers.com.
  28. "This lot full". Boston Globe. November 27, 1995. pp. 1, 15 via Newspapers.com.
  29. Rosenberg, Ronald (July 31, 1990). "$125m recommended for Boston-N.Y. rail". Boston Globe. p. 15 via Newspapers.com.
  30. Sanborn, George M. (1992). A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017 via Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  31. Preer, Robert (January 1, 1995). "Rail commuters caught in MBTA parking snarl". Boston Globe. pp. 15, 19 via Newspapers.com.
  32. Palmer, Thomas C., Jr. (November 10, 1997). "MBTA approves plan to revamp Route 128 station". Boston Globe via Newspapers.com.
  33. Brems, Lisa (December 21, 1997). "Rail station plan gives towns pause". Boston Globe. pp. B1, B6 via Newspapers.com.
  34. Bushnell, Davis (August 23, 1998). "Wetland concerns put new Amtrak garage on hold". Boston Globe. p. B8 via Newspapers.com.
  35. Palmer, Thomas C., Jr. (December 28, 1998). "Poor aim at the Pike's toll booths? Your miss is state's gain". Boston Globe. p. 20 via Newspapers.com.
  36. Palmer, Thomas C., Jr. (May 10, 1999). "A bright idea: red strobes to save energy, get drivers' attention". Boston Globe. p. 22 via Newspapers.com.
  37. Preer, Robert (November 21, 1999). "MBTA set to expand station parking". Boston Globe. pp. 21, 32 via Newspapers.com.
  38. Palmer, Thomas C., Jr (December 6, 1999). "Explaining the insurance system's ups and downs to drivers". Boston Globe. p. 26 via Newspapers.com.
  39. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. ISBN 9780942147087.
  40. Commuter-Intercity Rail Improvement Study (Boston-New York) (PDF). United States Department of Transportation. November 1992.
  41. Palmer, Thomas C., Jr (January 17, 2006). "Mini-city would be an antidote to sprawl". Boston Globe. p. D1 via Newspapers.com.
  42. Schworm, Peter (May 13, 2007). "Neighbors: Exit ramp plan violates deal". Boston Globe. p. S4 via Newspapers.com.
  43. Ross, Casey (November 13, 2013). "Vast project revived in Westwood". Boston Globe. pp. A1, A10 via Newspapers.com.
  44. Chesto, Jon (June 16, 2019). "A decade later, University Station's train is finally pulling in". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019.
  45. Palmer, Thomas C., Jr. (January 13, 2001). "T Garage's Unpopularity Spurs Bond Watch". Boston Globe. p. C2 via Newspapers.com.
  46. Forman, Judith (October 9, 2003). "T promotes benefits of low-use stations". Boston Globe via Newspapers.com.
  47. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (July 22, 2004). "Request for Letters of Interest". Boston Globe. p. 7 via Newspapers.com.
  48. Daniel, Mac (December 12, 2004). "Work underway on Route 128 widening project". Boston Globe.
  49. Tan, L. Kim (July 22, 2004). "T to ramp up parking at 128, nowhere else". Boston Globe. pp. S2, S13 via Newspapers.com.
  50. "T changes its plan for Route 128 station". Boston Globe. March 14, 2000 via Newspapers.com.
  51. Smith, Shawn Michael (November 11, 2001). "MDC shuts lot to parking by T commuters". Boston Globe. pp. S1, S9 via Newspapers.com.
  52. "Canton". Boston Globe. June 15, 2003. p. 84 via Newspapers.com.
  53. "Canton". Boston Globe. October 16, 2003. p. 154 via Newspapers.com.
  54. Aalto, Joanna; Dogra, Vikram (January 11, 2021). "Capital Program Update: FY21 Update through November 30, 2020" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 5.
  55. Pazzanese, Christina (August 15, 2011). "Broken elevator, escalator are downers". Boston Globe. p. B2 via Newspapers.com.
  56. Forman, Judith (March 16, 2003). "Amtrak elevator, escalator service lacking". Boston Globe. p. 55 via Newspapers.com.
  57. Powers, Martine (2 November 2015). "Going up? For one escalator, not anytime soon". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  58. Dungca, Nicole (May 1, 2015). "Amtrak taking steps to fix Route 128 Station in Westwood". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015.
  59. "Commuter Rail Service Alerts: Providence/Stoughton Line". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. July 21, 2015. Archived from the original on July 28, 2015.
  60. "Commuter Rail Service Alerts: Providence/Stoughton Line". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. September 1, 2015. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015.
  61. Donnelly, Ally (January 25, 2018). "Escalating Frustration: Years Later, Amtrak Station Still in Disrepair". New England Cable News.
  62. MBTA planning staff (May 3, 1966). "A Comprehensive Development Program for Public Transportation in the Massachusetts Bay Area: 1966". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. V-9.
  63. Central Transportation Planning Staff (November 15, 1993). "The Transportation Plan for the Boston Region - Volume 2". National Transportation Library. Archived from the original on May 5, 2001.
  64. Central Transportation Planning Staff (January 2004) [May 2003]. "Chapter 5C: Service Expansion" (PDF). 2004 Program for Mass Transportation. Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. p. 5C-83. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  65. "Appendix C: Description of Individual Projects" (PDF). The Northeast Corridor Transportation Plan: New York City to Boston. 2. Office of Railroad Development. July 1994. p. C.29.
  66. The NEC Master Plan Working Group (May 2010). "The Northeast Corridor Infrastructure Master Plan" (PDF). Amtrak. p. 7.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.