West Gloucester station
West Gloucester station is an MBTA Commuter Rail on the Newburyport/Rockport Line, located off Massachusetts Route 133 (Essex Road) in the west part of Gloucester, Massachusetts.
West Gloucester | |||||||||||
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![]() West Gloucester station in 2008 | |||||||||||
Location | 290 Essex Avenue, Gloucester, Massachusetts | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 42°36′43″N 70°42′20″W | ||||||||||
Owned by | MBTA | ||||||||||
Line(s) | Gloucester Branch | ||||||||||
Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
Connections | ![]() | ||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||
Parking | 43 spaces ($2 per day) 1 accessible space | ||||||||||
Bicycle facilities | Yes | ||||||||||
Disabled access | Yes | ||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||
Fare zone | 7 | ||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||
2018 | 37 (weekday average boardings)[1] | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
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History
When the Gloucester Branch Railroad opened in 1847, there were no stops except Manchester and Gloucester.[2] A number of infill stations were later added; West Gloucester station was open by 1872, and by 1884 had a small depot building on the south side of the track.[3][4]
West Gloucester station was closed on January 30, 1981 during severe budget cuts; 1977-opened Harbor station 1.1 miles (1.8 km) east remained open.[5][6] The line was temporarily closed on January 7, 1985 after a November 1984 fire destroyed the drawbridge between Salem and Beverly. When the line reopened on December 1, 1985, West Gloucester was reopened but Harbor remained closed.[5]
On April 29, 2020, service between West Gloucester and Rockport was indefinitely replaced by buses due to a failure of the old Gloucester Drawbridge.[7] That June, the MBTA indicated the closure would continue until the completion of the bridge replacement in mid-2021.[8]
References
- Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
- Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 76. ISBN 9780685412947.
- "Gloucester". Atlas of Essex County, Massachusetts. D.G. Beers & Co. 1872 – via Ward Maps.
- "Plate 11". Atlas of The City of Gloucester and Town of Rockport. G.M. Hopkins & Co. 1884 – via Ward Maps.
- Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
- "T changes start today". Boston Globe. February 1, 1981. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Rockport Line Service Changes". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 29, 2020. Archived from the original on May 1, 2020.
- "Newburyport/Rockport Trains between Rockport and West Gloucester Replaced with Shuttle Buses through Summer 2021" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 9, 2020.