Fairmount Line

Fairmount Line
     Fairmount Line

Uphams Corner station
Overview
Type Commuter rail line
System Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Status Operating
Locale Eastern Massachusetts
Termini Boston South Station
Readville
Stations 5
Daily ridership 1,561[1]
Operation
Owner MBTA
Operator(s) MBCR
Character Elevated and surface-level
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Route map
Legend
Urban railway Unknown BSicon "KINTACCa"
South Station
Straight track
Amtrak NEC, Framingham/Worcester,
Continuation to left Junction to right
Needham, and Providence/Stoughton Lines
Bridge over water
Fort Point Channel
Junction to left Continuation to right
Greenbush and Old Colony Lines
Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Newmarket (under construction)
Station on track
Uphams Corner
Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Four Corners/Geneva (under construction)
Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Talbot Avenue (under construction)
Station on track
Morton Street
Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Blue Hill Avenue (planned)
Bridge over water
Neponset River
Station on track
Fairmount
Bridge over water
Neponset River
Junction to left Continuation to right
Amtrak NEC and Providence/Stoughton Line
Unknown BSicon "hACC"
Readville
Continuation to left Junction from right
South Station via Back Bay
Unknown BSicon "CONTd"
Franklin Line

This route map: view · MBTA Commuter Rail system in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Except for a short portion in Milton, it lies entirely within Boston, progressing in a southwesterly trajectory, passing through the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park. It sees service roughly every half hour during rush hours and every hour at other times, with no night or weekend service. Most trains reverse direction at the south end at Readville, but a few continue onto the Franklin Line or Providence/Stoughton Line. The Fairmount Line itself has only five stations - three plus the two termini, South Station and Readville; however, four additional stations are planned to be open by 2015.

Contents

History

The line was built as an entrance to Boston for the Norfolk County Railroad and its successors, which originally had to rely on a connection via the Boston and Providence Railroad from Dedham. The new line, built in 1855, split from the old one at Islington and ran northeast, crossing the Boston and Providence Railroad at Readville (the south junction with its Dedham Branch). It continued on through Hyde Park and Dorchester before crossing the Old Colony Railroad into South Boston and then making a sweeping curve along a trestle west to downtown Boston and a terminal at Dewey Square.

After several failed reorganizations, the line became part of the New York and New England Railroad in 1873 and the New England Railroad in 1895. The New England was leased to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1898 and became their Midland Division. The line was operationally split at Readville, the crossing of the Boston and Providence (also leased by the NYNH&H), with many trains using the Midland from the southwest switching to the B&P, and some on the B&P from the south switching to the Midland.

Map showing the original South Boston routing

In 1899 the new South Station union station opened, and a new set of tracks was built for the Midland on the west side of the Old Colony Railroad mainline, also part of the NYNH&H. The old South Boston station (located on West 1st Street between A and B Streets) was abandoned, being north of the junction with the new alignment, and the old terminal was no longer used, with the last bit of the old line (over Fort Point Channel) removed, and the rest used for freight only. South Boston was however served by the station that had been built for the Old Colony, now between the Old Colony and Midland tracks.

Passenger service last ran on the Midland in 1944 after a long period of declining ridership. The MBTA bought the line (since merged into Penn Central) in 1976 (the part south of Readville was bought in 1973 as part of the Franklin Line) and modernized it for use as a bypass while the old B&P was closed for sinking as part of the Southwest Corridor project. This happened on November 3, 1979, when all trains on the Franklin and Providence/Stoughton Lines were rerouted via the Midland. Three of the old stations - Fairmount, Morton Street and Uphams Corner - were reopened, and a special shuttle was run between South Station and Back Bay to get Franklin and Attleboro/Providence passengers to Back Bay.

On October 5, 1987, the new Southwest Corridor opened. The MBTA had planned to suspend all service on the Midland, but the community protested and a shuttle was kept between South Station and Fairmount (including intermediate stops). The shuttle was extended to Readville on November 30, 1987, re-establishing service between the south and the Fairmount Line. Since then, several Franklin and Providence/Stoughton Line trips have been rerouted via the Fairmount Line to reduce load on the three-track Southwest Corridor and supplement the shuttle service.

The corridor currently serves mostly low-income and working-class communities.[2]

Improvement project

Map of the line showing the new stations

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts agreed in 2005 to make improvements on the Fairmount Line part of its legally binding commitment to mitigate increased air pollution from the Big Dig. To comply with the State Implementation Plan filed with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, these improvements must be complete by December 31, 2011. As an interim deadline, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation must "complete final design, apply for all necessary permits and grants, file any required legislation, and initiate all public and private land acquisition" by December 1, 2009.[3]

The existing Uphams Corner and Morton Street stations have been rebuilt, featuring high-level train platforms for easy boarding, canopies, access ramps, electronic message boards, and pedestrian-friendly walkways. At the completion of the project, all stations on the line will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and be wheelchair-accessible.[4] Four new stations will be constructed at Four Corners, Talbot Avenue, Blue Hill Avenue, and Newmarket Square. Six bridges will be also reconstructed, one new interlocking will be added, and the signal system will be rebuilt.[4]

The MBTA has allocated $37 million to the project[citation needed] and $39 million has been allocated from the Commonwealth from the Emergency Needs Bond Bill of 2007.[3] The total cost of the project is estimated at $79.4 million.[5]

The addition of new stations and the upgrades to the existing infrastructure are projected to divert 220 trips from automobiles to transit,[6] and increase daily weekday ridership on the line from around 2,800 to 7,300 passengers.[7]

The plan adopted by the MBTA is based on the Indigo Line plan advanced by community activists, which was intended to make the characteristics of the line more like rapid transit than commuter rail, with increased frequency and number of stops. That plan also called for the use of diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars for faster acceleration and deceleration (which the MBTA is not planning to adopt by the 2011 deadline.)

Accessibility

South Station, Uphams Corner, and Readville are handicapped accessible. See also MBTA accessibility.

Station listing

All stations are in Boston, Massachusetts, though a short portion of the line south of River Street is in Milton.

Milepost Station Opening date Connections and notes
0.0 South Station 1899 Connections to Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited, Northeast Regional, and Acela Express; MBTA Commuter Rail Greenbush Line, Old Colony Lines, Providence/Stoughton Line, Needham Line, Franklin Line, and Framingham/Worcester Line; MBTA rapid transit Red Line and Silver Line
1.1 South Bay Junction never a station
splits from Old Colony Lines (MBTA)
before 1899, the line went northeast from here with a stop at South Boston and a terminal at the foot of Summer Street downtown
1.95 Newmarket planned, at Newmarket Square, design complete, construction to start in 2010
2.4 Uphams Corner November 3, 1979 formerly Dudley Street
2.8 Bird Street closed
3.6 Mount Bowdoin closed
3.75 Four Corners under construction, at the crossing with Washington Street; expected to open late 2012
4.1 Harvard Street closed
4.5 Talbot Avenue planned, at the crossing with Talbot Avenue, design complete, construction to start in 2010
4.7 Dorchester closed
5.3 Morton Street November 3, 1979 formerly Forest Avenue
5.9 Mattapan closed
6.0 Blue Hill Avenue planned, at the corner of Blue Hill Avenue, in design
6.5 Rugby closed
6.8 River Street closed
7.9 Fairmount November 3, 1979
8.3 Glenwood closed
9.2 Handicapped/disabled access Readville splits with connections to the Franklin Line and the Providence/Stoughton Line

External links

References

  1. ^ "Ridership and Service Statistics". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2010. http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/documents/Bluebook%202010.pdf. Retrieved 3 August 2011. 
  2. ^ Fairmount/Indigo Line Coalition Comments on Fare Increase, 6/29/2006
  3. ^ a b "State Implementation Plan – Transit Commitments: Status Report". Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. 2 July 2007. http://www.eot.state.ma.us/downloads/sip/07sipAnnualRpt.pdf. Retrieved 3 August 2011. 
  4. ^ a b "Fairmount Line Improvements". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/t_projects/?id=1426. Retrieved 3 August 2011. 
  5. ^ Draft 2008-2013 MBTA Capital Improvement Plan, p. 128.
  6. ^ 2004 MBTA Program for Mass Transportation, Appendix, Table C-15.
  7. ^ Mac Daniel, "T To Begin Upgrade of Fairmount Rail Corridor," The Boston Globe, April 14, 2005

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fairmount (MBTA station) — Infobox Station name=Fairmount image size= image caption= address=Fairmount Ave Truman Hwy Hyde Park, MA 02136 coordinates= line=rail color box|system=MBTA|line=Fairmount other= platform=2 side platforms tracks=2 parking=51 spaces, $2.00 each… …   Wikipedia

  • Fairmount, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Fairmount is a United States neighborhood in the North Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The name Fairmount itself derives from the prominent hill on which the Philadelphia Museum of Art now sits, and where William Penn originally… …   Wikipedia

  • Fairmount Heights, Maryland — Fairmount Heights is also a suburban neighborhood outside of Northeast Washington, D.C. Infobox Settlement official name = Fairmount Heights, Maryland settlement type = Town nickname = motto = imagesize = image caption = image imagesize = image… …   Wikipedia

  • Fairmount (SEPTA station) — Infobox Station name=Fairmount image size= image caption= address=700 N. Broad Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania line=rail color box|system=SEPTA|line=Broad Street|note=Local, Ridge Spur other=Bus routes 61, C platform=2 side platforms (upper… …   Wikipedia

  • Fairmount, Indiana — Infobox Settlement official name = Town of Fairmount, Indiana settlement type = Town nickname = imagesize = 250px image caption = Fairmount from the air, looking southwest mapsize = 250px map caption = Location in the state of Indiana mapsize1 =… …   Wikipedia

  • Fairmount, Illinois — Infobox Settlement official name = Fairmount other name = nickname = settlement type = Village motto = imagesize = image caption = flag size = image seal size = image shield = shield size = image blank emblem = blank emblem type = blank emblem… …   Wikipedia

  • Fairmount, North Dakota — Infobox Settlement official name = Fairmount, North Dakota settlement type = City nickname = motto = Where the Sun Shines First in North Dakota imagesize = image caption = image mapsize = 250px map caption = Location of Fairmount, North Dakota… …   Wikipedia

  • Fairmount and Veblen Railway — The Fairmount and Veblen Railway (F V) was a short line railroad which operated in Richland County, North Dakota; Roberts County, South Dakota; and Marshall County, South Dakota.The railroad was established in 1913, and that year constructed… …   Wikipedia

  • Fairmount, New York — Infobox Settlement official name = Fairmount, New York settlement type = CDP nickname = motto = imagesize = image caption = image |pushpin pushpin label position = pushpin map caption =Location within the state of New York pushpin mapsize =… …   Wikipedia

  • Fairmount, Georgia — Infobox Settlement official name = Fairmount, Georgia other name = native name = nickname = settlement type = City motto = imagesize = image caption = flag size = image seal size = image shield = shield size = image blank emblem = blank emblem… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”