Dedham Corporate Center (MBTA station)

DEDHAM CORP. CTR/128

An outbound train enters Dedham Corporate Center station in 2012
Location 125 Allied Drive
Dedham, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°13′37″N 71°10′27″W / 42.2270°N 71.1743°W / 42.2270; -71.1743Coordinates: 42°13′37″N 71°10′27″W / 42.2270°N 71.1743°W / 42.2270; -71.1743
Line(s)
  Franklin Line
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Construction
Parking 497 spaces ($4.00 fee)
11 accessible spaces
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Fare zone 2
History
Opened January 15, 1990[1]
Previous names Dedham Junction (1881-1899)
Rust Craft (1955-1977)
Traffic
Passengers (2013) 806 (daily inbound average)[2]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
Franklin Line
Terminus
Franklin Line
Game day special service only

Dedham Corporate Center (signed as Dedham Corporate Center/128) is a station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Franklin Line, which runs from Franklin, Massachusetts to Boston. The station is located just off exit 14 of Interstate 95/Route 128 and serves mostly as a park-and-ride location for inbound riders. The station consists of two platforms (each a long low asphalt platform with a short high-level platform for handicapped accessibility) serving the Franklin Line's two tracks. Previous stations named Dedham Junction (1881-1884 and 1888-1899) and Rust Craft (1977) were located near the modern site.

History

Dedham Junction

The Norfolk County Railroad completed their Midland Division from Islington to Boston in January 1855.[3] No station was originally located at the modern location, which was in the middle of a swamp until the middle of the 20th century. The line passed through several operators and finally to the New York and New England Railroad in 1875.[3]

In 1881, the NY&NE built a branch from Dedham Junction (near the modern station site) to Dedham to replace the Norfolk County's original route to Dedham. This allowed the railroad to (unsuccessfully) compete with the Boston and Providence Railroad's Dedham Loop for Boston-Dedham commuter traffic.[3] The branch was closed in 1884, but reopened in 1888 by state commission order. In 1890 a short leg allowing Dedham-Islington travel for the Old Colony Railroad's Wrentham Branch was opened; trains using this route skipped Dedham Junction station. By 1898, the New Haven Railroad had acquired the Old Colony, NY&NE, and the Boston & Providence. With the New Haven having no need for four routes to the small town of Dedham, the southern branch was soon abandoned. Service via Dedham Junction ended in 1899 and via Islington in 1904.[3]

Rust Craft

The 2014-built kiss-and-ride lane in 2015

On May 2, 1955, the New Haven Railroad opened Rust Craft station off Rustcraft Road, just east of the modern station location. The station, which served the Rust Craft greeting card plant, was the first reverse commute-focused station on the MBTA system and was "hailed as the start of a new era".[4] Rust Craft station was closed in 1977 due to low ridership.[1][4]

Dedham Corporate Center

During the 1980s, the Dedham Corporate Center office park was built nearby due to convenient access to Route 128 and Route 1. On January 15, 1990, Dedham Corporate Center station was opened.[1] As well as providing access to the office park, the station provides nearly 500 parking spaces for commuters riding to Boston, as well as access to the office park for workers coming from both directions on the line.

In late 2014, a kiss and ride dropoff lane was built on the north side of the station off Rustcraft Road.[5]

Dedham Corporate Center is the only stop between Back Bay and Foxboro on special game day service for New England Patriots home games at Gillette Stadium.[6]

Bus connections

No MBTA bus routes directly serve Dedham Corporate Center station. The nearest route is the 34E Walpole - Forest Hills Station via Washington Street, which runs on Route 1A (Washington Street) about half a mile to the northwest.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Belcher, Jonathan (31 August 2012). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 295–298. ISBN 0942147022.
  4. 1 2 Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 46. ISBN 9780685412947.
  5. ↑ "Conservation Commission Meeting 9-4-14". Town of Dedham Conservation Commission. 14 September 2015. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "New England Patriots Football Trains to Gillette". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dedham Corporate Center (MBTA station).
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.