West Newton (MBTA station)

WEST NEWTON

West Newton station in May 2011
Location 1395 Washington Street
Newton, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°20′52″N 71°13′51″W / 42.34780°N 71.23075°W / 42.34780; -71.23075Coordinates: 42°20′52″N 71°13′51″W / 42.34780°N 71.23075°W / 42.34780; -71.23075
Owned by MBTA
Line(s)
  Framingham/Worcester Line
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 2
Connections MBTA Buses
Construction
Parking 45 spaces ($4.00 fee)
Other information
Fare zone 2
History
Opened 1834
Traffic
Passengers (2013) 284 (weekday inbound average)[1]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
toward Worcester
Framingham/Worcester Line
  Former services  
New York Central Railroad
toward Worcester
Worcester Line
toward Boston

West Newton is a regional rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester Line, located inside the Massachusetts Turnpike Exit 16 rotary in West Newton, Massachusetts. Except for a brief period in 1981, West Newton has had rail service since 1834. The station consists of a single low side platform serving one of the line's two tracks, with small crossings to access trains on the far track. West Newton is not handicapped accessible.

History

A stagecoach and train at West Newton in 1834

West Newton was the first terminus of the Boston and Worcester Railroad in April 1834, and one of the first locations in the world from which workers could commute to a city by rail for regular working hours. The Railroad Hotel originally served as the train station.[2]

By the late 1840s, a dedicated station building was located on the north side of the tracks just west of Chestnut Street.[3] By the 1870s, West Newton was a flag stop, with a larger station building on the south side of the tracks.[4]

Except for six weeks in 1981, West Newton has had continuous rail service since 1834. As part of service cutbacks due to declining funding, West Newton was closed along with Auburndale, West Gloucester, Uphams Corner, and Morton Street on January 30, 1981.[5] West Newton and Auburndale reopened on March 16, 1981, though the other three stations did not.[5]

A 2011 village plan prepared for the city by MIT proposed a four-story development integrated with a rebuilt commuter rail station, with two high-level side platforms providing handicapped accessible boarding on both tracks.[6]

Bus connections

Two MBTA Bus express routes serve West Newton:

References

  1. ↑ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  2. ↑ Harwood, Herbert H. (Spring 1992). "History Where You Don't Expect It: Some Surprising Survivors". Railroad History (166): 103–125. JSTOR 43523701. (subscription required (help)).
  3. ↑ Woodward, E.F.; Ward, W.F. (April 1848). "Map of the Town of Newton".
  4. ↑ "South East Part of West Newton". Atlas of Newton. J.B. Beers & Co. 1874 – via Ward Maps.
  5. 1 2 Belcher, Jonathan (27 June 2015). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district 1964-2015" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  6. ↑ 2011 Community Growth and Land Use Planning Practicum (December 2011). "WEST NEWTON VILLAGE AREA PLAN" (PDF). MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning. pp. 146–148.
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