Braintree station (MBTA)

Braintree
Red Line trains at Braintree station in August 2018
Location	197 Ivory Street, Braintree, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°12′27″N 71°00′05″W / 42.2074°N 71.0014°W / 42.2074; -71.0014Coordinates: 42°12′27″N 71°00′05″W / 42.2074°N 71.0014°W / 42.2074; -71.0014
Line(s)	Old Colony Main Line Braintree Branch
Platforms	1 island platform (Red Line) 1 island platform (Commuter Rail)
Tracks	2 (Red Line) 2 (Commuter Rail)
Connections	MBTA bus: 226, 230, 236
Construction
Parking	1,322 spaces ($9.00 fee)
Bicycle facilities	30 spaces; "Pedal and Park" bicycle cage
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	2 (Commuter Rail)
History
Opened	March 22, 1980 (1980-03-22) (Red Line) September 29, 1997 (1997-09-29) (Commuter Rail)
Passengers
FY2019	4,473 weekday boardings[1] (Red Line)
2018	204 (weekday boardings)[2] (Commuter Rail)
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Quincy Adams toward Alewife Red Line Terminus Quincy Center toward South Station Middleborough/​Lakeville Line Holbrook/​Randolph toward Middleborough/​Lakeville Kingston Line South Weymouth toward Kingston South Station Terminus CapeFLYER Brockton toward Hyannis
show Former services Preceding station Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad Following station Terminus Braintree-Hyannis Closed 1988 Holbrook toward Hyannis or Falmouth
show Former services (pre-1959) Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station Braintree station Quincy Adams toward Boston Boston–​Braintree Terminus toward Boston Granite Branch Service ended 1940 Quincy toward Boston South Shore Line toward Greenbush Boston–​Plymouth South Braintree toward Plymouth Boston–​Middleborough South Braintree toward Middleborough South Braintree station Braintree toward Boston Boston–​Plymouth South Weymouth toward Plymouth Boston–​Middleborough toward Middleborough

Braintree station is an intermodal transit station in Braintree, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA's Red Line and the MBTA Commuter Rail Old Colony Lines as well as MBTA buses.

It is located at Ivory and Union Streets. The tracks of the Red Line and commuter rail lines are all parallel to one another, their platforms are offset; the commuter rail platform is located north of Union Street, while the Red Line platform is south of the street. The station features a large park and ride garage, with space for 1,322 automobiles. Braintree is fully accessible on all modes.

History[]

The 1997-opened commuter rail platform

The Old Colony Railroad had its Braintree station at Braintree Square at the junction with the South Shore Railroad, with South Braintree station at Pearl Street where the lines to Plymouth and to Middleborough split. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad attempted to remove seven grade crossings in Quincy and Braintree in 1908, but met resistance from the towns.^[3] Another plan in 1913 to build road bridges at School, Elm, and River streets and an underpass at Union Street also fell through.^[4] The School Street crossing was eliminated by the construction of Church Street in 1936, and a Union Street underpass was built in 1937.^[5][6] Old Colony Division service ended on June 30, 1959, as the Southeast Expressway was completed. Expressway construction had included a bridge for Elm Street, while River Street was severed.

A groundbreaking ceremony for Braintree station was held on July 13, 1977.^[7] The station opened on March 22, 1980, for Red Line service.^[8] Between 1984 and 1988, the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad operated a state-subsidized seasonal weekend service from Braintree to Hyannis, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.^[9][10] Commuter rail service began on September 26, 1997, when the Old Colony Lines re-opened; the Pearl Street grade crossing was replaced with a railroad bridge during construction.^[8] The station has been accessible since at least 1989.^[11]

From 1980 to 2007, a double entry fare and single exit fare were charged at Braintree and Quincy Adams when leaving the subway. The extra fares were discontinued as part of a fare increase and service change on January 1, 2007.^[12] Similar charges existed until 1980 on the inner stations on the Braintree Branch.

Although built to last 50 years, the parking garage at Braintree began suffering concrete damage due to water leakage and ill-fitting structural elements. Repairs were performed to the Quincy Adams and Braintree garages in the mid 1990s. In 2015, the MBTA began a $4.4 million project to address urgent structural issues with the two garages, though full repair or replacement was still needed.^[13] Further construction on the Braintree garage took place in 2016.^[14] The deteriorated footbridge between the garage and station was closed in February 2017.^[15] \

The garage is being fully renovated from May 2018 through 2021 at a cost of $29 million; the station and garage were originally planned to remain open during the whole project. The work includes a canopy over the ramp to the commuter rail platform, and a canopy to replace the former footbridge.^[15] 400 garage spaces closed on February 10, 2020 to allow the project to be completed by June 2021 rather than December 2021.^[16] The garage was closed from October 5, 2020, to April 20, 2021, when part of the garage reopened.^[17][18]

Station layout[]

The two island platforms are highly offset, with different street entrances.

Bus connections[]

A route 236 bus at Braintree in 2018

Three MBTA bus routes serve a busway next to the Red Line platform at Braintree:

• 226: Columbian Square–Braintree station
• 230: Montello station–Quincy Center station
• 236: South Shore Plaza–Quincy Center station

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Braintree station (MBTA).

• MBTA - Braintree
• MBTA - South Shore Garages