Medford/Tufts station

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Medford/Tufts
Medford Tufts station under construction, December 2021.JPG
Medford/Tufts station under construction in December 2021
LocationCollege Avenue at Boston Avenue
Medford, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°24′29.35″N 71°7′2.37″W / 42.4081528°N 71.1173250°W / 42.4081528; -71.1173250Coordinates: 42°24′29.35″N 71°7′2.37″W / 42.4081528°N 71.1173250°W / 42.4081528; -71.1173250
Line(s)Medford Branch
Platforms1 island platform (Green Line)
Tracks2 (Lowell Line)
2 (Green Line)
Construction
Bicycle facilities"Pedal and Park" bicycle cage
Disabled accessYes
History
OpenedSeptember 15, 1977 (Lowell Line)[2]
OpeningMay 2022 (Green Line - planned)
ClosedOctober 1979 (Lowell Line)[1]
Previous namesCollege Hill (until c. 1900)
Tufts College (until 1958)
Tufts University (1977–1979)
Services
Preceding station MBTA.svg MBTA Following station
Terminus Green Line
E branch
 Ball Square
toward Heath Street
Proposed services
Preceding station MBTA.svg MBTA Following station
Route 16
Terminus
 Green Line
E branch
 Ball Square
toward Heath Street
Former services
Preceding station MBTA.svg MBTA Following station
West Medford
toward Lowell or Woburn
 Lowell Line
1977–1979
 North Station
Terminus
Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station
Medford Hillside
toward Concord, NH
 Boston – Concord, NH
Until 1958
 North Somerville
toward Boston

Medford/Tufts station is an under-construction light rail station on the MBTA Green Line E branch, to be located at College Avenue next to Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. It will be the northern terminus of the E branch. Medford/Tufts will consist of one island platform, which will serve the E branch's two tracks. The station is expected to open in May 2022 as part of the Green Line Extension.

Previous commuter rail stations on what is now the Lowell Line were located nearby from the mid 19th century to 1958, and from 1977 to 1979.

History[]

Railroad stations[]

Tufts University station with a Budd RDC in September 1977

The Boston and Lowell Railroad opened through Medford in 1835, though local stops were not added immediately. Cambridge Road station was in use at what is now Harvard Street by 1852.[3] Tufts College was founded that year; by 1855, Cambridge Road was replaced with Tufts College station on the west side of the tracks at what is now College Avenue.[4][5]

Soon renamed College Hill, the station building was a converted residential structure. The college's post office was located in the station, with the station agent serving as the postmaster, until a separate post office was built nearby in 1885.[4] By 1889, the station was located on the north side of the tracks just west of College Avenue.[6] On May 3, 1897, the older station building was replaced with a brick structure, located on the opposite side of the tracks and slightly to the south at Pearson Street.[7][8] At that time, it was renamed Tufts College, matching the post office name, at the request of students.[8][9] The former station was twice burnt by students during riots after football games in November 1905.[10]

Tufts College station was commonly used by students; special trains operated direct from the station for some away football games.[11] However, streetcars consolidated under the Boston Elevated Railway cut sharply into local railroad traffic. The station building was repurposed by around 1920 as a theatre workshop, with a small wooden shelter for passengers.[12] On April 18, 1958, the Public Utilities Commission approved a vast set of cuts to Boston and Maine Railroad commuter service, including the closure of North Somerville, Tufts College, and Medford Hillside stations.[13] The three stations were closed on May 18, 1958, amid the first of a series of cuts.[14][15]

On September 15, 1977, the MBTA opened Tufts University station near the Tufts College station site.[1][2] It was abandoned in October 1979 due to poor ridership.[1] A College Avenue commuter rail station was listed in 2012 as a possible interim air quality mitigation measure in response to delays in building the Green Line Extension. However, such a station would have been costly to build and could not have been completed by the 2015 deadline, and was thus not supported by MassDOT.[16]

Green Line station[]

Platform construction in September 2020

In December 2016, the projected opening of the station was delayed to 2021.[17] The station name was called College Avenue during planning; the change to Medford/Tufts was announced on January 2, 2020[18] Tufts will pay $2 million in maintenance costs over 10 years in exchange for the name.[19]

Construction on the station began by August 2020, with retaining wall work preceding it.[20] Public art at the station will include Speeding Green Line – a blurred mural over the station entrance – as well as murals on panels on station signs.[21] Original plans called for the D branch to be extended to Medford/Tufts.[22][23] However, in April 2021, the MBTA indicated that the Medford branch would instead be served by the E branch.[24] A pedestrian bridge parallel to College Avenue was installed on May 8, 2021.[25]

By March 2021, the station was expected to open in December 2021.[26] In June 2021, the MBTA indicated an additional delay, under which the station is expected to open in May 2022.[27]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. ^ a b 1977 Annual Report. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 1977.
  3. ^ Draper, Martin, Jr. (1852). "Map of Somerville, Mass". J.T. Powers & Co.
  4. ^ a b Dennison, Edward B. (March 1936). "Medford Railroad Stations: Notes and Reminiscences". The Medford Historical Register. Vol. 39, no. 1 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Kollner, Augustus (1855). "Map of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Mass : surveyed by order of the town". H.F. Walling.
  6. ^ Part of Medford. Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Geo. H. Walker & Co. 1889. pp. 26–27.
  7. ^ "Plate 34". Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Vol. 1. George W. Stadley & Co. 1900.
  8. ^ a b "Tufts College Notes". Boston Globe. April 28, 1897. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Tufts College Station". Boston Globe. January 8, 1897. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Once More Fired". Boston Globe. November 25, 1905. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Triumphant Home Coming for the Tufts Eleven". Boston Globe. November 19, 1917. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Rollins, Edwin B. (1920). "Front view of shelter at Tufts College railroad station". hdl:10427/301 – via Tufts Digital Library.
  13. ^ "Drastic Service Cuts Approved on Five B.& M. Divisions". Daily Boston Globe. April 19, 1958. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  14. ^ Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 57. ISBN 9780685412947.
  15. ^ "B.&M. Closes Saugus Branch, 3 Other Lines". Daily Boston Globe. May 17, 1958. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  16. ^ Central Transportation Planning Staff (January 23, 2012). "Green Line Extension SIP Mitigation Inventory" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 2, 2014.
  17. ^ Dungca, Nicole (December 7, 2016). "New Green Line stations are delayed until 2021". Boston Globe. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  18. ^ "New MBTA Green Line Station to Be Named "Medford/Tufts"". Tufts Now. Tufts University. January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  19. ^ DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (January 3, 2020). "Tufts is paying $2 million to name a Green Line Extension station". Boston Globe.
  20. ^ "GLX Community Working Group Monthly Meeting: August 4, 2020". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 4, 2020. p. 11.
  21. ^ "GLX Community Working Group Monthly Meeting #39". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. February 2, 2021.
  22. ^ "MBTA Light Rail Transit System OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE PLAN" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. January 6, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2017.
  23. ^ "Travel Forecasts: Systemwide Stats and SUMMIT Results" (PDF). Green Line Extension Project: FY 2012 New Starts Submittal. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. January 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2017.
  24. ^ DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (April 9, 2021). "The MBTA is planning to open part of the Green Line Extension this October". Boston Globe. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  25. ^ Wagner, Jeff (June 1, 2021). "GLXC Construction Update". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 23.
  26. ^ "Report from the General Manager" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 29, 2021. p. 20.
  27. ^ Dalton, John (June 21, 2021). "Green Line Extension Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 19.

External links[]

Media related to Medford/Tufts station at Wikimedia Commons

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