West Newton station

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West Newton
West Newton MBTA Station, West Newton MA.jpg
West Newton station in May 2011
Location1395 Washington Street, Newton, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°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 byMBTA
Line(s)Worcester Line
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 170, 505, 553, 554
Construction
Parking45 spaces ($4.00 fee)
Other information
Fare zone2
History
Opened1834
Passengers
2018256 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA.svg MBTA Following station
Auburndale
toward Worcester
Framingham/​Worcester Line Newtonville
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station
Auburndale
toward Albany
Boston and Albany Railroad
Main Line
Newtonville
toward Boston

West Newton station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Newton, Massachusetts. It serves the Framingham/Worcester Line, and is located inside the Massachusetts Turnpike Exit 16 rotary in the village of West Newton. 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]

The station was either temporarily closed or reduced to one daily round trip along with Auburndale on January 30, 1981, as part of a series of service cuts due to a budget crisis.[5][6] Normal service resumed to Auburndale and West Newton on March 16, 1981.[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.[7]

Design for an accessible platform on the north side of the tracks reached 30% in November 2020 and was expected to be complete in spring 2022.[8] The designs were later changed to have two platforms to reduce operational impacts. The new design reached 30% completion in October 2021.[9]

Bus connections[]

West Newton is served by one local MBTA bus route and two express routes with a stop on Washington Street at Elm Street:

An additional express bus route stops on Washington Street at Prospect Street:

  • 505: Waltham Center–Federal Street & Franklin Street

Accessibility plans[]

References[]

  1. ^ Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  2. ^ Harwood, Herbert H. (Spring 1992). "History Where You Don't Expect It: Some Surprising Survivors". Railroad History (166): 103–125. JSTOR 43523701.
  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. ^ a b Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  6. ^ "T changes start today". Boston Globe. February 1, 1981. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Brelsford, Laura (May 24, 2021). "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—May 2021" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. p. 6.
  9. ^ "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2021" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. December 2021. p. 7.

External links[]

Media related to West Newton station at Wikimedia Commons

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