Fairmount Line
Encyclopedia
The Fairmount Line or Dorchester Branch is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. It is operated under contract by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a joint partnership of Veolia Transportation, Bombardier Transportation and Alternate...

 system in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Except for a short portion in Milton
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...

, it lies entirely within Boston, progressing in a southwesterly trajectory, passing through the neighborhoods of Dorchester
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...

, Mattapan
Mattapan, Massachusetts
Mattapan is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. Historically a section of neighboring Dorchester, Mattapan became a part of Boston when Dorchester was annexed in 1870. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 36,480...

 and Hyde Park
Hyde Park, Massachusetts
Hyde Park is a dissolved municipality and currently the southernmost neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Hyde Park is home to a diverse range of people, housing types and social groups. It is an urban location with suburban characteristics...

. It sees service roughly every half hour during rush hours and every hour at other times, with no night or weekend service. Most trains reverse direction at the south end at Readville
Readville (MBTA station)
Readville is a station on the MBTA commuter rail's Franklin Line from Franklin to Boston, Massachusetts and is also the terminus of the MBTA's Fairmount Line commuter rail line. A few Fairmount trains continue onto the Franklin Line...

, but a few continue onto the Franklin Line
Franklin Line
The Franklin Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts. Most Franklin Line trains connect to the Providence/Stoughton Line at Readville though some weekday trains use the Fairmount Line to access South Station...

 or Providence/Stoughton Line
Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running southwest from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The main line was originally built by the Boston and Providence Rail Road, and now carries service between Boston and T. F. Green Airport, Rhode Island...

. The Fairmount Line itself has only five stations - three plus the two termini, South Station
South Station
South Station, New England's second-largest transportation center , located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston, a prominent train station in the northeastern...

 and Readville
Readville (MBTA station)
Readville is a station on the MBTA commuter rail's Franklin Line from Franklin to Boston, Massachusetts and is also the terminus of the MBTA's Fairmount Line commuter rail line. A few Fairmount trains continue onto the Franklin Line...

; however, four additional stations are planned to be open by 2015.

History

The line was built as an entrance to Boston for the Norfolk County Railroad and its successors, which originally had to rely on a connection via the Boston and Providence Railroad from Dedham
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...

. The new line, built in 1855, split from the old one at Islington
Islington (MBTA station)
Islington is a station on the MBTA Commuter Rail's Franklin Line from Franklin, Massachusetts to Boston, Massachusetts.-External links:*...

 and ran northeast, crossing the Boston and Providence Railroad at Readville
Readville, Massachusetts
Readville, called Low Plains from 1655 until renaming in 1847 after Mr. James Read originally part of Dedham until 1867 but now a part of Boston, is considered either a part of the Hyde Park neighborhood, or a neighborhood in its own right. It is served by Readville station on the MBTA Commuter Rail...

 (the south junction with its Dedham Branch). It continued on through Hyde Park
Hyde Park, Massachusetts
Hyde Park is a dissolved municipality and currently the southernmost neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Hyde Park is home to a diverse range of people, housing types and social groups. It is an urban location with suburban characteristics...

 and Dorchester
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...

 before crossing the Old Colony Railroad
Old Colony Railroad
The Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod...

 into South Boston and then making a sweeping curve along a trestle
Trestle
A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, especially referring to a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by such frames. In the context of trestle bridges, each supporting frame is generally referred to as a bent...

 west to downtown Boston and a terminal at Dewey Square.

After several failed reorganizations, the line became part of the New York and New England Railroad
New York and New England Railroad
The New York and New England Railroad was a major railroad connecting southern New York state with Hartford, Connecticut, Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was known as the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad, which had been formed by...

 in 1873 and the New England Railroad in 1895. The New England was leased to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...

 in 1898 and became their Midland Division. The line was operationally split at Readville
Readville (MBTA station)
Readville is a station on the MBTA commuter rail's Franklin Line from Franklin to Boston, Massachusetts and is also the terminus of the MBTA's Fairmount Line commuter rail line. A few Fairmount trains continue onto the Franklin Line...

, the crossing of the Boston and Providence (also leased by the NYNH&H), with many trains using the Midland from the southwest switching to the B&P, and some on the B&P from the south switching to the Midland.
In 1899 the new South Station
South Station
South Station, New England's second-largest transportation center , located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston, a prominent train station in the northeastern...

 union station
Union station
A union station is the term used for a train station where tracks and facilities are shared by two or more railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently between them...

 opened, and a new set of tracks was built for the Midland on the west side of the Old Colony Railroad
Old Colony Railroad
The Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod...

 mainline, also part of the NYNH&H. The old South Boston station (located on West 1st Street between A and B Streets) was abandoned, being north of the junction with the new alignment, and the old terminal was no longer used, with the last bit of the old line (over Fort Point Channel
Fort Point Channel
Fort Point Channel is a maritime channel separating South Boston from downtown Boston, Massachusetts, feeding into Boston Harbor. The south part of it has been gradually filled in for use by the South Bay rail yard and several highways...

) removed, and the rest used for freight only. South Boston was however served by the station that had been built for the Old Colony, now between the Old Colony and Midland tracks.

Passenger service last ran on the Midland in 1944 after a long period of declining ridership. The MBTA bought the line (since merged into Penn Central) in 1976 (the part south of Readville was bought in 1973 as part of the Franklin Line
Franklin Line
The Franklin Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts. Most Franklin Line trains connect to the Providence/Stoughton Line at Readville though some weekday trains use the Fairmount Line to access South Station...

) and modernized it for use as a bypass while the old B&P was closed for sinking as part of the Southwest Corridor
Southwest Corridor
The Southwest Corridor or Southwest Expressway was a project designed to bring an eight-lane highway into the City of Boston from a direction southwesterly of downtown. It was supposed to connect with Interstate 95 at Route 128...

 project. This happened on November 3, 1979, when all trains on the Franklin
Franklin Line
The Franklin Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts. Most Franklin Line trains connect to the Providence/Stoughton Line at Readville though some weekday trains use the Fairmount Line to access South Station...

 and Providence/Stoughton Line
Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running southwest from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The main line was originally built by the Boston and Providence Rail Road, and now carries service between Boston and T. F. Green Airport, Rhode Island...

s were rerouted via the Midland. Three of the old stations - Fairmount, Morton Street and Uphams Corner - were reopened, and a special shuttle was run between South Station and Back Bay
Back Bay (MBTA station)
Back Bay station, located at 145 Dartmouth Street, between Stuart Street and Columbus Avenue, is a train station in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston...

 to get Franklin and Attleboro/Providence passengers to Back Bay.

On October 5, 1987, the new Southwest Corridor
Southwest Corridor
The Southwest Corridor or Southwest Expressway was a project designed to bring an eight-lane highway into the City of Boston from a direction southwesterly of downtown. It was supposed to connect with Interstate 95 at Route 128...

 opened. The MBTA had planned to suspend all service on the Midland, but the community protested and a shuttle was kept between South Station and Fairmount (including intermediate stops). The shuttle was extended to Readville on November 30, 1987, re-establishing service between the south and the Fairmount Line. Since then, several Franklin
Franklin Line
The Franklin Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts. Most Franklin Line trains connect to the Providence/Stoughton Line at Readville though some weekday trains use the Fairmount Line to access South Station...

 and Providence/Stoughton Line
Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running southwest from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The main line was originally built by the Boston and Providence Rail Road, and now carries service between Boston and T. F. Green Airport, Rhode Island...

 trips have been rerouted via the Fairmount Line to reduce load on the three-track Southwest Corridor and supplement the shuttle service.

The corridor currently serves mostly low-income and working-class communities.

Improvement project

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts agreed in 2005 to make improvements on the Fairmount Line part of its legally binding commitment to mitigate increased air pollution from the Big Dig. To comply with the State Implementation Plan
State Implementation Plan
A State Implementation Plan is a United States state plan for complying with the federal Clean Air Act, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency...

 filed with the federal Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...

, these improvements must be complete by December 31, 2011.
As an interim deadline, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation must "complete final design, apply for all necessary permits and grants, file any required legislation, and initiate all public and private land acquisition" by December 1, 2009.

The existing Uphams Corner
Uphams Corner (MBTA station)
Uphams Corner is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line. It is a stop between South Station and Morton Street . It is officially located at 691 Dudley Street in the Uphams Corner of the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, although the station is also on the...

 and Morton Street
Morton Street (MBTA station)
Morton Street is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line, on the Morton Street parkway. It is officially located at 865 Morton Street in the Mattapan section of Boston, Massachusetts, although access to the parking lot is available only from Morton Village Drive, which...

 stations have been rebuilt, featuring high-level train platforms for easy boarding, canopies, access ramps, electronic message boards, and pedestrian-friendly walkways. At the completion of the project, all stations on the line will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and be wheelchair-accessible.
Four new stations will be constructed at Four Corners, Talbot Avenue
Talbot Avenue (MBTA station)
Talbot Avenue is an under construction passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line.The new station will include high-level platforms, electronic message signs, and walkways connecting it to the community. Officials hope that the project, which will facilitate easier access to...

, Blue Hill Avenue
Blue Hill Avenue (MBTA station)
Blue Hill Avenue is an under construction passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line.The new station will include a high-level platform, electronic message signs, and walkways connecting it to the community. Officials hope that the project, which will facilitate easier access...

, and Newmarket Square
Newmarket (MBTA station)
Newmarket is an under construction passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line, positioned between existing stations South Station and Uphams Corner. The station will have two 800-foot high-level platforms and sloping walkways connecting it to Massachusetts Avenue.Bidding for...

. Six bridges will be also reconstructed, one new interlocking will be added, and the signal system will be rebuilt.

The MBTA has allocated $37 million to the project and $39 million has been allocated from the Commonwealth from the Emergency Needs Bond Bill of 2007. The total cost of the project is estimated at $79.4 million.

The addition of new stations and the upgrades to the existing infrastructure are projected to divert 220 trips from automobiles to transit, and increase daily weekday ridership on the line from around 2,800 to 7,300 passengers.

The plan adopted by the MBTA is based on the Indigo Line plan advanced by community activists, which was intended to make the characteristics of the line more like rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...

 than commuter rail, with increased frequency and number of stops. That plan also called for the use of diesel multiple unit
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...

 (DMU) cars for faster acceleration and deceleration (which the MBTA is not planning to adopt by the 2011 deadline.)

Accessibility

South Station, Uphams Corner, and Readville are handicapped accessible. See also MBTA accessibility
MBTA accessibility
Physical accessibility on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority system is incomplete but improving, with accessibility on all buses , all Orange Line stations, all but 2 Red Line stations, and all but 2 Blue Line stations...

.

Station listing

All stations are in Boston, Massachusetts, though a short portion of the line south of River Street is in Milton
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...

.
Milepost Station Opening date Connections and notes
0.0 South Station
South Station (Boston)
South Station, New England's second-largest transportation center , located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston, a prominent train station in the northeastern...

1899 Connections to Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited
Lake Shore Limited
The Lake Shore Limited is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. The train runs between Chicago and Albany, NY, where it divides into two sections that provide thru-service to New York and Boston...

, Northeast Regional, and Acela Express
Acela Express
The Acela Express is Amtrak's high-speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor in the Northeast United States between Washington, D.C., and Boston via Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York...

; MBTA Commuter Rail Greenbush Line
Greenbush Line
The Greenbush Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. The line restores service along the New Haven Railroad's Greenbush Branch, from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the towns of Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate on the South Shore of Boston...

, Old Colony Lines, Providence/Stoughton Line
Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running southwest from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The main line was originally built by the Boston and Providence Rail Road, and now carries service between Boston and T. F. Green Airport, Rhode Island...

, Needham Line
Needham Line
The Needham Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the Boston neighborhoods ofRoxbury,Jamaica Plain,Roslindale,West Roxbury, and the town ofNeedham....

, Franklin Line
Franklin Line
The Franklin Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts. Most Franklin Line trains connect to the Providence/Stoughton Line at Readville though some weekday trains use the Fairmount Line to access South Station...

, and Framingham/Worcester Line
Framingham/Worcester Line
The Framingham/Worcester Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts, though some trains terminate at Framingham, Massachusetts...

; MBTA rapid transit Red Line
Red Line (MBTA)
The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. The line begins west of Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...

 and Silver Line
Silver Line (MBTA)
The Silver Line is the only bus rapid transit line currently operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . It operates in two sections; the first runs from Dudley Square in Roxbury to downtown Boston, Massachusetts and South Station, mostly via Washington Street, with buses...

1.1 South Bay Junction never a station
splits from Old Colony Lines (MBTA)
before 1899, the line went northeast from here with a stop at South Boston and a terminal at the foot of Summer Street
Summer Street (Boston)
Summer Street in Boston, Massachusetts extends from Downtown Crossing in the Financial District, over Fort Point Channel, and into South Boston...

 downtown
1.95 Newmarket
Newmarket (MBTA station)
Newmarket is an under construction passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line, positioned between existing stations South Station and Uphams Corner. The station will have two 800-foot high-level platforms and sloping walkways connecting it to Massachusetts Avenue.Bidding for...

planned, at Newmarket Square, design complete, construction to start in 2010
2.4 Uphams Corner
Uphams Corner (MBTA station)
Uphams Corner is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line. It is a stop between South Station and Morton Street . It is officially located at 691 Dudley Street in the Uphams Corner of the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, although the station is also on the...

November 3, 1979 formerly Dudley Street
2.8 Bird Street closed
3.6 Mount Bowdoin closed
3.75 Four Corners under construction, at the crossing with Washington Street; expected to open late 2012
4.1 Harvard Street closed
4.5 Talbot Avenue
Talbot Avenue (MBTA station)
Talbot Avenue is an under construction passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line.The new station will include high-level platforms, electronic message signs, and walkways connecting it to the community. Officials hope that the project, which will facilitate easier access to...

planned, at the crossing with Talbot Avenue, design complete, construction to start in 2010
4.7 Dorchester closed
5.3 Morton Street
Morton Street (MBTA station)
Morton Street is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line, on the Morton Street parkway. It is officially located at 865 Morton Street in the Mattapan section of Boston, Massachusetts, although access to the parking lot is available only from Morton Village Drive, which...

November 3, 1979 formerly Forest Avenue
5.9 Mattapan closed
6.0 Blue Hill Avenue
Blue Hill Avenue (MBTA station)
Blue Hill Avenue is an under construction passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line.The new station will include a high-level platform, electronic message signs, and walkways connecting it to the community. Officials hope that the project, which will facilitate easier access...

planned, at the corner of Blue Hill Avenue, in design
6.5 Rugby closed
6.8 River Street closed
7.9 Fairmount
Fairmount (MBTA station)
Fairmount is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Fairmount Line It is the last stop on the Fairmount Line before it joins the Franklin Line at Readville Station....

November 3, 1979
8.3 Glenwood closed
9.2 Readville
Readville (MBTA station)
Readville is a station on the MBTA commuter rail's Franklin Line from Franklin to Boston, Massachusetts and is also the terminus of the MBTA's Fairmount Line commuter rail line. A few Fairmount trains continue onto the Franklin Line...

splits with connections to the Franklin Line
Franklin Line
The Franklin Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail runs from Boston's South Station in a southwesterly direction toward Franklin, Massachusetts. Most Franklin Line trains connect to the Providence/Stoughton Line at Readville though some weekday trains use the Fairmount Line to access South Station...

 and the Providence/Stoughton Line
Providence/Stoughton Line
The Providence/Stoughton Line is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running southwest from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The main line was originally built by the Boston and Providence Rail Road, and now carries service between Boston and T. F. Green Airport, Rhode Island...


External links

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