Braintree station (MBTA)

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.

Braintree
Red Line trains at Braintree station in August 2018
General information
Location	197 Ivory Street Braintree, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°12′27″N 71°00′05″W
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
Accessible	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
Former services Preceding station Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad Following station Terminus Braintree-Hyannis Closed 1988 Holbrook toward Hyannis or Falmouth Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station Braintree station Quincy Adams toward Boston Boston–​Braintree Terminus West Quincy toward Boston Granite Branch Service ended 1940 Quincy toward Boston South Shore Line East Braintree 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 Braintree Highlands toward Middleborough
Future Services Preceding station MBTA Following station Quincy Center toward South Station South Coast Rail Holbrook/​Randolph toward Fall River or New Bedford
Location

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.

Station layout

The Red Line entrance in 2015

The two Red Line tracks and two commuter rail tracks run parallel approximately north-south on an embankment through the station site, with the Red Line tracks on the west. The station has two island platforms. The Red Line platform is located south of Union Street, with the fare lobby under the platform. Tail tracks continue south to a four-track storage yard, Caddigan Yard.^[3] The three-level parking garage is located east of the Red Line platform. MBTA bus routes 226, 230, and 236 serve a busway between the Red Line platform and the garage.^[4]

The commuter rail platform, an 800-foot (240 m)-long high-level platform, is located north of Union Street. Access to the platform is at its south end, with a pedestrian level crossing of the eastern track. Ramps lead to Union Street, the busway, and the Red Line lobby. A five-track freight yard used by CSX and the Fore River Railroad is located east of the commuter rail platform.^[5] Braintree station is accessible on all modes.

History

Previous stations

Early-20th-century postcard of Braintree station

The Old Colony Railroad opened between Boston and Plymouth through Braintree in November 1845. The Fall River Railroad opened from South Braintree (where it connected with the Old Colony) to Randolph on August 26, 1846, with through service to Fall River beginning that December.^[6][7] Stations were located at both Braintree and South Braintree soon after the railroads opened. By 1848, South Braintree was the outer terminus for some short turn trains providing local service.^{[8][9]: 154}

The South Shore Railroad opened eastward from Braintree on January 1, 1849.^[10] The Old Colony and Fall River Railroad was formed in 1854 by the merger of its namesake railroads. By 1856, Braintree station was located at Elm Street where the South Shore split from the Old Colony, while South Braintree station was located north of Pearl Street where the lines to Plymouth and Fall River split.^[11] South Braintree station was destroyed by a fire on August 17, 1860.^[12]

Braintree station and the adjacent signal tower were destroyed by a fire, believed to be arson, on July 30, 1887.^[13] Designs were completed later that year for a replacement station, which opened in 1889.^[14][15] A new station at South Braintree was constructed in 1891, with a new freight house built around 1893.^[16][17]

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.^[18] Another plan in 1913 to build road bridges at School, Elm, and River streets and an underpass at Union Street also fell through.^[19] The School Street crossing was eliminated by the construction of Church Street in 1936, and a Union Street underpass was built in 1937–38.^[20][21] The state issued a $9,789 contract (equivalent to $163,000 in 2023) in November 1937 for construction of platform canopies and other improvements related to the crossing elimination.^[22]

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. The former Braintree and South Braintree stations, the latter of which had been reused by the railroad's maintenance of way department, were both demolished around 1971 during Red Line construction.^[23]

MBTA station

The 1997-opened commuter rail platform

A groundbreaking ceremony for Braintree station was held on July 13, 1977.^[24] The station opened on March 22, 1980, for Red Line service.^[25] 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.^[26][27] 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.^[25] The station has been accessible since at least 1989.^[28]

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.^[29] Similar charges existed until 1980 on the inner stations on the Braintree Branch.

During service disruptions, Braintree can serve as the terminal for the Old Colony Lines and the Greenbush Line.^[30]

Garage repairs

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.^[31] Further construction on the Braintree garage took place in 2016.^[32] The deteriorated footbridge between the garage and station was closed in February 2017.^[33] \

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.^[33] 400 garage spaces closed on February 10, 2020, to allow the project to be completed by June 2021 rather than December 2021.^[34] The garage was closed from October 5, 2020, to April 20, 2021, when part of the garage reopened.^[35][36]

References

1. "A Guide to Ridership Data". MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation. June 22, 2020. p. 9.
2. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
3. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
4. "2025 System Map". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 15, 2024.
5. Held, Patrick R. (2010). "Massachusetts Bay Colony Railroad Track Charts" (PDF). Johns Hopkins Association for Computing Machinery. p. 50. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2013.
6. "Fall River Rail Road". Fall River Monitor. August 29, 1846. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Rail Road". Fall River Monitor. December 26, 1846. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Old Colony Railroad". Boston Evening Transcript. January 20, 1848. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Kennedy, Charles J. (Summer 1962). "Commuter Services in the Boston Area, 1835-1860". The Business History Review. 36 (2): 153–170. doi:10.2307/3111453. JSTOR 3111453. S2CID 154294514.
10. "South Shore Railroad". Boston Evening Transcript. January 2, 1849. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Walling, Henry Francis (1856). "[Inset]" (Map). Map of the town of Braintree, Norfolk County, Mass. 1:5,940. Ferd. Mayer & Co.
12. "Miscellaneous Items". New England Farmer. August 25, 1860. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Braintree's Big Blaze". The Boston Globe. July 30, 1887. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Twenty-Fourth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders. Old Colony Railroad Company. November 1887. p. 6.
15. Twenty-Sixth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders. Old Colony Railroad Company. November 1889. p. 7.
16. Twenty-Eighth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders. Old Colony Railroad Company. September 1891. p. 8.
17. Thirtieth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders. Old Colony Railroad Company. September 1893. p. 7.
18. "Seven Grade Crossings to be Abolished". Boston Globe. January 25, 1908. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Ready to Abolish Grade Crossings". Boston Globe. August 27, 1913. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Grade Crossing Project in Braintree Announced". Boston Globe. August 25, 1936. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Braintree". Boston Globe. July 22, 1937. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
22. Annual Report of the Department of Public Works for the Year Ending November 30, 1937. Massachusetts Department of Public Works. 1937. p. 39.
23. Liljestrand, Robert A. (2005). The New Haven Railroad's Old Colony Division: Volume 2. Bob's Photo. pp. 12, 18.
24. A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 1981. p. 11 – via Internet Archive.
25. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
26. Longcope, Kay (February 19, 1989). "RECORD NUMBER OF VEHICLES CROSSED CAPE COD CANAL IN JULY AND AUGUST". Boston Globe. p. 98 – via Newspapers.com.
27. Ackerman, Jerry (July 5, 1989). "MASS. SPENT $1.2M ON DEPOTS WHERE TRAINS NOW SELDOM GO". Boston Globe. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
28. Tran Systems and Planners Collaborative (August 24, 2007). "Evaluation of MBTA Paratransit and Accessible Fixed Route Transit Services: Final Report" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
29. Waltz, Vicky (November 11, 2006). "End of the Line for Free T". BU Today. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
30. "Middleborough/Lakeville". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. October 4, 2021. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021.
31. Burrell, Chris (16 November 2015). "Stopgap repairs being made to crumbling MBTA garages in Quincy, Braintree". Patriot Ledger. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
32. "Subway Service Alerts: Red Line: Current". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 17 February 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016.
33. "MBTA Contract No. W46CN04: South Shore Parking Garage Repairs" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 6, 2018.
34. "Parking Will Be Reduced at Braintree Garage as Accelerated Work Begins" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. January 28, 2020.
35. "South Shore Garages". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. September 28, 2020. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
36. "MBTA Braintree and Quincy Adams Parking Garages Reopening April 20" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 13, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2021-04-13.

External links

• MBTA - Braintree
• MBTA - South Shore Garages