Manchester station (MBTA)

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
An outbound train at Manchester station in 2014
Location 40 Beach Street
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°34′26″N 70°46′09″W / 42.5740°N 70.7691°W / 42.5740; -70.7691Coordinates: 42°34′26″N 70°46′09″W / 42.5740°N 70.7691°W / 42.5740; -70.7691
Owned by MBTA
Line(s)
  Newburyport/Rockport Line
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Construction
Parking 71 spaces (free)
6 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities 7 spaces
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Fare zone 6
Traffic
Passengers (2013) 307 (weekday inbound average)[1]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
Newburyport/​Rockport Line
toward Rockport

Manchester is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. Located in Downtown Manchester, it serves the Newburyport/Rockport Line. Although the official name is "Manchester", the station is signed as "Manchester by the Sea".

A small parking area is provided for local commuters. The station is fully handicapped accessible, with mini-high platforms at the outbound end of the platform.[1]

History

A 1909 postcard of the 1895-built depot

The Gloucester Branch opened from Beverly to Manchester in August 1847. It was extended to Gloucester station in December 1847, and to Rockport in November 1861.[2] The line later passed to the Eastern Railroad, which itself was absorbed by the Boston and Maine Railroad.

The original passenger station was replaced by a newer station in 1895. Neither survive, but the original freight house is present and used as a community center.[3]

When the MBTA was formed in August 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter service, Manchester was the northeast limit of its funding district. On January 18, 1965, the Boston & Maine cut Gloucester Branch service back to Manchester. After Gloucester and Rockport reached funding deals to subsidize out-of-district operations, full service was returned to Rockport on June 28, 1965.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  2. ↑ Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 264–265. ISBN 0942147022.
  3. ↑ Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780942147087.
  4. ↑ Belcher, Jonathan (22 March 2014). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 26 October 2014.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.