West Natick station

WEST NATICK
West Natick station in January 2015
Location 249 West Central Street
Natick, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°16′59″N 71°23′30″W / 42.2831°N 71.3918°W / 42.2831; -71.3918Coordinates: 42°16′59″N 71°23′30″W / 42.2831°N 71.3918°W / 42.2831; -71.3918
Owned by MBTA
Line(s) Worcester Line
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Connections MWRTA : 10, 11
Construction
Parking 178 spaces ($4.00 fee)
4 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities 5 spaces
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Fare zone 4
History
Opened August 23, 1982[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2013) 1,121 (weekday inbound average)[2]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
toward Worcester
Framingham/​Worcester Line

West Natick is a commuter rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester Line, located off West Central Street (MA-135) in Natick, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1982 as a park and ride station.

History

The Boston and Albany Railroad opened through Natick in September 1834.[3] In the late 1800s, Walkerville station was briefly open at Speen Street, midway between Natick Center and the modern station site.[4][5]

On August 23, 1982, the MBTA opened West Natick station to ease demand at Natick and Framingham stations.[1] The $500,000 station included a 200-space park and ride lot. [3][6]

In early 2016, the mini-high accessible platforms were closed because the folding platform edges were deteriorated, risking a dangerous collapse like one that happened at North Billerica station in 2015.[7] The MBTA earmarked $4 million to replace them and brought a portable lift to the station to maintain accessibility.[8] The mini-high platforms were demolished in March 2017; new composite platforms opened that November.[7]

Bus connections

West Natick is directly served by two MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) bus routes:

  • Route 10
  • Route 11

Three numbered routes, all five commuter shuttles, and the Boston Hospital Shuttle serve MWRTA's Waverly Hub, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the west of the station.

References

  1. 1 2 Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  2. ↑ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  3. 1 2 Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 21, 28. ISBN 9780685412947.
  4. ↑ "Natick, Sherborn". Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. George H. Walker & Co. 1875 – via WardMaps.
  5. ↑ "Natick". County Atlas of Middlesex Massachusetts. F.W. Beers. 1875 – via WardMaps.
  6. ↑ 1982 Annual Report. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 68 – via Internet Archive.
  7. 1 2 Black, Sara (December 11, 2017). "Composites enable handicap-accessible train platforms". Composites World.
  8. ↑ Coueignoux, Stephanie (March 21, 2016). "FOX25 Investigates wheelchair ramps boarded at Commuter Rail stations". FOX25. Retrieved April 1, 2017.

Media related to West Natick (MBTA station) at Wikimedia Commons

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