Lowell Line
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| Lowell Line | |
| Info | |
|---|---|
| Type | Commuter rail |
| System | MBTA Commuter Rail |
| Locale | Northeastern Massachusetts |
| Terminals | Lowell North Station |
| No. of stations | 9 |
| Operation | |
| Owner | MBTA |
| Operator(s) | MBCR |
| Character | Elevated and surface-level |
| Technical | |
| Gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) |
The Lowell Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts. Originally built as the Boston and Lowell Railroad, and later operated as part of the Boston and Maine Railroad's Southern Division, the line was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in Massachusetts.
Contents |
[edit] History
 |
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (April 2008) |
Boston and Maine passenger service to Boston on the line was shortened from Nashua, New Hampshire to Lowell in 1967.[1]
In 1973 the MBTA bought the Lowell line, along with the Haverhill and all other local Greater Boston passenger lines. Along with the sale, the B&M contracted to run the passenger service on the Lowell line for the MBTA. After bankruptcy, The B&M continued to run and fulfill its Commuter Rail contract under the protection of the United States Bankruptcy Court, in the hopes that a reorganization could make it profitable again. It emerged from the court's protection when newly-formed Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) bought it in 1983.
When GTI bought the B&M, commuter rail service was in jeopardy. The MBTA had owned the trains and the tracks since 1973, but it had outsourced the operation to the B&M. When GTI bought the B&M in 1983, it had to honor the B&M contract, but GTI management was very much against passenger rail,[citation needed] and, in 1986, as soon as the contract expired, they let the job go to Amtrak, which operated the entire commuter rail system. (See MBTA Commuter Rail for later systemwide operational history.)
As of 2007, there is a current debate over whether or not to expand the Lowell line to Nashua, New Hampshire and include stations in North Chelmsford and Tyngsborough en route, for the sake of commuters in those towns.
[edit] Accessibility
North Station is wheelchair accessible, as are Anderson RTC and stations north of there. See also MBTA accessibility.
[edit] Station listing
Operating stations are shaded in purple.
| Milepost | City | Station | Opening date | Connections and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Boston |  North Station |
Orange Line and Green Line MBTA Commuter Rail north-side lines Amtrak Downeaster service to Maine |
|
| Boston Engine Terminal | A flag stop with a wooden platform for MBTA employees | |||
| MBTA Fitchburg Line, Haverhill/Reading Line and Newburyport/Rockport Line split | ||||
| Cambridge | East Cambridge | closed on the old alignment, west of the current route |
||
| 1.9 | Somerville | Prospect Hill | closed originally Milk Row |
|
| 2.4 | Winter Hill | closed | ||
| 2.8 | Somerville Junction | closed originally Somerville split with Lexington and Arlington Branch |
||
| 3.6 | North Somerville | closed | ||
| 4.0 | Medford | Tufts University | November 1976 (had been open previously) | closed October 1979 originally College Hill |
| 4.6 | Medford Hillside | closed | ||
| 5.5 | West Medford | originally Medford Gates (in 1835) | ||
| 7.3 | Winchester | Wedgemere | originally Mystic | |
| 7.8 | Winchester Center | split with Woburn Branch | ||
| 9.0 | Winchester Highlands | closed June 1978 | ||
| 9.8 | Woburn | Montvale | closed split with Stoneham Branch |
|
| Lechmere Warehouse | 1979 | closed 1996 [1] | ||
| 10.5 | Walnut Hill | closed January 17, 1965 | ||
| 11.6 | Mishawum | September 24, 1984 (had been open previously) | originally East Woburn, only limited service | |
| 12.7 | Anderson Regional Transportation Center |
April 28, 2001 | Amtrak Downeaster service to Maine originally South Wilmington (had been open previously) |
|
| 15.2 | Wilmington | Wilmington |
split with Wildcat Branch, carrying the Amtrak Downeaster service (without stopping here) | |
| 17.0 | Silver Lake | closed June 27, 1965? | ||
| Billerica | East Billerica | closed June 27, 1965 | ||
| 21.8 | North Billerica |
junction with Billerica and Bedford Branch | ||
| 24.6 | Lowell | Bleachery | closed junction with Lowell and Lawrence Railroad, Lowell Branch (B&M) and Framingham and Lowell Railroad (NYNH&H) |
|
| 25.5 | Lowell |
LRTA buses to Lowell and beyond originally Middlesex Street junction with Lowell and Nashua Railroad (B&L) |
||
| Merrimack Street | closed |
|
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