Fairmount Line

The Fairmount Line or Dorchester Branch is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Except for a short portion in Milton, it lies entirely within Boston, progressing in a southwesterly trajectory, passing through the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Mattapan and Hyde Park. 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, but a few continue onto the Franklin Line or Providence/Stoughton Line. The Fairmount Line itself has only five stations - three plus the two termini, South Station and Readville; 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. The new line, built in 1855, split from the old one at Islington and ran northeast, crossing the Boston and Providence Railroad at Readville (the south junction with its Dedham Branch). It continued on through Hyde Park and Dorchester before crossing the Old Colony Railroad into South Boston and then making a sweeping curve along a trestle 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 in 1873 and the New England Railroad in 1895. The New England was leased to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1898 and became their Midland Division. The line was operationally split at Readville, 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 union station opened, and a new set of tracks was built for the Midland on the west side of the Old Colony Railroad 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) 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) and modernized it for use as a bypass while the old B&P was closed for sinking as part of the Southwest Corridor project. This happened on November 3, 1979, when all trains on the Franklin and Providence/Stoughton Lines 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 to get Franklin and Attleboro/Providence passengers to Back Bay.

On October 5, 1987, the new Southwest Corridor 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 and Providence/Stoughton Line 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.^[2]

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 filed with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, 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.^[3]

The existing Uphams Corner and Morton Street 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.^[4] Four new stations will be constructed at Four Corners, Talbot Avenue, Blue Hill Avenue, and Newmarket Square. Six bridges will be also reconstructed, one new interlocking will be added, and the signal system will be rebuilt.^[4]

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.^[3] The total cost of the project is estimated at $79.4 million.^[5]

The addition of new stations and the upgrades to the existing infrastructure are projected to divert 220 trips from automobiles to transit,^[6] and increase daily weekday ridership on the line from around 2,800 to 7,300 passengers.^[7]

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 than commuter rail, with increased frequency and number of stops. That plan also called for the use of diesel multiple unit (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.

Station listing

All stations are in Boston, Massachusetts, though a short portion of the line south of River Street is in Milton.

External links

• MBTA - Fairmount Line Schedule
• MBTA - Fairmount Line Improvements

References

1. ^ "Ridership and Service Statistics". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2010. http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/documents/Bluebook%202010.pdf. Retrieved 3 August 2011. 
2. ^ Fairmount/Indigo Line Coalition Comments on Fare Increase, 6/29/2006
3. ^ ^{a b} "State Implementation Plan – Transit Commitments: Status Report". Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. 2 July 2007. http://www.eot.state.ma.us/downloads/sip/07sipAnnualRpt.pdf. Retrieved 3 August 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Fairmount Line Improvements". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/t_projects/?id=1426. Retrieved 3 August 2011. 
5. ^ Draft 2008-2013 MBTA Capital Improvement Plan, p. 128.
6. ^ 2004 MBTA Program for Mass Transportation, Appendix, Table C-15.
7. ^ Mac Daniel, "T To Begin Upgrade of Fairmount Rail Corridor," The Boston Globe, April 14, 2005

• Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district (PDF)
• Mileposts from FRA Highway-Rail Crossing Inventory Files