Boston Landing (MBTA station)

BOSTON LANDING
A commuter rail train passes the proposed station site
Location	Everett and Guest streets, Brighton, Massachusetts
Line(s)	Framingham/Worcester Line
Platforms	1 island platform[1]
Tracks	4 (prior to station construction) 3 (after station construction)[1][2]
Connections	MBTA Bus: 64
Construction
Parking	1750 (at associated development)
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	1A
History
Opened	Fall 2016 (planned)[2]
Closed	1857, 1962
Previous names	Everett Street (1834-1857) Allston and Brighton (1857-1962)
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Newtonville toward Worcester Framingham/Worcester Line 2016 (planned) Yawkey toward South Station West Station 2020 (planned) toward South Station

Boston Landing is a planned commuter rail station on the MBTA's Framingham/Worcester Line located in Brighton, a neighborhood in the western part of Boston, Massachusetts. The station will be located just west of the Everett Street bridge next to the Massachusetts Turnpike.^[3] It will serve the Allston-Brighton area as well as the Boston Landing development which is to be built nearby. The station is an infill station, since commuter rail trains currently pass frequently on existing tracks through the site. Prior to a May 2013 renaming, the proposed station project was known as New Brighton Landing.

The planned station, which was officially announced on June 7, 2012, is the result of discussions dating back to 1998. It is projected to cost $16 million and to serve as many as 2400 daily riders by 2030.^[1][3] The station will consist of a single island platform, with elevators leading to Arthur Street and handicapped-accessible ramps leading to Everett Street. In November 2012, New Balance announced their intention to open the station in 2014.^[4] However, in May 2014, the expected opening was pushed back to the fall of 2016. The new station expected to cost between $14 and 16 million, financed by New Balance.^[2]

History

Allston depot is shown here in a 1909 postcard. The station building is still in use as a pizza restaurant.

Allston depot, one of the station sites considered in the 2009 study, seen here in 2012

Background

The Boston & Albany Railroad originally had a number of stations in the inner ring of suburbs, including a station at Everett Street which was demolished in 1857.^[5] It was replaced with stations at Allston (Cambridge Street) and Brighton (Market Street), each about one quarter mile away. Those stations, along with several others in Newton and Boston, were closed around 1962 when much of the main line was reduced from 4 to 2 tracks during the building of the Massachusetts Turnpike.^[3] The station closures left the northern part of Brighton lacking rail service.

In 1998, a new station in Allston-Brighton began to be considered as part of the Urban Ring planning process. In 2007, the City of Boston allocated $500,000 in funding for the Allston Multimodal Station Study.^[6] The study analyzed both commuter rail and DMU local service along the corridor, with potential stops at Faneuil, Market Street, Everett Street, Cambridge Street, West (Ashford Street), and Commonwealth Avenue.^[1] The final recommendation, for a commuter rail station at Everett Street with DMU stops added later at the other locations, sparked local controversy but was mostly well received.^[7]

In 2009 and 2010, the state negotiated a major agreement with CSX Transportation that involved the purchase of several rail lines, including purchasing the line between Framingham and Worcester. The agreement also included CSX moving its intermodal freight operations from the Beacon Park Yard in Allston to a new yard in Worcester. The abandonment of Beacon Park Yards allows for an increase in MBTA service on the Framingham/Worcester Line; additionally, the elimination of the single-track bottleneck through the yard opened the possibility for a station to be built in Allston while still allowing passing tracks.^[8] However, with no funding source available, construction of a station was not pursued.^[3]

Proposed station site and the Everett Street bridge, as viewed from the Massachusetts Turnpike

In March 2012, New Balance submitted initial plans for a mixed-use development in Brighton, which included the possibility of a commuter rail station.^[9] In May, they officially announced the $500 million development, which is to be one block away from the station site. A company spokesperson told the Boston Globe that "If designated by MassDOT, New Brighton Landing will design, permit and construct a commuter rail station in Allston-Brighton" and that New Balance was willing to contribute to funding the station.^[10]

Boston Landing

One June 7, 2012, Allston-Brighton officials announced that New Balance and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation had signed a letter of intent to build a station at Everett Street, to be named New Brighton Landing. The public-private partnership, in which New Balance will "fund all permitting, design, construction and annual maintenance costs" for the $16 million station, is the first of its kind for the MBTA.^[3] The associated New Brighton Landing development was approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority on September 13, 2012, with construction to begin later that year.^[11]

No timetable was initially laid out for station construction. On November 9, 2012, the company announced plans to open the station in 2014. Design and permitting were to be completed in 2013, with construction finished within a year.^[4] In March 2013, the names of the station and the development were changed to Boston Landing. The proposed station was approved by a MassDOT finance board on May 14, 2013, and the agency's Board of Directors on May 22.^[12][13] By 2013 the expected completion date had slipped to mid-2015, and in May 2014 New Balance announced that the station would not open until the second half of 2016. The company cited the unanticipated complexity of the planning and construction for the delay.^[2] Service to the stop will initially be limited to two inbound trains in the morning rush hour and two outbounds in the afternoon, plus an unknown amount of off-peak service.^[12]

State legislators representing communities along the Worcester Line have expressed concern than Boston Landing and West Station would slow down trips for suburban commuters.^[14]

Bus connections

The station is intended to connect several bus routes in Allston-Brighton.^[1] Currently, the 64 Oak Square - University Park, Cambridge or Kendall/MIT via North Beacon Street MBTA Bus route directly serves the station location via Arthur Street. The 57 and 66 routes are accessible at nearby Union Square, while the 86 route runs on Market Street several blocks to the west.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boston Landing (MBTA station).

• Station site viewed from Everett Street, Arthur Street, and I-90 on Google Maps Street View
• Boston Landing (associated development)
• Framingham/Worcester Line schedule

Coordinates: 42°21′26″N 71°08′21″W / 42.3572°N 71.1393°W / 42.3572; -71.1393