Amherst station (Massachusetts)

Amherst

Amherst station in February 2008
Location 13 Railroad Street
Amherst, MA 01002
Coordinates 42°22′30″N 72°30′41″W / 42.37500°N 72.51139°W / 42.37500; -72.51139Coordinates: 42°22′30″N 72°30′41″W / 42.37500°N 72.51139°W / 42.37500; -72.51139
Line(s)      Vermonter (ended December 28, 2014)
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 1
Connections PVTA: 30, 45
Construction
Parking 8 spaces (free)
Other information
Station code AMM
History
Opened 1853, 1989
Closed 1966; December 28, 2014[1]
Rebuilt 1992
Traffic
Passengers (FY2014) 14,124[2] Increase 5.7%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
Vermonter
Ended December 28, 2014
toward St. Albans

Amherst is a closed passenger rail station in Amherst, Massachusetts formerly served by the Amtrak Vermonter. It is located at 13 Railroad Street off Main Street, and served the downtown area along with Amherst College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The station was closed on December 28, 2014, after which the Vermonter was rerouted to the faster Conn River Line several miles to the west.

History

The Vermonter at Amherst in 2013

The station was originally built in 1853 by the New London Northern, located several blocks east of the town center.[3] (The Central Massachusetts Railroad, which shared trackage with the NLN south of Amherst, had its own station located on South Pleasant Street.) Passenger service on the line (by then long under the Central Vermont Railroad) ended in 1966; the station was modified for other uses.[4]

In 1989, the Montrealer (which had been discontinued in 1987 due to poor track conditions on the Conn River Line in Massachusetts and the CV in Vermont) was restored on a routing via Amherst, with a stop there. The building, which is privately owned, was restored to its original condition in 1992. The interior was split between a passenger waiting area and a commercial space.[4] In 1995, the Montrealer was cut back to St. Albans and renamed as the Vermonter.

In 2014, the Conn River Line was rebuilt for renewed passenger service. On December 29, 2014, the Vermonter was rerouted to that line, serving stops at Northampton and Greenfield. The last day of service to Amherst was December 28.[5][1][6]

Amherst is a possible stop on the Central Corridor Rail Line, a proposed intercity route from New London to Brattleboro[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Molnar, David (28 December 2014). "Photos: Sunday was the last day of Amtrak Vermonter service to Amherst". MassLive. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2014, Commonwealth of Massachusetts" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  3. ↑ LaPointe, Gary (10 June 2010). "Existing Railroad Stations in Hampshire County, Massachusetts". RAILROAD STATIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Amherst, MA (AMM)". Great American Stations. Amtrak. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Amtrak Vermonter Service to the Knowledge Corridor Starts December 29" (PDF). Amtrak. 2014-12-12. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
  6. ↑ Lederman, Diane (17 December 2014). "Train service through Amherst ends Dec. 28 after more than 30 years". MassLive. Retrieved 18 December 2014.

Further reading

External links

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