Buzzards Bay station

BUZZARDS BAY
Location	Main Street, Buzzards Bay
Coordinates	41°44′42″N 70°36′57″W / 41.74500°N 70.61583°W / 41.74500; -70.61583
Owned by	MassDOT
Line(s)	Cape Main Line
Platforms	Yes
Construction
Parking	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	1848
Rebuilt	1912
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Wareham toward South Station CapeFLYER Hyannis Terminus Cape Cod Central Railroad Terminus Cape Cod Central Railroad Sandwich toward Hyannis   Former services   Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad Wareham toward Braintree or Attleboro Main line Closed 1988 Sandwich toward Hyannis Falmouth Branch Closed 1988 Cataumet toward Falmouth

Buzzards Bay is a train station located on Main Street in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Originally known as Cohasset Narrows, the station was built as part of the Cape Cod Branch Railroad in 1848. Its name was changed to Buzzards Bay in 1879 by the Old Colony Railroad who had acquired the line in 1872 with a merger of the Cape Cod Railroad.^[1]

The present station building was constructed by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1912. The site also contains an interlocking tower. The Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge is adjacent.

Services

Buzzards Bay is an intermediate stop on the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority's CapeFLYER summer weekend passenger service. It is also the westernmost stop of the Cape Cod Central Railroad.^[2]

History

The station on a postcard from the 1940s

Prior to the opening of the Cape Cod Canal in 1916, Buzzards Bay was located on what was then the north bank of the Monument River at a junction of the main railroad line between Middleborough and Cape Cod and the branch to Wood's Hole. The Wood's Hole Branch crossed the river slightly west of what is now the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge, while the Cape Cod main line continued along the north side of the river before crossing where the river narrowed at Bourne.^[3] The Monument River was converted into the Cape Cod Canal, which opened in 1916. The Cape Cod Main Line and junction were moved to the south side of the canal, which was later widened in the 1930s.

Originally located near the tracks, the station building is now set back from the train line because of the removal of excess trackage. The station also houses year-round offices and a seasonal visitor's center for the Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce.^[4]

It was a stop for Amtrak's Cape Codder which ran from 1986 to 1996, and for the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad which ran from 1984 to 1998.

CapeFLYER and proposed commuter service

Second high-level platform under construction in June 2014

A CapeFLYER train at the 1999-built high level platform in 2013

Original plans for the reopening of the Middleborough/Lakeville Line in the 1990s called for service to Wareham or beyond; however, plans were scaled back and the line was only opened to Middleborough/Lakeville in 1997. In 2007, the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization released a report evaluating the possibility of commuter rail service to Buzzards Bay including several intermediate stops. However, other projects like the Greenbush Line received priority and the extension to Buzzards Bay was not constructed.

In September 2013, the Wareham Chamber of Commerce announced that based on the success of the CapeFLYER, the Chamber supported commuter rail extension to Buzzards Bay.^[5] The Buzzards Bay town selectmen similarly supported the idea later that year, and a public forum was held in January 2014.^[6][7]

In 2014, a new high-level platform was built closer to the bridge. This platform allows CapeFLYER trains (which, like other MBTA trains, place the first car at the mini-high platforms) to avoid blocking the Academy Drive crossing while stopped at the station.

In November 2014, it was announced that an improved siding would be fully restored near the station, including a universal crossover before Cohasset Narrows.^[8]

See also

The new platform at dusk in June, 2014

• List of Old Colony Railroad stations
• List of railroad stations on Cape Cod

References

Further reading

• Buzzards Bay Commuter Rail Extension Local Impact Report, Cape Cod Commission (April 2015)
• Buzzards Bay Commuter Rail Extension Feasibility Study, Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (January 2007)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buzzards Bay Train Station.

• CapeFLYER Train Stations
• Google Maps Street View image of the station
• Buzzards Bay Station and Vicinity (Cape Cod Rails)

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