Fenway (MBTA station)

FENWAY

A Type 8 trolley at Fenway station in May 2015
Location Park Drive near The Riverway
Boston, Massachusetts
Owned by MBTA
Line(s)
  Green Line "D" Branch
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Connections MBTA Bus: 47, CT2
Construction
Bicycle facilities 18 spaces
Disabled access Yes
History
Opened July 4, 1959[1]
Previous names Fenway Park
Traffic
Passengers (2011) 3,488 (weekday average boardings)[2]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
toward Riverside
Green Line

Fenway is a light rail stop on the MBTA Green Line "D" Branch, located under Park Drive near the Riverway in the Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It opened along with the rest of the D Branch on July 4, 1959, when trolleys replaced Highland Branch commuter rail service. The station is fully handicapped accessible from Park Drive via the Landmark Center parking lot as well as from Miner Street.

Named after the Fenway parkway rather than Fenway Park, it is not the nearest station to the stadium - Yawkey commuter rail and Kenmore Green Line station are closer. Nevertheless, it is heavily used during Red Sox home games and other Fenway Park events.

History

Chapel station was located 1,200 feet (370 m) to the southwest from the 1860s until 1893

The Boston and Worcester Railroad opened a 1.4-mile (2.3 km) branch from Brookline Junction to Brookline on April 10, 1848.[3] The Charles River Branch Railroad extended the Brookline Branch to Newton Upper Falls in November 1852 and to Needham in June 1853, keeping the original B&W station for its service.[3][4]

The Boston and Albany Railroad bought back the line, then part of the New York and New England Railroad, in February 1883. It was double-tracked and extended to the B&A main at Riverside; "Newton Circuit" service via the Highland Branch and the main line began on May 16, 1886.[3] No station was located at what is now Park Drive; the nearest stations were Chapel and later Longwood to the west, and Brookline Junction to the east.[4]

In June 1957, the Massachusetts Legislature approved the purchase of the branch by the M.T.A. from the nearly-bankrupt New York Central Railroad for conversion to a trolley line. Service ended on May 31, 1958.[3] The line was quickly converted for trolley service and reopened on July 4, 1959.[1] All pre-1958 station locations were kept (though many station buildings were demolished for parking lots) and a new Fenway Park station was added at Park Drive.

Fenway station in 2005

The station was renamed Fenway after the road of the same name at a later time, as it is significantly further from Fenway Park than Kenmore. Until the 2006 season, it remained well-trafficked by fans from Red Sox games because the MBTA did not collect fares at outbound Green Line surface stops, making the trip to Riverside free for those boarding at Fenway but not at Kenmore. At the beginning of 2007, the MBTA started collecting fares on outbound trips and the station's popularity declined.[5] However, some fans still use the station either due to confusion or to avoid crowding at Kenmore.

In June 2007, the MBTA constructed a new siding at Fenway station to store maintenance equipment.

Fenway station was a proposed stop on the MBTA's proposed Urban Ring Project.[6] The Urban Ring was to be a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line designed to connect the current MBTA Lines to reduce strain on the downtown stations. Under the most recent plan, the line would have run under the "D" Branch near Fenway in a bored tunnel, with an underground station at Fenway.[7] The Urban Ring project is currently shelved due to the MBTA's financial difficulties.

Station layout

Much of the station is under the Park Drive overpass

The station is located under the Park Drive overpass, with platforms stretching under the bridge and slightly to the west. A set of stairs connects the inbound platform to the bridge. Accessible sidewalks connect the inbound platform to Park Drive via the Landmark Center parking lot and to Miner Street next to the tracks. The outbound platform has no entrances of its own and is accessed via pedestrian crossings from the inbound platform.

As of December 2016, the MBTA is considering adding one or two elevators to improve accessibility at the station.[8]

G
Street/
Platform level		 Side platform, doors will open on the right
Outbound ← "D" Branch toward Riverside (Longwood)
Inbound → "D" Branch toward Government Center (Kenmore) →
Side platform, doors will open on the right

Bus connections

A southbound route 47 bus at Fenway in 2016

Two MBTA Bus routes run on Park Drive, with stops on the bridge above the station.[9] There are no crosswalks to access the southbound bus stop at the station; the nearest crosswalks are at Riverway.

References

  1. 1 2 Belcher, Jonathan (27 June 2015). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district 1964-2015" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 21–24. ISBN 9780685412947.
  4. 1 2 Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 277, 288–289. ISBN 0942147022.
  5. ↑ Waltz, Vicky (11 November 2006). "End of the Line for Free T". BU Today. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "Urban Ring Phase 2 FACT SHEET" (PDF). January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2011.
  7. ↑ "The Urban Ring Phase 2: Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report/Statement" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. November 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Brelsford, Laura (December 5, 2016). "MBTA System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives: December 2016 Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. p. 10.
  9. ↑ "Fenway Station Neighborhood Map" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. October 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2015.

Coordinates: 42°20′42.15″N 71°6′17.37″W / 42.3450417°N 71.1048250°W / 42.3450417; -71.1048250

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