Ashmont (MBTA station)

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Ashmont Station

Original configuration, with streetcar loop (later bus loop) and 1929-added busway

Station statistics

Address

1900 Dorchester Avenue
at 200 Ashmont Street
Dorchester, Massachusetts

Lines

Red Line

Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line

Bicycle facilities

eight spaces

Other information

Opened

September 1, 1928 (Red Line)
August 26, 1929 (Ashmont-Mattapan Line)
under construction as of August 2005

Rebuilt

to be completed 2009

Accessible

Owned by

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Services

Preceding station		MBTA		Following station
Shawmut toward Alewife		Red Line Ashmont Branch		Terminus
Terminus		Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line		Cedar Grove toward Mattapan

Ashmont is located on the Red Line in Dorchester, Massachusetts. It opened on September 1, 1928, and is the subway terminal for the Red Line's Dorchester Branch. Ashmont is also the terminus of the Light rail Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, which loops around on each side of the station, with platforms between the sets of tracks.

1 History
2 Reconstruction
3 Accessibility
4 Bus Connections
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The first Ashmont Station was a simple building along the original Shawmut Branch of the Old Colony Railroad, which opened in 1872. That was when steam locomotives powered the passenger trains that continued into Boston with a stop at Fields Corner. The current intermediate Shawmut Station was not created as a train stop until the Shawmut Branch of the steam railroad was adapted to electrified subway service in the late 1920s and placed underground as it approached Ashmont Station.

When first built in 1928, no buses served the station; all lines ran streetcars. Specifically, the following Boston Elevated Railway streetcar lines operated to Ashmont (using post-1942 numbers), unloading on the east side and loading on the two west tracks on the west side:

22 Dudley via Talbot Avenue
23 Dudley via Washington Street, Dorchester
27 Mattapan Station via River St.

Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway cars to Brockton also used the station.

Two streetcar lines serving the area west of Ashmont were bustituted soon after opening, later becoming the 25 and 26 buses. They were rerouted to Ashmont for faster access to downtown. A new busway was built on the west side of the station in 1929; this has since been connected to the old streetcar ramps. The first section of the Mattapan High Speed Line (originally 28) also opened in 1929, serving the easternmost track on the west side.

The Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway line converted to bus in 1932, using the busway. The 27 was bustituted in 1933, and a new route (24, renumbered 12 ca. 1967) serving the area east of the station was also added. Additionally the Eastern Mass started running buses over what are now the 215 and 217 routes.

The ramps were paved, and in 1949 the Trolleybus replaced the 22 and 23 lines.

[edit] Reconstruction

In 2005, the MBTA awarded a $35.2 million contract for the complete reconstruction of the 75 year old Ashmont Station. As of September 2007, razing of the station was complete. Construction crews are rebuilding the station from the ground up, with the completion projected in 2009. Trolley service was interrupted for 18 months, but was restored in December 2007.^[1] Highlights of the project include:^[2]^[3]

New platforms and a viaduct for the trolley service to Mattapan
Two new lobbies with access at the station
An elevated busway that is level with the new lobbies
Public access over the subway tunnel to Peabody Square
Three new elevators and two new escalators
CCTV security cameras and significantly enhanced lighting
Charlie Card automated fare vending machines and fare gates

The station construction includes of a first-of-its-kind transit oriented development (TOD) on the station site. The 116 units of mixed income housing represent the state, city, MBTA, community and a private developer's combined effort to provide housing adjacent to rapid transit, thereby reducing automobile usage. The housing project, developed by Trinity Financial will be completed in the Spring of 2008.^[2]^[4]