Greenbush Line
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Greenbush Line
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 The MBTA district, with Commuter Rail lines in purple. The Greenbush Line is shown in green. |
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| Overview | |||
| Type | Commuter rail line | ||
| System | Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority | ||
| Status | Operating | ||
| Locale | Southeastern Massachusetts | ||
| Termini | Boston South Station Greenbush |
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| Stations | 10 | ||
| Daily ridership | 4,570[1] | ||
| Operation | |||
| Operator(s) | MBCR | ||
| Character | Elevated and surface-level | ||
| Technical | |||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||
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The Greenbush Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. The 18-mile (29 km) line restores service along the New Haven Railroad's Greenbush Branch, from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the towns of Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate on the South Shore of Boston. Prior to 2007, the last passenger trains to use this branch of the Old Colony Railroad ran in 1959.
The MBTA has since restored service, beginning on October 31, 2007.[2]
The station stops along the Greenbush Line are: South Station, JFK/UMass, Quincy Center, Weymouth Landing, East Weymouth, West Hingham, Nantasket Junction, Cohasset, North Scituate and Greenbush.
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[edit] History
Before passenger train service stopped in 1959, commuter trains had been using parts of the Greenbush line for over 100 years. Train service was first started by the South Shore Railroad which built tracks from Braintree to Cohasset in 1849 on which trains ran operated by the Old Colony Railroad. In 1867 expansion of the line south of Cohasset was started eventually extending to Kingston in 1874. In March 1893 most of the lines of the Old Colony Railroad, including Greenbush, were taken over by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. Under the control of the New Haven Railroad the rail lines set all-time records for number of passengers. The popularity of the train was short-lived, however. Cutbacks in service due to World War I were not restored afterwards due to the increasing popularity of the automobile. The New Haven Railroad went bankrupt in 1935 and kept only a few passenger trains running due to a court order. Service south of Greenbush was discontinued in 1939. The railroad enjoyed a brief uptick in traffic in World War II with the construction of the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot and the Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex. While the number of daily trips was increased after World War II, and modern diesel trains were introduced in the 1950s, the New Haven Railroad continued to lose money on the service and announced all trains would cease running in 1958. Only an emergency subsidy by the state kept trains running until June 30, 1959 when the Southeast Expressway opened and all passenger train service ended. Freight trains continued to use the line as far south as the Hingham Lumber Yard located, where the new Nantasket Junction station has just been built, until 1979. All service was terminated in 1983.
During the early 1980s, officials from the South Shore area became speaking in support of the restoration of passenger rail service in the area; in 1985, then-Governor Michael Dukakis voiced support for the proposals.[3] In 1990, as part of environmental mitigation for the Big Dig project, both the Greenbush and Old Colony lines were submitted the federal government in order to receive funding for the Big Dig.[3] Both Old Colony lines were granted federal funds, but due to local opposition to the Greenbush Line, the state did not receive funds for its construction.[3] While the Old Colony lines were opened in 1997, it took another decade for the Greenbush line to enter service, at a final cost of $534 million.[3]
Construction of the line began in 2003 and was completed on February 6, 2007.[4] The first test train ran on May 19, 2007.[5] It opened for service on October 31, 2007.[6] The extension of MBTA rail service along this branch is intended to reduce congestion plaguing South Shore commuters in recent years along the Southeast Expressway, Route 3 and Route 3A. The line has 3,100 parking spaces, and is eventually expected to provide 8,600 one-way rides daily,[7] diverting approximately 5,000 of those trips from automobiles.[8]
As of March 2008, there are still outstanding construction projects.[9]
By 2010, despite predictions of 4,200 passengers a day riding the train by three years after its opening, the MBTA said that only an average of 2,133 people per weekday were using the service.[3] These passengers were more likely to have switched to the train from the MBTA commuter ferries, rather than the predicted car users.[3]
Starting April 30, 2011 weekend service was suspended to allow replacement of concrete ties with wooden ties on the Old Colony Mainline. The Greenbush branch does not need tie replacement. The MBTA is in a legal battle with Rocla Concreate to recover the cost of replacing the ties. The company claims they are no longer under warranty. [10]
[edit] Controversy
The proposal proved highly controversial, with residents of some communities opposing restoration of service on the Greenbush branch on the grounds that it would increase noise levels and aesthetically mar the neighborhoods through which the new rail service was to run.[3] As a result of these complaints, the MBTA worked to first re-establish commuter rail on the other two Old Colony Lines.[3] Service was restored to them in 1997.[3] Partially as a result of extensive litigation, the MBTA then worked with the towns along the Greenbush route to enact several measures to mitigate the environmental impact of the restored train service. These included constructing an 800-foot (240 m) long tunnel under downtown Hingham,[3] another underpass at Weymouth Landing, and the soundproofing of homes and businesses located near the railroad tracks. Testing of the signals along the line began in earnest in August 2007 in anticipation of opening the line later in the fall. Ultimately, the legal and political delays and ensuing mitigation delayed the opening of the line for many years and resulted in a greatly increased cost.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/documents/Bluebook%202009.pdf
- ^ Humphrey, Thomas J. (2003-12-31). "History of the Greenbush Rail Line". WATD 95.9 FM. Archived from the original on 2006-12-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20061225162544/http://www.959watd.com/GreenbushHistory.asp. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Greenbush line falling short of expectations". The Boston Globe. 31 October 2010. http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/scituate/2010/10/greenbush_line_falling_short_o.html. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
- ^ Daniel, Mac; Globe Staff (2007-02-06). "Greenbush line marks a milestone". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/02/greenbush_line.html. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
- ^ Meyer, Carol Britton (2007-05-24). "Greenbush back on track". The Hingham Journal. http://www.townonline.com/hingham/homepage/x1455942703. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
- ^ "High Hopes Ride Greenbush Rails"
- ^ All aboard! Greenbush commuter rail line poised to open
- ^ SOUTH SHORE RIDES AGAIN: Early-risers excited to make commute
- ^ Wicked Local
- ^ Patriot Ledger: Weekend commuter rail service temporarily ended
[edit] Further reading
- Mun, Wynne, "Excerpts from Capstone Report to the Rappaport Institute: The Greenbush Line", The Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 2006.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: MBTA Greenbush Line |
- MBTA.com: Greenbush line
- Cbbgreenbush.com
- CBBGreenbush.com: Greenbush Route Map
- "History of Greenbush Rail Line" by Thomas J. Humphrey
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