JFK/UMass (MBTA station)

JFK/UMASS JFK/UMASS
Station statistics
Address	599 Old Colony Ave, Boston, MA
Coordinates	42°19′14″N 71°03′09″W
Lines	Red Line   Greenbush Line   Middleborough/Lakeville Line   Plymouth/Kingston Line
Platforms	1 side platform (Commuter Rail) 2 island platforms (Red Line)
Tracks	1 (Commuter Rail) 4 (Red Line)
Parking	None
Bicycle facilities	18 spaces
Other information
Opened	November 5, 1927
Rebuilt	December 14, 1988
Accessible
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Fare zone	1A
Formerly	Columbia
Traffic
Passengers (2009)	7,834 (weekday average on Red Line) 1 (weekday average on commuter rail)
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Andrew toward Alewife Red Line Ashmont Branch Savin Hill toward Ashmont Red Line Braintree Branch North Quincy toward Braintree South Station Terminus Greenbush Line Quincy Center toward Greenbush Middleborough/Lakeville Line Quincy Center toward Middleborough / Lakeville Plymouth/Kingston Line Quincy Center toward Kingston or Plymouth

JFK/UMass Station is an commuter rail and rapid transit station located at the intersection of Columbia Road and Morrissey Boulevard in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. An important transfer stations, it connects the Ashmont and Braintree branches of the Red Line, with the Plymouth/Kingston, Middleborough/Lakeville and Greenbush commuter rail lines as well as several MBTA Bus routes. Shuttle buses to the University of Massachusetts and the JFK Library are also available from the station.

Next inbound train sign

The Red Line platforms at JFK/UMass have an unusual configuration. It is the only MBTA rapid transit station where trains from different branches of a line arrive on separate platforms; this is because the Ashmont and Braintree branches merge immediately inbound from the station. A sign in the waiting room displays the platform location for the next inbound train for the ease of passengers. Comparable junction stations include Kenmore, where different tracks serve different Green Line branches, and Back Bay and Canton Junction which have separate platforms for different lines.

History

In 1845, the Old Colony Railroad opened between Boston and Plymouth, Massachusetts, and along with it opened Crescent Avenue Depot. In 1926, the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, which had succeeded the Old Colony, closed its Shawmut Branch and sold it to the Boston Elevated Railway. The BERy built an extension of the Cambridge-Dorchester Line along the former branch, and on November 5, 1927, Columbia station opened next to Crescent Avenue.

Commuter service on the Old Colony lines ended in 1959, but subway service to Ashmont via Columbia continued. The color red was assigned on On August 26, 1965, the Cambridge-Dorchester Line was renamed as the Red Line. The color was chosen because the line then ended at Harvard University, whose school color is crimson. In 1971, the South Shore Branch of the Red Line opened, running past Columbia, but only Ashmont-bound trains stopped.

On December 1, 1982, the station was renamed as JFK/UMass, although most station signs are subtitled as Columbia. A platform for the South Shore Line (Braintree branch) opened as part of a general reconstruction on December 14, 1988, and henceforth all Red Line trains have stopped. Commuter service on the Middleborough/Lakeville and Plymouth/Kingston lines was restored in September 1997, but the commuter platform at JFK/UMass did not open until April 30, 2001. Several rush-hourGreenbush Line trains began to stop concurrent with that line's restoration in 2007. Not all commuter trains on the lines stop, however, because the station is in a single-track bottleneck section.

Attractions

• John F. Kennedy Library
• UMass, Boston
• Commonwealth Museum
• Massachusetts State Archives
• Boston College High School
• Bayside Exposition Center (sold to UMass Boston in 2010 for redevelopment)
• Moakley Park (formerly Columbus Park)
• Carson Beach on Dorchester Bay
• Headquarters of the Boston Globe

JFK/UMass station also borders Mount Vernon Street, where the Harbor Point Housing Complex (formerly known as Columbia Point) is located.

Future plans

JFK/UMass Station is a proposed stop on the MBTA's planned Urban Ring Project. The Urban Ring will be a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line designed to connect the current MBTA Lines to reduce strain on the downtown stations.

External links

• MBTA - JFK/UMass
• Columbia Road entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Sydney Street entrance from Google Maps Street View