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Bowdoin station

Coordinates: 42°21′41″N 71°03′44″W / 42.3614°N 71.0622°W / 42.3614; -71.0622
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Bowdoin
Wedge-shaped island platform at Bowdoin station
General information
LocationCambridge Street at New Chardon Street
Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°21′41″N 71°03′44″W / 42.3614°N 71.0622°W / 42.3614; -71.0622
Line(s)East Boston Tunnel
Platforms1 wedge-shaped island platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 191, 192, 193
Bus transport MVRTA: Boston Commuter
History
OpenedMarch 18, 1916[1]
ClosedJanuary 3, 1981 - January 11, 1982
March 3, 1982 - April 20, 1982[1]
Passengers
FY20192,127 boardings (weekday average)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Terminus Blue Line Government Center
toward Wonderland

Bowdoin (/ˈboʊdɪn/) is a rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Blue Line. It is located in Bowdoin Square in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. It is the downtown terminus of the line (though Government Center served this role during nights and weekends from 1982 to 2014).

Bowdoin station is the only heavy rail station on the MBTA subway system that is not accessible.[3]

History

Bowdoin station in January 1916, shortly before opening

The East Boston Tunnel was opened to streetcar service as far as Court Street on December 30, 1904.[1] Court Street proved to be a problematic terminus; its single-track design limited frequent service, and also resulted in crashes. The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) began an extension towards Beacon Hill in 1912.[4]: 39  The extension opened to Bowdoin with an intermediate stop at Scollay Under on March 18, 1916.[1]

Bowdoin was built with an unusual wedge-shaped island platform inside a balloon loop, which eliminated the awkward end-changing required at Court Street[5]: 30  and allowed use of unpowered trailer cars in the tunnel to increase capacity.[6] A pair of tracks continued past the loop, out the Joy Street Portal, and down Cambridge Street, allowing for one route to provide through streetcar service from East Boston to Cambridge rather than looping at Bowdoin.[6]

Modifications

The 1968-built headhouse in November 2015

Over the weekend of April 18 to 21, 1924, the East Boston Tunnel was converted from streetcar use to high-floor rapid transit operation.[1][5]: 30  Rather than modify the tunnel, the BERy elected to build smaller-than-usual rapid transit cars which could operate in a tunnel designed for streetcars—particularly around the tight loop at Bowdoin.[5]: 32  Blue Line cars are thus 48.5 feet (14.8 m) long, substantially shorter than the 65-foot (20 m) Orange Line cars and the 69.5-foot (21.2 m) Red Line cars.[7] Bowdoin is the only remaining loop in regular service on the MBTA's heavy rail lines, though Red Line trains can loop around Codman Yard past Ashmont station if necessary.

Because the line did not have a dedicated maintenance facility, trains used the Joy Street Portal to reach surface tracks on the Longfellow Bridge, which connected to the Cambridge Tunnel and the Eliot Shops near Harvard Square.[5]: 32  When the first phase of the Revere Extension opened to Orient Heights with a new facility in 1952, the connection was no longer necessary and the portal was filled.[5]: 52  The tail tracks past the Bowdoin loop are still used for train storage during the winter, however.

The station was modernized in 1968 as part of a $9 million systemwide station improvement program.[8] The original headhouse was replaced with a glassy entrance under a tilted concrete slab, set into a shallow depression to reduce the costs of installing the escalator. The new headhouse was designed by Josep Lluís Sert as part of a project for a never-built Catholic chapel nearby.[9] Illustrations showing the history of Bowdoin Square were added to the station signs.[10]

Closures and reopening

In the early 1980s, the MBTA suffered from a serious budget crisis, which resulted in service cuts. MBTA Commuter Rail service to Providence and Concord and on the Woburn Branch were cut entirely, five underused commuter rail stations were closed, Boylston and Essex were closed for short periods, and the outer ends of the Orange and Blue lines were bustituted on Sundays.[1] Bowdoin, with low ridership and in close proximity to Government Center, was closed on January 3, 1981 due to budget cuts.[11][1] It reopened on January 11, 1982, but only on weekdays until 6:30 pm - intended to serve workers in nearby office and government buildings. Bowdoin was briefly closed again from March 3 to April 20, 1982, and reopened again with limited hours, with Government Center serving as the terminus on nights and weekends (though trains continued to loop at Bowdoin).[1] After the early 1980s, it was the only MBTA subway station with limited hours.[12]

The station was closed from July 29 to September 8, 1992, during track work on the loop.[1] As the MBTA planned the Blue Line Modernization Project in the early 1990s, the agency planned to close Bowdoin in order to eliminate the tight loop. The closure would take place after the renovation of Government Center, which would re-add a long-closed entrance at the west end of the Blue Line platform.[13] In 2008, the MBTA began running six-car trains on the Blue Line.[14] Because the eastbound side of the Bowdoin platform can only fit four cars, the trains have pushbuttons to allow passengers at Bowdoin to open the doors from the platform.[15]

Until at least 2011, the MBTA still planned to close the station after Government Center was renovated.[16] However, by 2013, the MBTA decided not to construct the planned west entrance at Government Center, and to instead build only a less-expensive emergency exit.[17] On December 28, 2013, the MBTA resumed night and weekend service to Bowdoin station. The change was intended to provide alternative transportation during the three-month closure of the Callahan Tunnel and subsequent two-year closure of Government Center station.[18] This was the first time since 1981 that the station was open during all operating hours.[1] In February 2016, the MBTA announced that Bowdoin would remain open at all times even after Government Center reopened on March 21.[19] Daily ridership at the station increased from 1,526 in 2013 to 2,127 in FY 2019.[3][2]

In 2019, the MBTA indicated that Bowdoin was a "Tier II" accessibility priority pending the results of conceptual design.[20]

Red–Blue Connector

The Red–Blue Connector is a proposed extension of the Blue Line under Cambridge Street to Charles/MGH station, about 0.4 miles (0.64 km) west of Bowdoin, where a transfer to the Red Line would be available. The project was first proposed in the 1983 update to the Program for Mass Transportation, although extensions from Bowdoin or Government Center to Park Street were proposed in 1926 and 1978.[21][22] In 1991, the state agreed to built the project by 2011 as part of the settlement of a lawsuit over auto emissions from the Big Dig project.[23] This commitment was changed to design only in 2007–08 and lifted entirely in 2015.[24][25][26]

Original plans for the connector in 1986 called for a cut-and-cover extension west from Bowdoin Yard, with Bowdoin station retained without significant modifications.[27] The 2010 Draft Environmental Impact Report instead called for a pair of deeper tunnels bored by a tunnel boring machine (TBM), starting east of Bowdoin station and passing underneath the existing platform. Alternatives with a replacement Bowdoin station west of Bowdoin Street, and without a replacement station, were considered; the latter was recommended due to lower cost and reduced travel time.[28] A 2018 update which analyzed multiple tunneling methods only considered an extension without a replacement Bowdoin station.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. ^ a b "A Guide to Ridership Data". MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation. June 22, 2020. p. 10.
  3. ^ a b "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  4. ^ Clarke, Bradley H.; Cummings, O.R. (1997). Tremont Street Subway: A Century of Public Service. Boston Street Railway Association. ISBN 0938315048.
  5. ^ a b c d e Cudahy, Brian J. (1972). Change at Park Street Under; the story of Boston's subways. Brattleboro, Vt.: S. Greene Press. ISBN 978-0-8289-0173-4.
  6. ^ a b "Boston Profits By Elevated Railway Station Improvements". Electric Railway Journal. 48 (7). McGraw-Hill: 258–263. 12 August 1916 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "The MBTA Vehicle Inventory Page". NETransit. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  8. ^ Fourth Annual Report (Covering the period October 1, 1967 - October 31, 1968) of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 1968. p. 23 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ Yudis, Anthony (December 4, 1966). "'Sunken' Subway Kiosk Proposed". Boston Globe. p. 40 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  10. ^ Alonso, Jessica (April 5, 1977). "Art from underground". Boston Globe. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ "Bowdoin, Symphony T stations closed today". Boston Globe. January 3, 1981 – via Newspapers.com. (second page) Open access icon
  12. ^ Buell, Spencer (March 5, 2020). "Why Do We Need the Bowdoin Stop, Anyway?". Boston Magazine.
  13. ^ Blake, Andrew (March 20, 1994). "MBTA to begin $467 million Blue Line project". Boston Globe – via Newspapers.com. (second page) Open access icon
  14. ^ "Six-Car Trains on the Blue Line" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. September 15, 2008.
  15. ^ Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority [@MBTA] (June 19, 2019). "Answer: Yes Thanks for your question. Have a good evening!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 14, 2020 – via Twitter. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; August 15, 2020 suggested (help)
  16. ^ Moskowitz, Eric (October 5, 2011). "MBTA board OK's millions for station improvements". Boston Globe.
  17. ^ "Government Center Station Reconstruction Project Green Line / Blue Line Project Briefing" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 13, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 30, 2013.
  18. ^ "Callahan Tunnel closes Friday night at 11pm" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 23, 2013.
  19. ^ Vaccaro, Adam (February 10, 2016). "Bowdoin T station will remain open nights, weekends when Government Center reopens". Boston Globe.
  20. ^ "Preview of 2019 Recommendations: Presentation to the FMCB" (PDF). Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 1, 2019. p. 12.
  21. ^ Central Transportation Planning Staff (November 15, 1993). "The Transportation Plan for the Boston Region - Volume 2". National Transportation Library. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008.
  22. ^ Report on Improved Transportation Facilities in Boston. Division of Metropolitan Planning. December 1926. hdl:2027/mdp.39015049422689.
  23. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency (October 4, 1994). "Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts—Amendment to Massachusetts' SIP (for Ozone and for Carbon Monoxide) for Transit Systems Improvements and High Occupancy Vehicle Facilities in the Metropolitan Boston Air Pollution Control District)". Federal Register. 59 FR 50498.
  24. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency (July 31, 2008). "Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts; Amendment to Massachusetts' State Implementation Plan for Transit System Improvements". Federal Register. 73 FR 44654.
  25. ^ "State Implementation Plan – Transit Commitments: Status Report" (PDF). Executive Office of Transportation. July 2, 2007. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2015.
  26. ^ United States Environmental Protection Agency (December 8, 2015). "Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts; Transit System Improvements". Federal Register. 80 FR 76225.
  27. ^ Seelye Stevenson Value & Knecht (December 1986). Bowdoin Station and Charles Street Station Connector Project Feasibility Study (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 16, 2010.
  28. ^ RedLine/Blue Line Connector Project: Draft Environmental Impact Report (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. March 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 8, 2011.
  29. ^ "SUMMARY MEMORANDUM: TUNNEL CONSTRUCTABILITY STUDY: UPDATE TO THE 2010 DEIR FOR THE RED LINE/BLUE LINE CONNECTOR". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. October 2018.
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