Church Street station (MBTA)

Church Street station is an under-construction MBTA Commuter Rail station located in northern New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. It is planned to open in mid-2024 as part of the first phase of the South Coast Rail project. The station will have a single side platform on the east side of the New Bedford Subdivision, along with a park and ride lot.

Church Street
A railway station platform under construction
Church Street station under construction in February 2023
General information
Location387 Church Street
New Bedford, Massachusetts
Coordinates41°40′29″N 70°56′22″W
Line(s)New Bedford Subdivision
Platforms1 side platform (planned)
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport SRTA: 8[1]: 51 
Construction
Parking354 parking spaces
Bicycle facilities22 spaces
AccessibleYes
History
Openingmid-2024 (planned)
ClosedSeptember 5, 1958 (former station)
Previous namesAcushnet
Passengers
2030260 weekday boardings (projected)[1]: 66 
Planned services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
New Bedford
Terminus
 South Coast Rail East Taunton
toward South Station

The former Acushnet station, located slightly to the north of the modern station site, was served by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and several predecessors until around the 1930s. A site near Kings Highway in northern New Bedford was announced as a potential South Coast Rail station in 2009. Originally to be on the west side of the tracks, the planned station was moved to the east side and renamed North New Bedford in 2019. A construction contract was issued in 2020; that year, the station was again renamed as Church Street.

Station design

The station will be located west of Church Street approximately 1⁄3 mile (0.5 km) south of Tarkiln Hill Road in northern New Bedford, about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of downtown New Bedford and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Acushnet Center. It will have an 800-foot (240 m)-long accessible high-level side platform on the east side of the New Bedford Subdivision, which will have one track plus a freight siding at the station location. A 182-foot (55 m)-long canopy will cover part of the platform to provide shelter for passengers.[2] The parking lot between the platform and Church Street will have 354 parking spaces, 22 bicycle spaces, a kiss-and-ride area, and a bus stop for Southeastern Regional Transit Authority route 8.[2][1]: 51 

History

Acushnet station
A black-and-white postcard of a two-story wooden railway station
A postcard of Acushnet station

The New Bedford and Taunton Railroad opened between its namesake cities in July 1840, completing a rail route between Boston and New Bedford.[3]: 398  Acushnet station, located at Tarkiln Hill Road north of downtown New Bedford, served the eponymous town to the east.[4] The station was located on the east side of the tracks on the north side of the street, with a freight house on the west side of the tracks.[5] Service was later consolidated under the New Bedford Railroad (1873), Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad (1876), Old Colony Railroad (1879), and finally the New Haven Railroad (1893).[3]: 400 

Passenger service on the line continued until September 5, 1958.[6] However, most local stops including Acushnet were discontinued by the 1930s; by the end of service, trains ran nonstop from New Bedford to Taunton.[7][8] The line continued to be used for freight service by the New Haven and its successors Penn Central and Conrail, then finally as the CSX New Bedford Subdivision.[3]: 400  The former station building, moved northeast to Church Street, has been reused as a private residence.[9]

South Coast Rail
Rebar cages in a construction site
Rebar cages for the platform supports in January 2022

In September 2008, MassDOT released 18 potential station sites for South Coast Rail, including a King's Highway station in New Bedford (at or near the former Acushnet station site).[10] A 2009 corridor plan called for the station to be located south of Kings Highway/Tarkiln Hill Road, with the existing strip mall and industrial sites around the station area replaced by mixed-use transit-oriented development.[11] On June 11, 2010, the state took ownership of the New Bedford Subdivision and several other CSX lines as part of a sale agreement.[12] By 2013, plans called for the station to be on the west side of the tracks at the site, sharing parking with an existing movie theater.[13]

In 2017, the project was re-evaluated due to cost issues. The new proposal called for King's Highway station to be part of the first phase.[14] In 2019, the planned site was moved across the tracks due to drainage and land acquisition issues, with the name changed to "North New Bedford" for clarity.[15][16][2] A footbridge may be later constructed to provide access from the west side of the tracks, as 40% of the expected ridership is from the west.[16] In 2020, the planned name was changed to "Church Street".[17]

A former industrial building at 387 Church Street was demolished in 2020 to make room for the station and its parking lot.[18] The MBTA awarded a $403.5-million contract for the Middleborough Secondary and New Bedford Secondary portions of the project, including Church Street station, on August 24, 2020; construction was expected to begin later in 2020 and take 37 months.[19] The line was expected to open in late 2023.[17] The station was 16% complete by February 2022, with 46% of platform foundations complete.[20] The contract was 53% complete by August 2022.[21] Opening was delayed to mid-2024 in September 2023; at that point, the station was 86% complete.[22]

References
  1. VHB/HNTB (January 31, 2018). "Chapter 2 – Alternatives Analysis". South Coast Rail Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report. Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
  2. "South Coast Rail - Phase 1: New Bedford Public Meeting". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. September 17, 2019.
  3. Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. ISBN 9780942147124.
  4. "Plate No. 13". Atlas of Massachusetts. Geo. H. Walker & Co. 1891. pp. 134–35.
  5. "Plate 39". Atlas of the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Walker Lithograph & Publishing Co. 1911 – via State Library of Massachusetts.
  6. Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 34–36. ISBN 9780685412947.
  7. "Table 31". Form 200. New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. September 26, 1937. p. 28.
  8. "Table 19: Boston-New Bedford-Fall River". The Scenic Shoreline Route Serving New York and New England. New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. April 24, 1955. p. 31 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  9. LaPointe, Gary (June 9, 2021). "Bristol County".
  10. "South Coast Rail Fact Sheet" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2015.
  11. South Coast Rail Economic Development and Land Use Corridor Plan (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. June 2009. p. 79. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 7, 2013.
  12. "The Massachusetts Rail Program" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. June 2010. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2012.
  13. "Figure 3.2-30 King's Highway Station Conceptual Station Design" (PDF). Volume II: FEIS/FEIR Figures Final Environmental Impact Statement/Final Environmental Impact Report on the South Coast Rail Project proposed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New England District. August 2013.
  14. "Notice of Project Change" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. March 15, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 18, 2017.
  15. Barnes, Jennette (September 6, 2019). "Proposed King's Highway train station moved to Church Street". South Coast Today. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019.
  16. "Phase 1 New Bedford Public Information Meeting: Summary". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. September 14, 2019.
  17. Tabakin, Jennifer (May 11, 2020). "South Coast Rail Phase 1 Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  18. Roy, Linda (August 6, 2020). "North End industrial site demolished for commuter rail station". South Coast Today. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020.
  19. "FMCB Approves $403.5 Million Contract for South Coast Rail Main Line Construction" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 24, 2020.
  20. "South Coast Rail Briefing for MBTA Board of Directors" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. February 24, 2022. p. 8.
  21. "South Coast Rail Fall River Construction Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. October 13, 2022.
  22. Medeiros, Dan (September 29, 2023). "South Coast Rail passenger service is being delayed. Here's why, explained in 60 seconds". The Herald News. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023.

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