Haverhill station (Massachusetts)

Haverhill station is an intercity and regional rail station located in downtown Haverhill, Massachusetts, United States. It is served by Amtrak's Downeaster service and the MBTA Commuter Rail Haverhill/Reading Line; it is the northern terminus of MBTA service. Haverhill is one of two major hubs for MVRTA local bus service; the Washington Square Transit Center is located 1⁄5 mile (0.32 km) east of the rail station.

Haverhill
A purple and silver passenger train at a somewhat elevated station, viewed from above
An inbound train at Haverhill station in May 2017
General information
LocationWashington Street (Routes 110/113) at Railroad Square
Haverhill, Massachusetts
United States
Coordinates42.7735°N 71.0864°W / 42.7735; -71.0864
Owned byMBTA
Line(s)Western Route
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MVRTA: 1, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
Construction
Parking159 spaces; paid
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: HHL
Fare zone7 (MBTA)
History
OpenedDecember 17, 1979[1]
Passengers
FY 202223,156 annually[2] (Amtrak)
2018290 (weekday boardings)[3] (MBTA)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Woburn
toward Boston North
 Downeaster Exeter
toward Brunswick
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Bradford
toward North Station
 Haverhill Line Terminus

The Boston and Portland Railroad opened to Haverhill in 1840 and was renamed Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1843. The first station was replaced in 1867. It was modified with a second story in 1904–1906 during a project to eliminate grade crossings. B&M commuter service to Haverhill lasted until 1976; it resumed in 1979 under the control of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). The Downeaster began service in 2001.

History
A postcard of a two-story brick railway station
Haverhill station after the 1904–06 track raising

The Boston and Portland Railroad opened to Bradford, across the Merrimack River from Haverhill, on October 26, 1837.[4]: 5  A bridge across the river was built in 1839, with service extended to East Kingston, New Hampshire via Haverhill on January 1, 1840. The railroad was renamed as the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) in 1843.[4]: 6  The original station, with colonnades on several sides, was soon supplemented with a brick freight house.[5]: 163 [4]: 17  Haverhill had service suitable for commuting to Boston almost immediately; even after Dover became the outer limit for some commuter service in the 1850s, Haverhill remained the terminus of some trains.[6]: 67 

A new brick station with a four-sided clock tower, design by local architect Josiah Littlefield, was built in 1867 on the east side of the tracks.[7][8] A larger wooden freight house replaced the brick freight house several years later.[5]: 164 

In the 1890s, the city began pushing for the elimination of grade crossings, including busy Washington Street adjacent to the station.[9] A 1904–06 project eliminated crossings at Washington, Essex, Winter, and Elm streets by raising the railroad through Bradford and Haverhill. Although the city requested new station buildings on both sides of the tracks, the B&M instead added another story to the existing station and removed the clock tower. A pedestrian tunnel led to a waiting room on the west side of the tracks. The B&M used a temporary station at Essex Street while construction was in progress. The final cost of the project was $750,000 (equivalent to $17,900,000 in 2021).[10] The existing freight house was not raised, while the former brick freight house was cut in half and moved away from the tracks for reuse. All three structures are still extant, though the newer freight house was partially destroyed by a fire.[5]: 163 

On January 3, 1965, the B&M discontinued all intercity service on the mainline; a single commuter round trip to Dover was retained.[11][1] On June 30, 1967, that trip was curtailed to Haverhill; Haverhill and several towns to the south paid to retain the single trip.[1] North Andover stopped funding in 1974 and Andover in 1976; Haverhill withdrew support and the trip was discontinued in June 1976.[1][12][13] The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) bought all B&M commuter equipment and lines on December 27, 1976, including the Western Route from Wilmington Junction to the New Hampshire border.[1] After a three-year period with no rail service, the station reopened on December 17, 1979 when the MBTA funded a return of several daily round trips.[1]

The other stations on the northern section of the Haverhill Line were modified for accessibility in the early 1990s; however, MBTA and town officials could not agree on the details of the Haverhill reconstruction.[14] The MBTA opened bidding on the Haverhill station project - which included accessible mini-high platforms and a 160-space parking lot - in June 1998.[15] The $4 million project was projected to take 18 months.[14] The Downeaster began service, with a stop at the newly renovated Haverhill station, on December 14, 2001.[1]

References
  1. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: Commonwealth of Massachusetts" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  3. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  4. Bradlee, Francis Boardman Crowninshield (1921). The Boston and Maine Railroad; a history of the main road, with its tributary lines. Essex Institute – via Internet Archive.
  5. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. ISBN 9780942147087.
  6. Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. ISBN 9780685412947.
  7. O'Malley, Patricia Trainor (1997). Haverhill, Massachusetts: From Town to City. Arcadia Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 9780738549712 – via Google Books.
  8. "Miscellaneous Items". New England Farmer. August 25, 1866. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  9. "For Haverhill, Grade Crossing Board Has Been Chosen". Boston Globe. February 8, 1900. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. "Haverhill's $750,000 Job". Boston Globe. December 3, 1905. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  11. Bell, Tom (October 29, 2014). "Downeaster train service adds stop in Kennebunk". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  12. Carr, Robert B. (November 13, 1974). "Two towns lose MBTA rail service". Boston Globe. p. 53 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  13. "End of Commuting". Boston Globe. April 1, 1976. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  14. Cole, Caroline Louise (January 4, 1998). "Haverhill sees train station as downtown 'centerpiece'". Boston Globe. p. 68 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  15. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (June 2, 1998). "Notice to Bidders". Boston Globe. p. 27 – via Newspapers.com. open access

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