Talbot Avenue station

Harvard Street station in January 1903

Service on the Fairmount Line (as the Dorchester Branch of the Norfolk County Railroad and later the New York and New England Railroad and New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad) began in 1855 and lasted until 1944. Stations were located at Harvard Street (Carlton) and Dorcester (at Woodrow Avenue), which are one quarter-mile to the north and south of the new station site.

The grade crossing at Harvard Street was replaced by a road bridge by the late 19th century, while Park Street was severed at the tracks.[lower-alpha 1] Talbot Avenue was extended from Codman Square to Blue Hill Avenue in 1897, with an underpass of the railroad tracks.[10] Lauriat Avenue (now Woodrow Avenue) was lowered under the tracks adjacent to Dorchester station around 1899.[11]

A new Harvard Street station – a converted house on the east side of the tracks – was placed into service on January 1, 1903.[12] The old station building across the tracks remained in use for some time afterwards; a footbridge was constructed over the tracks by 1904.[12][9][13] By 1906, Dorchester station was the outer terminus for some short turn trains on the line.[14]

The bridge over Talbot Avenue was replaced in a single weekend in December 2011

Temporary shuttle service resumed on the Fairmount Line in 1979 during Southwest Corridor construction, with stops at Uphams Corner, Morton Street, and Fairmount. The MBTA planned to drop the shuttle after service resumed on the Southwest Corridor in 1987, but the service was locally popular and the Fairmount Line became a permanent part of the system.

A plan called the Indigo Line was later advanced by community activists in which the line would add stations and more frequent service to closely resemble a conventional rapid transit line. The Indigo Line plan was not adopted, but elements of it were included when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts agreed in 2005 to make improvements on the Fairmount Line part of its legally binding commitment to mitigate increased air pollution from the Big Dig. Among the selected improvements in the Fairmount Line Improvements project were four new commuter rail stations on the line, including one at Talbot Avenue as well as Newmarket, Four Corners/Geneva, and Blue Hill Avenue. The stations were originally to be completed by the end of 2011.[15]

Outbound platform under construction in May 2012

A $15.9 million contract for construction of the station and the replacement of the adjacent Talbot Avenue overpass was awarded in August 2010.[16] Construction began in November 2010, with a footbridge connecting Park Street to West Park Street removed in December.[17] An official groundbreaking was held in June 2011.[18] The bridge over Talbot Avenue was replaced during the third weekend of December 2011, using techniques developed in MassDOT's Fast 14 highway bridge replacement program.[15]

The station was 80% complete by April 2012.[15] By September, the station was 92% finished, with only minor cosmetic work remaining.[19] On September 13, the MBTA announced that the station was planned to open in October 2012.[20] The station did not open in October; on November 7, the MBTA announced the opening date. The station opened on schedule on November 12, 2012.[1] In April 2013, a 6-foot fence on both platforms was erected in response to privacy concerns from residents of abutting properties.[21][22] Ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held at Newmarket, Four Corners/Geneva, and Talbot Avenue on July 17, 2013.[23]