West Acton station (MBTA)

West Acton was a railway station in Acton, Massachusetts. It served the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line and was located in the West Acton village. The station was closed in 1975.

West Acton
West Acton station on a circa-1910 postcard
General information
LocationMassachusetts Avenue near Spruce Street
Acton, Massachusetts
Coordinates42.476586°N 71.473371°W / 42.476586; -71.473371
Line(s)Fitchburg Main Line
Tracks2
History
ClosedMarch 1, 1975
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Littleton
toward Ayer
 Fitchburg Line
until 1975
 South Acton
toward North Station

History
Site of the former West Acton station, photographed in 2012

West Acton station was a flag stop by 1858.[1] It served the village of West Acton, and later Boxborough when its stop was closed in the 1930s. The station building, located on the east side of the tracks, was demolished in the mid 1960s as ridership declined.

When the newly formed MBTA began subsidizing the Boston & Maine Railroad's intrastate service on January 18, 1965, service was only kept to communities in the MBTA's limited funding district. All service on the Fitchburg Line west of West Concord, including to West Acton, was cut.[2] Service was restored as far as Ayer on June 28, 1965, after several towns reached subsidy agreements with the MBTA.[2]

In December 1973, state subsidies for towns outside the MBTA funding district were halved, resulting in the MBTA needing to renegotiate subsidies from 14 municipalities. Ultimately Ayer, with just 14 daily commuters, refused to pay its $8200 bill in 1974; Littleton also refused $12,300 for its 21 riders.[3] On March 1, 1975, the line was cut back to South Acton, dropping stops at Ayer, Littleton, and West Acton.[4][2]

When service was restored in 1980, West Acton (which was considered too close to South Acton) and Shirley were not reopened, in order to speed travel times to Gardner. Shirley reopened in 1981, but West Acton has remained closed.[2]

References
  1. ABC Pathfinder Railway Guide. New England Railway Publishing Company. 1858. p. 16 – via Google Books.
  2. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  3. Amory, David (20 January 1975). "MBTA puts bigger bite on 14 'outside' towns for rail costs". Boston Globe – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. O'Keele, John (2 March 1975). "MBTA ends Boston & Maine's Ayer, Littleton, West Acton service; cites deficit". Boston Globe – via Newspapers.com. open access
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