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Attleboro station (Massachusetts)

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Attleboro station is a commuter rail station on the MBTA's Providence/Stoughton Line located in Attleboro, Massachusetts. By a 2018 count, Attleboro had 1,547 daily riders, making it the fourth busiest station on the system outside Boston.[1]

Attleboro
Attleboro station in June 2013
General information
Location75 South Main Street
Attleboro, Massachusetts
Coordinates41°56′29″N 71°17′06″W / 41.9413°N 71.2849°W / 41.9413; -71.2849
Line(s)Attleboro Line (Northeast Corridor)
Attleboro Branch
Attleboro Branch (former)
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
ConnectionsBus transport GATRA: 10, 12, 15, 16, 18
Construction
Parking796 spaces
Bicycle facilities28 spaces
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone7
History
Opened1835
Rebuilt1906–1908
Passengers
20181,547 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
South Attleboro
toward Wickford Junction
 Providence/​Stoughton Line Mansfield
toward South Station
South Attleboro
toward Providence
 Foxboro event service Mansfield
toward Foxboro
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Providence
toward New York
 Cape Codder
1986–1989
 Taunton
toward Hyannis
Preceding station Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad Following station
Terminus Attleboro Branch
(1988)
 Taunton
toward Hyannis or Falmouth
Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station
Pawtucket-Central Falls
toward New Haven
 Shore Line Mansfield
toward Boston
Providence
toward New York
 Cape Codder Taunton
toward Hyannis or Woods Hole
Northbound and Southbound Stations
Location1 and 3 Mill Street
Attleboro, Massachusetts
Built1906
ArchitectEdward Hagel
Architectural styleRichardsonian Romanesque
NRHP reference No.88003128[2]
Added to NRHPJanuary 5, 1989
Location
Map

Attleboro has had railroad service to its downtown area continuously since 1835. The two-story northbound and southbound station buildings, now private businesses, were built during a grade crossing elimination project in 1906-1908 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. MBTA trains stop at platforms located slightly south of the historic buildings.

Attleboro is an important transfer station for the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority, with bus platforms at the adjacent Attleboro Intermodal Transportation Center.

History

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Early history

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The 1873-built station in 1906

The Boston and Providence Railroad (B&P) opened between its namesake cities in June 1835. Two branches opened from Attleboro: The Attleboro Branch Railroad (run by the B&P) opened in January 1870, followed by the Taunton Branch Railroad's Attleboro Branch (to Taunton) on August 1, 1871.[3][4] The B&P built a new station in 1873. Originally intended to be a joint project with the Taunton Branch Railroad, it was completed solely by the B&P.[5] It was a complex Victorian Gothic building – north of Mill Street at a grade crossing.[6] Service began in June 1835 from Boston to Providence.

The B&P was taken over by the Old Colony Railroad in 1888, which itself was absorbed by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1893. The Old Colony Railroad constructed a new freight house at Attleboro in 1891.[7] The lease of the Attleboro Branch Railroad expired in 1901; the New Haven built a different connector to the Walpole and Wrentham Railroad and the branch was returned to its owners. It was converted to an interurban trolley line locally known as the "Gee Whiz Line" in June 1903. Taken over by the Rhode Island Company in 1907, service lasted as long as 1932.[8] The town plans to convert part of the right of way into a recreational trail.[9]

New station

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Early postcard of the northbound building

In 1891, the town petitioned the New Haven Railroad to eliminate dangerous grade crossings in the town. In 1905, the railroad set out to construct a lengthy viaduct for the mainline and the branch to Taunton. The project removed 13 grade crossings and made the line four tracks through Attleboro - one of the few locations east of New Haven where the railroad completed quadruple-tracking plans. Two-story Romanesque station buildings were built on both sides; the northbound building opened in 1906 and the larger southbound building two years later.[6]

Service on the branch to Taunton lasted until 1958, with summer-only long-distance service to Cape Cod lasting until 1964. In April 1979, off-peak MBTA service to Providence was cut back to Attleboro due to a reduction in subsidy from the state of Rhode Island. All service was cut to Attleboro on February 20, 1981.[10]

MBTA era

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Attleboro Intermodal Transportation Center viewed from the southbound MBTA platforms

The station served Amtrak's Cape Codder during the summers of 1986 to 1988, with the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad operating additional state-funded service from Attleboro to Hyannis in 1988. The CC&HR stopped operation after the 1988 season due to elimination of state subsidies.[11] The Cape Codder discontinued its Attleboro stop in 1989 as it served just 3 riders per train, though the service ran until 1996.[12]

Rush hour MBTA service was restored to Providence on February 1, 1988. Off-peak and weekend service was extended to South Attleboro upon its opening on June 20, 1990; those trains were later extended to Providence under expanded funding agreements.[10] On January 5, 1989, the station buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places.[13] Both buildings are owned by private businesses. On January 16, 1989, the MBTA began a $990k renovation project, which included the installation of mini-high platforms to make the station accessible.[14] The station was accessible by late 1990.[15] The MBTA began operating Providence–Foxboro service for events at Gillette Stadium in 1997, with Attleboro as one of the intermediate stops.[16][17]

A 782-space garage was planned around 1999 to deal with overcrowding in the surface parking lots, but was never built.[18] The Attleboro Intermodal Transportation Center was opened on November 7, 2013 to provide better connections between local bus and commuter rail services. The facility includes dedicated busways and a waiting room located on the west side of the railroad viaduct.[19]

A 1.7 miles (2.7 km) section of non-electrified platform sidings at Attleboro, not included in the initial Amtrak electrification, was scheduled to be electrified in mid-2022 to support future electric MBTA operations.[20][21] As of 2024, transit oriented development with up to 600 housing units is planned to replace the surface parking lots west of the station.[22] The city and the MBTA issued a request for qualifications in June 2024.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. ^ Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 146–152, 327–330. ISBN 0942147022.
  4. ^ "The Boston & Providence Railroad Corporation". Boston Evening Transcript. November 8, 1871. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Boston and Providence". The Boston Globe. November 20, 1873. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 126–127. ISBN 9780942147087.
  7. ^ Twenty-Eighth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders. Old Colony Railroad Company. September 1891. p. 8.
  8. ^ Hannan, Bill (20 March 1999). "HANNAN: Finally, on the right track". Sun Chronicle. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  9. ^ Open Space and Recreation Plan Committee (July 2009). "Open Space and Recreational Plan" (PDF). City of Attleboro, Massachusetts. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  10. ^ a b Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  11. ^ A. Joseph DeNucci (October 29, 1990). State Auditor's report on the activities of the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad under the 1986, 1987 and 1988 passenger service agreements with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of the State Auditor.
  12. ^ Jonathan Saltzman (25 June 1989). "Trains to the Cape don't stop in Attleboro anymore". Providence Journal. ProQuest 396767857.
  13. ^ "National Register of Historic Places". National Park Service. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  14. ^ Sanborn, George M. (1992). A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2019-10-17 – via Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  15. ^ Operations Directorate Planning Division (November 1990). "Ridership and Service Statistics" (3 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. pp. 1–5 – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ "[Advertisement]". Boston Globe. October 11, 1996. p. 90 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "If you're going to the game..." Boston Globe. September 14, 1997. p. 64 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Preer, Robert (November 21, 1999). "MBTA set to expand station parking". Boston Globe. pp. 21, 32 – via Newspapers.com.  
  19. ^ Jessen, Klark (November 7, 2013). "Attleboro RTA Intermodal Center Celebrated" (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015.
  20. ^ Sawers, Alistair (January 25, 2021). "Regional/Urban Rail Transformation Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 10.
  21. ^ Sawers, Alistar (June 23, 2022). "Regional Rail Transformation Update: Traction Power Planning for Regional and Urban Rail Services" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 16.
  22. ^ "MBTA Advances Nearly 1,000 Units of Housing Through Collaborative Agreements, Including Significant Affordable Housing" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. May 17, 2024.
  23. ^ "Attleboro Redevelopment Authority in Collaboration with MBTA Releases Request for Qualifications for Downtown Development" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 25, 2024.
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