Chestnut Hill station (MBTA) explained

Chestnut Hill
Style:MBTA
Style2:Green
Address:Hammond Street and Chestnut Hill Road
Coordinates:42.3269°N -71.1647°W
Platform:2 side platforms
Tracks:2
Parking:69 spaces
Bicycle:Covered racks
Opened:July 4, 1959
Accessible:No
Passengers:1,416 (weekday average boardings)
Pass Year:2013
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Marker:rail-light
Mapframe-Zoom:14

Chestnut Hill station is a light rail station on the MBTA Green Line D branch, located off Hammond Street north of Massachusetts Route 9 in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Newton, Massachusetts. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. Chestnut Hill station is not accessible, but renovations are planned.

History

The Brookline Branch of the Boston and Worcester Railroad was extended west to Newton Upper Falls by the Charles River Branch Railroad in November 1852. Chestnut Hill was added as a flag stop by 1858.[1] After 1886, loop service on the Highland branch was run via what is now the Framingham/Worcester Line and later the Needham Line. The final trains on the line ran on May 31, 1958. The line was converted to light rail by the M.T.A. and Chestnut Hill reopened on July 4, 1959, along with the rest of the line. The original stone station was torn down and replaced by a small wooden shelter on the inbound platform.

In 2019, the MBTA indicated that the four remaining non-accessible stops on the D branch were "Tier I" accessibility priorities.[2] A preliminary design contract for accessibility modifications at the four stations was issued in February 2021.[3] [4] The station platforms will be raised and rebuilt, and a new accessible path to Hammond Road will be built.[5] Design reached 75% in June 2022 and was completed late that year.[6] Plans shown in March 2024 called for the platforms to be rebuilt in their existing configuration.[7]

By November 2023, construction was expected to be advertised in early 2024 and begin midyear.[8] However, in June 2024, the MBTA indicated that the renovations at the four stations would be done in two phases. The first phase – sections of accessible platform similar to those previously installed at, and some entrances made accessible – was expected to be complete by the end of the year, with a full renovation to take place later.[9]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: ABC Pathfinder Railway Guide . 12 . 1858 . New England Railway Publishing Company . Google Books.
  2. Web site: Preview of 2019 Recommendations: Presentation to the FMCB . Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI) . 12 . April 1, 2019 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  3. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20210319204214/https://www.mbta.com/projects/d-branch-station-accessibility-improvements . March 19, 2021 . D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . March 23, 2021 . dead .
  4. Web site: D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements: Waban, Eliot, Chestnut Hill, Beaconsfield: Virtual Public Meeting . April 29, 2021 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  5. Web site: D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements: Beaconsfield, Chestnut Hill, Eliot, Waban: Public Meeting . June 23, 2022 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  6. Web site: System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2022 . December 6, 2022 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility . 4.
  7. Web site: Green Line D Branch Accessibility Upgrades . March 14, 2024 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  8. Web site: System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—November 2023 . November 27, 2023 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility . 3–4.
  9. Web site: Accessibility Initiatives—June 2024 . June 25, 2024 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . 4.