Ashmont | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 An inbound Red Line train at Ashmont station in July 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Dorchester Avenue at Ashmont Street Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°17′03″N71°03′50″W / 42.2843°N 71.0638°W /42.2843; -71.0638 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Ashmont Branch (Shawmut Branch) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2side platforms (Red Line) 1side platform (Ashmont–Mattapan line) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 (Red Line) 1balloon loop (Ashmont–Mattapan line) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections |  MBTA bus:18,21,22,23,24,26,215,217, 240 BAT: 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | "Pedal and Park" bicycle cage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | September 1, 1928 (Red Line)[1] August 26, 1929 (Mattapan Line)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | September 2004–October 21, 2011[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FY2019 | 8,841 (weekday average boardings)[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ashmont station (signed asAshmont/Peabody Sq.) is aMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)intermodal transit station located at Peabody Square in theDorchester neighborhood ofBoston, Massachusetts. It is the southern terminus of the Ashmont branch of therapid transitRed Line, the northern terminus of the connectinglight railMattapan Line, and a major terminal forMBTA bus service. Ashmont has twoside platforms serving the below-grade Red Line and a single side platform on an elevatedballoon loop for the Mattapan Line. The station is fullyaccessible for all modes.
Ashmont station has two below-street-levelside platforms for the Red Line, which runs northwest–southeast through the station. The outbound platform, only used by terminating trains, is outside the paid area. Fare mezzanines are located above both ends of the platforms. Elevators connect both mezzanines to the inbound platforms; an elevator in the center of the outbound platform connects to a walkway to the south mezzanine. The Mattapan Line runs on an elevatedballoon loop at the south end of the station, with a single side platform connected to the south mezzanine outside fare control.
A two-lane busway runs along the west side of the station at street level. The main entrance from Peabody Square leads to the north fare mezzanine; entrance to the south fare mezzanine is from the busway, with a sidewalk to Dorchester Avenue. A secondary entrance from Radford Lane leads directly to the south end of the inbound platform, and a secondary exit leads from the south end of the outbound platform to Beale Street.
Ashmont is a major terminal for theMBTA bus system, with nine local routes –18,21,22,23,24,26,215,217, and 240 – serving the station busway.[4] TheBrockton Area Transit Authority (BAT) operates its route 12 to Ashmont – one of the only non-MBTA routes running to an MBTA rapid transit station.[1]
The first Ashmont station was a simple building along the originalShawmut Branch of theOld Colony Railroad, which opened in 1872. Service on the branch ended in 1926 as theBoston Elevated Railway constructed its Dorchester Extension. Ashmont andShawmut stations opened on September 1, 1928, with Ashmont the terminal station.[5] LikeFields Corner, Ashmont was designed for convenient transfer between rapid transit trains and surface streetcars. It had twoisland platforms with rapid transit on the inner tracks and streetcars on the outer tracks, allowingcross-platform transfers in both directions. Several streetcar lines werereplaced with buses shortly after the station opened, using a surface-level busway on the west side of the station.[5]
In 1929, theEastern Massachusetts Street Railway began operating bus service to Ashmont; unlike Fields Corner andMattapan, it was never served by Eastern Mass streetcars.[6] The Eastern Mass eventually operated three bus routes out of Ashmont, all of which becameMBTA bus routes in 1971: to Brockton (now route240), to Quincy via Granite Avenue (215), and to Quincy via Adams Street (217).[1] The remaining surface streetcar lines running to Ashmont were gradually replaced by buses, with the final two routes (now routes22 and23) replaced bytrolleybuses in 1949. The grade-separated Mattapan Line continued streetcar operation. From 1948 to 1968, Hudson Bus Lines operated service from Ashmont to several South Shore locations.[1]
The station was modernized in 1976.[7][8] The station was made nominallyaccessible, though the 1990 passage of theAmericans with Disabilities Act created stricter standards.[9] In 1981, the platforms were extended for six-car trains, which were introduced in 1988.[1]
The MBTA issued a $4.3 million design contract for renovations of Ashmont, Shawmut, and Fields Corner stations on May 3, 2001; the Ashmont portion was $1.3 million.[10]: 33 The agency issued arequest for proposals fortransit-oriented development on an adjacent MBTA-owned 0.69-acre (2,800 m2) parcel on January 22, 2002, and began negotiations with a developer that June. The developer signed an 85-year lease and paid $1.4 million up front to the MBTA.[10]: 25 The Ashmont station renovation was originally to be smaller in scope than the major projects planned at the other Ashmont branch stations. The developer and the local community expressed their desires for a larger renovation, but the MBTA proceeded with design work.[10]: 25
On January 10, 2003, with design work at 90% and $2.2 million spent, the MBTA stopped work. A $3.3 million design for a full reconstruction was authorized on February 12, 2004.[10]: 33 The Shawmut and Fields Corner projects were constructed separate from the delayed Ashmont work.[10]: 33 The MBTA removed the membrane canopy from the design in September 2004 due to lack of funds. However, it was necessary to re-add (at a cost of $2.9 million) because many of the interior elements were not weatherproofed.[10]: 11–12 Original plans to includepublic art as part of theArts on the Line program were removed in budget cuts; only historicalinterpretive panels were installed.[11][12]
In September 2004, the MBTA began reconstruction of the 75-year-old station, then expected to cost $44 million.[13] The MBTA awarded the $35.2 million main construction contract on June 9, 2005.[14] The reconstruction included demolition of the existing station, the addition of two fare lobbies over the ends of the station, and a new busway at the fare lobby level. Elevators were added to make station fullyaccessible, and direct access from Peabody Square (removed in the 1970s renovation) was added. The Ashmont–Mattapan line loop was moved to a new viaduct at the south end of the station, with a platform near the south fare lobby; the former cross-platform transfer was eliminated.[14][15]
Red Line service to Ashmont was maintained through the whole construction process.[10]: 34 However, the Ashmont–Mattapan line was closed from June 24, 2006 to December 22, 2007 for construction of the new viaduct. During that time,Mattapan station and the intermediate stations were also renovated for accessibility.[16][1] The main reconstruction contract was completed in 2009 at a cost of $53.2 million - an increase of $18 million over the original price due to change orders.[10]: 8 The $10.3 million architectural work lasted until June 14, 2011, at which point the station was declared accessible.[10]: 34 In September 2011, a "HOLD" sign was installed on the trolley platform to allow an easier connection for those transferring from the Red Line.[17] The total cost of the entire reconstruction was $83 million.[10]: 32
Buses replaced service on the Ashmont Branch and Mattapan Line from October 14–29, 2023, to allow for track work.[18] The MBTA plans to convert the Mattapan Line to modernlight rail equipment. All stations would have raised platforms for level boarding on the new vehicles. The 2007-built streetcar loop and platform at Mattapan would be demolished and replaced with a new alignment.[19][20]
