1.
Brookline, Massachusetts
–
Brookline /ˈbrʊkˌlaɪn/ is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and is a part of Greater Boston. Brookline borders six of Bostons neighborhoods, Brighton, Allston, Fenway–Kenmore, Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, the city of Newton lies to the west of Brookline. At the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732, Brookline was first settled in 1638 as a hamlet in Boston, but was incorporated as a separate town in 1705. Brookline is especially notable as the birthplace and hometown of John F. Kennedy, Brookline was known as the hamlet of Muddy River and was considered part of Boston until the Town of Brookline was independently incorporated in 1705. It is said that the name derives from a farm once owned by Judge Samuel Sewall. According to the United States Census Bureau, Brookline has an area of 6.8 sq mi. The northern part of Brookline, roughly north of the D-line tracks, is urban in character, as highly walkable, Brookline borders Newton to the west and Boston in all other directions, it is therefore non-contiguous with any other part of Norfolk County. Brookline separates the bulk of the city of Boston from its westernmost neighborhoods of Allston–Brighton, Brookline falls under the USDA 6b Plant Hardiness zone. As of the census of 2010, there were 58,732 people,24,891 households, the population density was 8,701.0 people per square mile. There were 26,448 housing units at a density of 3,889.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 73. 3% White,3. 4% Black or African American,0. 12% Native American,15. 6% Asian,0. 03% Pacific Islander,1. 01% from other races, and 3. 0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5. 0% of the population,36. 7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10. 1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the family size was 2.86. In the town, the population was out with 16. 6% under the age of 18,11. 7%, from 18 to 24,37. 3% from 25 to 44,21. 9% from 45 to 64. The median age was 34 years, for every 100 females there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males, the median income for a household in the town was $66,711, and the median income for a family was $92,993. Males had an income of $56,861 versus $43,436 for females. The per capita income for the town was $44,327
2.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
–
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. Earlier modes of transportation in Boston were independently owned and operated. In 2008, the system averaged 1.3 million passenger trips each weekday, of which the subway averaged 598,200, making it the fourth-busiest subway system in the United States. Further, the Green Line and Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line comprise the busiest light-rail system in the U. S. with a ridership of 255,100. The MBTA is the largest consumer of electricity in Massachusetts, in 2007, its CNG bus fleet was the largest consumer of alternative fuels in the state. The MBTA operates an independent law enforcement agency, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police, development of mass transportation both followed and shaped economic and population patterns. This marked the beginning of the development of American intercity railroads, which in Massachusetts would later become the MBTA Commuter Rail system, starting with the opening of the Cambridge Railroad on March 26,1856, a profusion of streetcar lines appeared in Boston under chartered companies. Despite the change of companies, Boston is the city with the oldest continuously working streetcar system in the world, many of these companies consolidated, and animal-drawn vehicles were converted to electric propulsion. Streetcar congestion in downtown Boston led to the subways in 1897, the Tremont Street Subway was the first rapid transit tunnel in the United States. Grade-separation added capacity and avoided delays caused by cross streets, various extensions and branches were added at both ends, bypassing more surface tracks. As grade-separated lines were extended, street-running lines were cut back for faster downtown service, however, the Green Lines Causeway Street Elevated remained in service until 2004, when it was relocated into a tunnel with an incline to reconnect to the Lechmere Viaduct. The Boston Elevated Railway started replacing trains with buses in 1922, in 1936, it started replacing rail with trackless trolleys. The last Middlesex & Boston Street Railway streetcar ran in 1930, by the beginning of 1953, the only remaining streetcar lines fed two tunnels—the main Tremont Street Subway network downtown and the short tunnel in Harvard Square. The old elevated railways proved to be an eyesore and required several sharp curves in Bostons twisty streets, the Atlantic Avenue Elevated was closed in 1938 amidst declining ridership and was demolished in 1942. As rail passenger service became unprofitable, largely due to rising automobile ownership. The MTA purchased and took over subway, elevated, streetcar, in the 1950s, the MTA ran new subway extensions, while the last two streetcar lines running into the Pleasant Street Portal of the Tremont Street Subway were substituted with buses in 1953 and 1962. While the operations of the MTA were relatively stable by the early 1960s, the 1945 Coolidge Commission plan assumed that most of the commuter rail lines would be replaced by shorter rapid transit extensions, or simply feed into them at reduced service levels. Passenger service on the entire Old Colony Railroad system serving the part of the state was abandoned by the New Haven Railroad in 1959
3.
MBTA Bus
–
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority operates 177 bus routes in the Greater Boston area, many of which were formerly part of a large streetcar system. Some routes are for local transport within the city, others bring passengers from surrounding areas to stops on the MBTA Commuter Rail or subway lines, much of this service is provided by bus. Fifteen routes designed as key routes run with higher frequency at all times, most MBTA Bus service is served by diesel, compressed natural gas, and diesel-electric hybrid buses. Silver Line routes running in the Waterfront Tunnel use dual-mode buses that operate as trolleybuses in the tunnel, four routes based out of the Harvard Bus Tunnel run with trolleybuses in Cambridge, Massachusetts and also serve several surrounding suburbs. All buses and routes are wheelchair-accessible, most of the MBTAs bus fleet consists of buses with wheelchair ramps. All buses have amber colored LED exterior headsigns displaying route and destination and this is the current bus roster for the MBTA as of March 2017, including three groups of buses where delivery is ongoing. All buses are 102 inches wide, most buses are 40-foot length while 97 of the total MBTA bus fleet are 60-foot articulated buses. On June 29,2015, the MassDOT board approved the purchase of 325 new 40-foot buses from New Flyer, the 325 buses, costing a total of $222.2 million, will be delivered in 2016 and 2017 following the acceptance of a production test model. They will replace the remaining C40LF and 40-LFW fleets, six additional hybrid buses will be used for privately operated routes 712 and 713 when a new contract begins on July 1,2017. On October 5,2015, the MBTA Fiscal Control Board approved the purchase of 44 new 60-foot articulated hybrid buses from New Flyer to replace the now-retired CNG-powered Neoplan AN460LF fleet. The contract will include an option for a hybrid bus with extended-range electric operation for Silver Line Waterfront use. If tested successfully, an option for up to 45 hybrid buses with extended-range electric operation would be exercised to replace the dual-mode AN460LF fleet. In February 2015, the MBTA was awarded a $4.14 million FTA grant to purchase five 60-foot articulated battery electric buses from New Flyer, in late 2016, the MBTA will place a prototype 40-foot hydrogen fuel cell bus provided by the FTA into service. MBTA buses are operated out of the facilities listed below, Route 28, SL4, & SL5 use Southampton St. 40-foot buses, Route 39 uses Arborway and/or Cabot buses. Some buses are being loaned to other yards due to shortage, most local bus routes in Massachusetts outside the immediate MBTA operating area are operated by the states other regional transit authorities. However, some routes that connect with MBTA bus or subway service are operated by private contractors with partial subsidy by the MBTA. Five routes – the 710, 712/713,714, and 716 – are numbered like other MBTA buses, their operators accept MBTA passes on CharlieTickets, the five routes are primarily commuter routes which connect with other MBTA services at their inbound terminals. They were taken over various private operators
4.
Green Line (MBTA)
–
The Green Line is a light rail system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in the Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan area. It is the oldest Boston subway line, with tunnel sections dating from 1897 and it runs underground through downtown Boston, and on the surface on several radial boulevards and into inner suburbs. With a daily ridership of over 232,000 in 2015. The line was assigned the color in 1967 during a systemwide rebranding because several branches pass through sections of the Emerald Necklace of Boston. The four branches are the remnants of a streetcar system. The streetcar system peaked in size around 1930 and was replaced with trackless trolleys and buses. A new branch opened on a commuter rail line in 1959. The line has its terminus at Lechmere in East Cambridge with connections to numerous bus routes serving Cambridge. From there it runs south over the Lechmere Viaduct and into an extension of the Tremont Street Subway under downtown Boston to the Boston Common and it continues west in the Boylston Street Subway to Kenmore Square. The Green Line tunnels through Downtown Boston and the Back Bay are collectively referred to as the Central Subway. The E Branch serves Lechmere and splits just west of Copley, running southwest through the Huntington Avenue Subway and it continues along Huntington Avenue, and terminating at Heath Street near V. A. Until 1985, the line continued though Jamaica Plain to Arborway, the B, C, and D Branches diverge west of Kenmore Square. From south to north, they are as follows, The D Branch surfaces onto the grade-separated Highland Branch, the C Branch surfaces onto Beacon Street, running to Cleveland Circle at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. The B Branch surfaces onto Commonwealth Avenue and it runs past Boston University, passes within a quarter mile of Cleveland Circle, where a connection to the latter runs down Chestnut Hill Ave. and continues to Boston College. The A Branch diverged from Commonwealth Ave. west of Boston University and ran to Watertown, across the Charles River from Watertown Square, although the route-letter scheme had been introduced two years prior to its closure, the A designation was never signed on streetcars to Watertown. It was, however, included in the signs on the Boeing-Vertol LRVs ordered in the mid-1970s. The A line tracks remained in service to access maintenance facilities at Watertown until 1994. Not only was there community opposition to restoration, but the tracks would have required a complete rehabilitation, the Lechmere Viaduct originally connected to the Central Subway via the Causeway Street Elevated, a half-mile-long structure running in front of North Station and the Boston Garden sports complex
5.
Longwood (MBTA station)
–
Longwood is a light rail stop on the MBTA Green Line D Branch, located on Chapel Street in Brookline, Massachusetts just north of Longwood Avenue. It serves the western end of the Longwood Medical Area, the Colleges of the Fenway, the station opened with the rest of the line on July 4,1959. After renovation work completed in 2009, Longwood station is handicapped accessible from both Chapel Street and Riverway Park. The Boston and Worcester Railroad opened a 1. 4-mile branch from Brookline Junction to Brookline on April 10,1848, there was one intermediate stations on the branch - Longwood just south of Longwood Avenue. The Charles River Branch Railroad extended the Brookline Branch to Newton Upper Falls in November 1852 and to Needham in June 1853, keeping the original B&W station for its service. The Sears Chapel was built in 1861 and the Church of Our Savior in 1868, the Boston and Albany Railroad bought back the line, then part of the New York and New England Railroad, in February 1883. It was double-tracked and extended to the B&A main at Riverside, Newton Circuit service via the Highland Branch, all stations on the Highland Branch save for Longwood, Chapel, and Brookline were thus rebuilt between 1883 and 1894. In April 1892, the B&A petitioned the Massachusetts Board of Railroad Commissioners to allow them to combine the two old stations into a new station between their location. The railroad cited the closeness of the two stations, their locations, and traffic losses due to the electrified trolley line opened on nearby Beacon Street in 1889. The board referenced the railroads arguments, the assent of the Brookline selectmen, in early 1893, the B&A commissioned Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge to build new stations at Longwood and Riverside. The new Longwood station was a simple rectangular design with a dominant stone roof that provided shelter on all four sides. Located on Chapel Street near Hawes Street between the station locations, it was constructed from July 1893 to May 1894. The bridge was closed in 1975 due to severe corrosion, as of 2015, the state is planning a controversial $2.7 million project to rebuild and reopen the footbridge. In June 1957, the Massachusetts Legislature approved the purchase of the branch by the M. T. A. from the nearly-bankrupt New York Central Railroad for conversion to a trolley line, service ended on May 31,1958. The line was converted for trolley service, and the line including Longwood station reopened on July 4,1959. The 1893-built station was torn down during the conversion to make room for a parking lot. During the Brookline Village/Longwood Avenue Station Renovation Project, the MBTA renovated Longwood, the two stations received raised platforms to interface with low-floor trams, wooden ramps to access high-floor trams, and other upgrades. Work on both stations began on July 23,2007, construction was completed in the second quarter of 2009, making Longwood station is fully handicapped accessible
6.
New York Central Railroad
–
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States. NYCs Grand Central Terminal in New York City is one of its best known extant landmarks, in 1968 the NYC merged with its former rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad, to form Penn Central. That company went bankrupt in 1970 and was taken over by the federal government, Conrail was broken up in 1998, and portions of its system was transferred to the newly formed New York Central Lines LLC, a subsidiary leased to and eventually absorbed by CSX and Norfolk Southern. Those companies lines included the original New York Central main line, but outside that area it included lines that were never part of the New York Central system. At the end of 1925, the New York Central System operated 11,584 miles of road and 26,395 miles of track, at the end of 1967 the mileages were 9,696 miles and 18,454 miles. The Mohawk and Hudson opened on September 24,1831, and changed its name to the Albany, the Utica and Schenectady Railroad was chartered April 29,1833, as the railroad paralleled the Erie Canal it was prohibited from carrying freight. Revenue service began August 2,1836, extending the line of the Albany and Schenectady Railroad west from Schenectady along the side of the Mohawk River, opposite the Erie Canal. The Syracuse and Utica Railroad was chartered May 1,1836, the full line opened July 3,1839, extending the line further to Syracuse via Rome. This line was not direct, going out of its way to stay near the Erie Canal and serve Rome, nothing of that line was ever built, though the later West Shore Railroad, acquired by the NYC in 1885, served the same purpose. The Auburn and Syracuse Railroad was chartered May 1,1834, and opened mostly in 1838, a month later, with the opening of the Syracuse and Utica Railroad, this formed a complete line from Albany west via Syracuse to Auburn, about halfway to Geneva. The Auburn and Rochester Railroad was chartered May 13,1836, as an extension via Geneva and Canandaigua to Rochester. The two lines merged on August 1,1850, to form the rather indirect Rochester and Syracuse Railroad, to fix this, the Rochester and Syracuse Direct Railway was chartered and immediately merged into the Rochester and Syracuse Railroad on August 6,1850. That line opened June 1,1853, running more directly between those two cities, roughly parallel to the Erie Canal. The Tonawanda Railroad, to the west of Rochester, was chartered April 24,1832 to build from said city to Attica. The first section, from Rochester southwest to Batavia, opened May 5,1837, the Attica and Buffalo Railroad chartered in 1836 and opened on November 24,1842, running from Buffalo east to Attica. On March 19,1844, the Tonawanda Railroad was authorized to build the connection, the Albany and Schenectady Railroad bought all the baggage, mail and emigrant cars of the other railroads between Albany and Buffalo on February 17,1848, and began operating through cars. On December 7,1850, the Tonawanda Railroad and Attica and Buffalo Railroad merged to form the Buffalo and Rochester Railroad. A new direct line opened from Buffalo east to Batavia on April 26,1852, the line was added to the New York and Erie Railroad system and converted to the Eries 6 ft broad gauge
7.
Light rail
–
Light rail, light rail transit or fast tram is urban public transport using rolling stock similar to a tramway, but operating at a higher capacity, and often on an exclusive right-of-way. A few light rail networks tend to have closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail. Other light rail networks are tram-like in nature and partially operate on streets, Light rail systems are found throughout the world, on all inhabited continents. They have been popular in recent years due to their lower capital costs. The term light rail was coined in 1972 by the U. S, Urban Mass Transportation Administration to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany the term Stadtbahn was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt the direct translation, however, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of intended for light loads and fast movement, the infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The Transportation Research Board defined light rail in 1977 as a mode of urban transportation utilizing predominantly reserved, electrically propelled rail vehicles operate singly or in trains. LRT provides a range of passenger capabilities and performance characteristics at moderate costs. Light rail is a generic international English phrase for these types of rail systems, the use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English. The word trolley is used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States. A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams except Blackpool after World War II, when these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both the old and new systems. Conventional rail technologies including high-speed, freight, commuter/regional, and metro/subway/elevated urban transit systems are considered heavy rail, people movers and personal rapid transit are even lighter, at least in terms of capacity. Monorail is a technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. Due to varying definitions, it is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail, a system described as light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called light rail are in very similar to rapid transit, in recent years. Some light rail systems, such as Sprinter, bear little similarity to urban rail, in the United States, light rail has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. There is a significant difference in cost between these different classes of light rail transit, tram-like systems are often less expensive than metro-like systems by a factor of two or more
8.
Accessibility
–
Accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people who experience disabilities. The concept of design and practice of accessible development ensures both direct access and indirect access meaning compatibility with a persons assistive technology. Accessibility can be viewed as the ability to access and benefit from some system or entity and this is about making things accessible to all people. Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities commits signatories to provide for full accessibility in their countries. Accessible facilities therefore extend to such as Braille signage, elevators, audio signals at pedestrian crossings, walkway contours, website design. Government mandates including Section 508, WCAG, DDA are all enforcing practices to standardize accessibility testing engineering in product development, existing private businesses are required to increase the accessibility of their facilities when making any other renovations in proportion to the cost of the other renovations. The United States Access Board is A Federal Agency Committed to Accessible Design for People with Disabilities, the Job Accommodation Network discusses accommodations for people with disabilities in the workplace. Many states in the US have their own disability laws, in Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 has numerous provisions for accessibility. In South Africa the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 2000 has numerous provisions for accessibility, in the UK, the Equality Act 2010 has numerous provisions for accessibility. In Sri Lanka, the Supreme Court, on 27 April 2011 gave an order to boost the inherent right of disabled persons to have unhindered access to public buildings. The Act refers to legislation regarding accessibility in e. g. ICT. In Canada, relevant federal legislation includes the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Employment Equity Act, legislation may also be enacted on a state, provincial or local level. In Ontario, Canada, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act of 2001 is meant to improve the identification, removal, the European Union, which has signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, also has adopted a European Disability Strategy for 2010-20. A European Accessibility Act was proposed in late 2012 and this Act would establish standards within member countries for accessible products, services, and public buildings. Assistive technology is the creation of a new device that assists a person in completing a task that would otherwise be impossible. Adaptive technology is the modification, or adaptation, of existing devices, methods, or the creation of new uses for existing devices, to enable a person to complete a task. Examples include the use of controls, and the autocomplete feature in computer word processing programs. Adaptations to wheelchair tires are another example, widening the tires enables wheelchair users to move over soft surfaces, such as snow on ski hills
9.
Kenmore (MBTA station)
–
Kenmore is a light rail station on the MBTA Green Line, located under Kenmore Square in the Fenway/Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The station opened on October 23,1932 as a extension of the Boylston Street Subway to relieve congestion in the square. Kenmore is the station for passengers wishing to go to Fenway Park. However, some sports fans exit at Fenway station despite its distance from the stadium. The station opened on October 23,1932, replacing the former Kenmore Incline, the Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street services were routed through the station from its opening day. Until its shutdown in 1969, the Green Line A Branch to Watertown Square shared the B branch tracks, running along Commonwealth Avenue to Packards Corner, Green Line service on the Highland Branch began on July 4,1959. The station was closed for two months in 1996, after the Muddy River overflowed its banks, completely submerging the platform, during the closure, substitute service was provided by commuter rail trains between Riverside and South Station. A similar flood previously occurred on October 6,1962, requiring closure of the station for five days. Until January 1,2007, Kenmore was the last Green Line station heading outbound where passengers were required to pay a fare upon boarding and it was for this reason that fans going home from the game to the Newton Highlands region were advised to use the Fenway stop. Passengers now must pay fares at all Green Line surface stops regardless of whether they are going inbound or outbound, in 2005, Kenmore station underwent reconstruction in order to make the station fully handicapped accessible. Despite almost constant work, the station was kept in operation, major changes included elevators and escalators, and a new bus shelter with a transparent semi-arched canopy placed in the middle of Kenmore Square. The Boston Globe reported that there were delays in construction. Kenmore station is now wheelchair accessible. Kenmore station is five stops and a nominal 12-minute ride from Park Street, the station serves as the branching off point for the B, C, and D trains on the Green Line. While all trains converge on the route going inbound, when going outbound they split both before and after Kenmore station, branching off into different above-ground routes. The tracks are configured for use as a platform, with outbound trains for the C and D branches sharing the outer tracks. The northernmost island platform serves outbound passengers on all lines, while the island platform serves all inbound trains. A loop track, officially called the Kenmore Loop, connects the inbound and outbound C/D branch tracks, although it is currently used for overnight storage of Green Line cars, it was originally built for use in regular service
10.
Harvard (MBTA station)
–
Harvard is a rapid transit and bus transfer station on the MBTA Red Line, located at Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The third-busiest MBTA subway station, Harvard averaged 23,199 entries each weekday in 2013, with only Downtown Crossing and it is also an important transfer point, with subway, bus, and trackless trolley service all connecting at the station. Five of the fifteen key MBTA bus routes stop at the station, Harvard station is located directly beneath Harvard Square, a transportation, business, and cultural focal point in Cambridge. The Red Line rail platforms lie underneath Massachusetts Avenue just north of the center of the square, the station opened on March 23,1912, and was completely rebuilt and relocated in the 1980s. The 1912 original entry structure was first replaced by the Harvard Square Subway Kiosk in 1928, the Harvard Bus Tunnel also opened in 1912, originally serving streetcars but now buses and trackless trolleys. The streetcar tunnel began to be used also by the Boston-area trolleybus system in 1938, diesel buses began using the tunnel in 1965. There have been a total of five stations on the Red Line in and it opened March 23,1912, and closed January 30,1981. The lead tracks to Eliot Street Yard curved under Harvard Square and Brattle Street, the tunnel is still in place underground and used for MBTA storage, but the aboveground section has been demolished save for one stone marked Boston Elevated Railway. The Eliot Yard was demolished and replaced by Harvards John F. Kennedy School of Government, stadium station was located at surface level in Eliot Yard, west of the corner of what is now JFK Street and Memorial Drive. It was not open for use and did not have faregates, instead. It opened on October 26,1912 and the last known use was on November 18,1967, during the construction of the current Harvard station, two temporary stations were built. Harvard/Brattle, a station built of pressure-treated wood, consisted of two island platforms between three tracks in Eliot Yard, just outside the portal. It was open from March 24,1979 to September 1,1983, the temporary station was completely demolished, and parts of the Kennedy School of Government now occupy the space. Harvard/Holyoke station was located in the main Red Line tunnel east of the current station, at Massachusetts Avenue, although it was for inbound passengers only, the temporary station was fully built with tile walls and other details. It was open from January 31,1981, to September 1,1983, the abandoned side platform is still visible from inbound Red Line trains. A new modern headhouse was built south of the location, affording a generous entry into a deep. From this space, passengers may pass through faregates to reach new train platforms to the north, an elevator is also installed near the main entrance structure. To the west of the atrium, passengers may gain access to boarding areas for the Harvard Bus Tunnel
11.
Boston and Albany Railroad
–
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is used by CSX for freight. Passenger service is operated on the line by Amtrak, and by the MBTA Commuter Rail system. The Boston and Worcester Railroad was chartered June 23,1831 and construction began in August 1832. The line opened in sections, to West Newton on April 16,1834, to Wellesley on July 3, to Ashland on September 20, to Westborough in November 1834, and the full length to Worcester on July 4,1835. The originally single-track line was doubled-tracked from Boston to Framingham in 1839, in 1843 the B&W introduced season passes to West Newton for $60, effectively introducing the concept of commuter rail. The Western Railroad was chartered February 15,1833 and incorporated March 15,1833 to connect the B&W to the Hudson, construction began in 1837, and the Eastern Division to the Connecticut River in Springfield opened on October 1,1839. On October 4,1841 the first train ran along the full route, the Castleton and West Stockbridge Railroad was incorporated in New York in 1834 as the New York part of the Western Railroad, and changed its name to the Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad. Construction began in December 1840 and the line opened from Greenbush to Chatham on December 21,1841 and it was leased to the Western Railroad for 50 years from November 11,1841. This railroad replaced the Hudson and Berkshire Railroad east of Chatham, two mergers, on September 4,1867 and December 28,1870 brought the three companies, along with the Hudson and Boston Railroad, together into one company, known as the Boston and Albany Railroad. The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad leased the B&A for 99 years from July 1,1900 and this lease passed to the New York Central Railroad in 1914, throughout this, the B&A kept its own branding in the public eye. The NYC merged into Penn Central on February 1,1968, by 1889, as many as 35 trains traveled the Circuit daily, providing commuter service. In 1899, the new South Station union station opened in Boston and that terminal had been located on the west side of Utica Street (Boston, from Kneeland Street south to Harvard Street, now part of the South Bay Interchange. Even earlier, the terminal was in the bounded by Kneeland Street, Beach Street, Albany Street. By the early part of the 20th century, commuter service was provided east of Worcester. The intercity trips were taken over by Amtrak on May 1,1971, and, on January 27,1973, Service beyond Framingham was discontinued October 27,1975, as the state did not subsidize it. Conrail took over Penn Central on April 1,1976, on September 26,1994, some rush hour trains started to serve Worcester on Conrail trackage, extending to other times beginning on December 14,1996. The MBTA acquired the rest of the line from Framingham to Worcester as part of an agreement announced in 2009, the deal was closed on June 17,2010
12.
Side platform
–
A side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. Dual side platform stations, one for direction of travel, is the basic station design used for double-track railway lines. Side platforms may result in a wider overall footprint for the station compared with a platform where a single width of platform can be shared by riders using either track. In some stations, the two platforms are connected by a footbridge running above and over the tracks. While a pair of platforms is often provided on a dual-track line. Where the station is close to a crossing the platforms may either be on the same side of the crossing road or alternatively may be staggered in one of two ways. With the near-side platforms configuration, each platform appears before the intersection, in some situations a single side platform can be served by multiple vehicles simultaneously with a scissors crossing provided to allow access mid-way along its length. Normally, the facilities of the station are located on the Up platform with the other platform accessed from a footbridge. However, in cases the stations main buildings are located on whichever side faces the town or village the station serves. Larger stations may have two platforms with several island platforms in between. Some are in a Spanish solution format, with two platforms and an island platform in between, serving two tracks
MBTA Bus: 60, 65, 66
