South Acton (MBTA station)
Encyclopedia
South Acton is a station on the MBTA Fitchburg Line
in Acton, Massachusetts
. The station is owned by the Town of Acton and is located at 10 Central Street near Massachusetts Route 27. It is the busiest station on the Fitchburg line, accounting for roughly 873 weekday passenger boardings, generating 15% of the line's traffic.
The station is 25.06 miles (40.3 km) away from North Station. While most trains on the Fitchburg Line run to Fitchburg
, some trains terminate at South Acton instead, and the line is sometimes referred to as the Fitchburg/South Acton Line by MBTA. The station is located in Zone 6.
began serving the town with a stop, located off of School St, when it reached the town on October 1, 1844. The railroad completed the first station in 1845 and, when the new station was built in 1892, the old station was moved to Jones Farm and utilized as a fire station until 1927. The new South Acton Station served the Boston & Maine Railroad until the company sold the building in the early 1970s after it exited the passenger transportation business. This station burned in 1984 and was torn down. South Acton served as a station stop for both the Fitchburg Branch and Marlborough Branch of the B&M. The Marlborough Branch split off from the Fitchburg Railroad after the station. The station also maintained a two-stall round house, a freight house, and a turntable, located off the Marlborough Branch. The South Acton station was temporarily closed on January 17, 1965 but reopened on June 28, 1965. In the 1980s, the Town of Acton and the MBTA moved the station stopping point two tenths of a mile westward, off of Central Street, to provide expanded on-site parking. The original site is now the site of the "overflow" parking lot.
. It is the sole train station in Acton
, a town with over 20,000 residents. The station also serves commuters from Route 2, which is 1.6 miles to the north. High ridership is also due to convenience. South Acton is the only station on the Fitchburg Line, besides North Station (Boston) and Porter (Cambridge)
, at which all trains stop.
Fitchburg Line
The Fitchburg Line is an MBTA line that runs from Boston's North Station to Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The line is along the tracks of the former Fitchburg Railroad, which was a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. It is one of the...
in Acton, Massachusetts
Acton, Massachusetts
Acton is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States about twenty-one miles west-northwest of Boston along Route 2 west of Concord and about ten miles southwest of Lowell. The population was 21,924 at the 2010 census...
. The station is owned by the Town of Acton and is located at 10 Central Street near Massachusetts Route 27. It is the busiest station on the Fitchburg line, accounting for roughly 873 weekday passenger boardings, generating 15% of the line's traffic.
The station is 25.06 miles (40.3 km) away from North Station. While most trains on the Fitchburg Line run to Fitchburg
Fitchburg (MBTA station)
Fitchburg is a passenger rail station on MBTA Commuter Rail's Fitchburg Line, located at 100 Main St., Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and is the northern terminus for Fitchburg Line trains...
, some trains terminate at South Acton instead, and the line is sometimes referred to as the Fitchburg/South Acton Line by MBTA. The station is located in Zone 6.
Parking
There are 300 parking spaces including 6 handicap accessible spaces at South Acton split between two lots. The main lot contains 282 spaces, which are split between 155 resident permit parking spaces and 107 daily 12-hour spaces. The secondary "overflow" lot is located two-tenths of mile from the station on School Street and contains 15 resident permit parking spaces. Resident Parking Permits cost $50 annually, whereas the daily 12-hour spaces cost $2.50 a day.History
The Fitchburg RailroadFitchburg Railroad
The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, USA, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900...
began serving the town with a stop, located off of School St, when it reached the town on October 1, 1844. The railroad completed the first station in 1845 and, when the new station was built in 1892, the old station was moved to Jones Farm and utilized as a fire station until 1927. The new South Acton Station served the Boston & Maine Railroad until the company sold the building in the early 1970s after it exited the passenger transportation business. This station burned in 1984 and was torn down. South Acton served as a station stop for both the Fitchburg Branch and Marlborough Branch of the B&M. The Marlborough Branch split off from the Fitchburg Railroad after the station. The station also maintained a two-stall round house, a freight house, and a turntable, located off the Marlborough Branch. The South Acton station was temporarily closed on January 17, 1965 but reopened on June 28, 1965. In the 1980s, the Town of Acton and the MBTA moved the station stopping point two tenths of a mile westward, off of Central Street, to provide expanded on-site parking. The original site is now the site of the "overflow" parking lot.
Ridership
South Acton averaged 856 inbound weekday boardings in 2009, making it the most heavily used station, for commuters going inbound towards Boston, on the Fitchburg LineFitchburg Line
The Fitchburg Line is an MBTA line that runs from Boston's North Station to Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The line is along the tracks of the former Fitchburg Railroad, which was a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. It is one of the...
. It is the sole train station in Acton
Acton, Massachusetts
Acton is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States about twenty-one miles west-northwest of Boston along Route 2 west of Concord and about ten miles southwest of Lowell. The population was 21,924 at the 2010 census...
, a town with over 20,000 residents. The station also serves commuters from Route 2, which is 1.6 miles to the north. High ridership is also due to convenience. South Acton is the only station on the Fitchburg Line, besides North Station (Boston) and Porter (Cambridge)
Porter (MBTA station)
Porter is a train station in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Somerville Avenue . It also serves portions of Somerville. The station was designed by Cambridge Seven Associates and opened on December 8, 1984. At 105 feet below ground, it is the...
, at which all trains stop.