Packards Corner station

Packards Corner
An inbound train at Packards Corner station in 2018
General information
LocationCommonwealth Avenue at Brighton Avenue
Allston, Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°21′7.51″N 71°7′29″W / 42.3520861°N 71.12472°W / 42.3520861; -71.12472
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 57
Passengers
20112,654 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Harvard Avenue
toward Boston College
 Green Line Babcock Street
toward Government Center
Former services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Union Square
toward Watertown
 Green Line
(closed 1969)
 Alcorn Street
toward Park Street
Location
Map

Packards Corner station (announced as Brighton Avenue/Packards Corner) is a light rail stop on the MBTA's Green Line B branch located at Packard's Corner—the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Brighton Avenue—in Allston, Boston, Massachusetts. The station is located in a median between the westbound travel lanes and frontage road of Commonwealth Avenue.

History

The Green Line A branch formerly diverged just north of the platforms; its trolleys stopped at separate Packards Corner platforms on Brighton Avenue. The Brighton Avenue streetcar reservation was removed from July 1 to October 5, 1949, and the side platforms for the Watertown Line were replaced with an island platform.[2] The A branch was closed on June 21, 1969, and replaced with the route 57 bus, though the trackage was retained for non-revenue moves to Watertown Yard.[3] The line was finally abandoned in 1994; a several-hundred-foot stub track was left until the mid-2000s to temporarily store disabled trains. The switch and the last few feet of track were not disconnected until track work in 2014.

Packards Corner was not made accessible during the initial 2001–03 round of Green Line station renovations. In 2019, the MBTA listed Packards Corner as a "Tier I" accessibility priority.[4] Track work in 2018–19, which included replacement of platform edges at several stops, triggered requirements for accessibility modifications at those stops.[5] Design for Packards Corner and four other B Branch stops was 30% complete by December 2022.[6] By November, construction was expected to begin at Packards Corner in spring 2024, ahead of other B Branch stations.[7] A design shown in March 2024 called for the platforms to be rebuilt at their current locations, with a new track crossing and crosswalk to the west sidewalk at the south end of the station.[8] In May 2024, the Federal Transit Administration awarded the MBTA $67 million to construct accessible platforms at 14 B and C branch stops including Packards Corner.[9] As of June 2024, construction is expected to start in fall 2025.[10]

  • Watertown Line (future A Branch) platforms in 1948
    Watertown Line (future A Branch) platforms in 1948
  • A Boston College-bound (future B Branch) train at Packards Corner in 1965
    A Boston College-bound (future B Branch) train at Packards Corner in 1965
  • Former A branch turnout switch in 2011
    Former A branch turnout switch in 2011

References

  1. ^ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  2. ^ Clarke, Bradley H. (2003). Streetcar Lines of the Hub - The 1940s. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 110. ISBN 0938315056.
  3. ^ Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  4. ^ "Preview of 2019 Recommendations: Presentation to the FMCB" (PDF). Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 1, 2019. p. 12.
  5. ^ Brelsford, Laura (May 24, 2021). "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—May 2021" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. pp. 4–5.
  6. ^ "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2022" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. December 6, 2022. pp. 4–5.
  7. ^ "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—November 2023" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. November 27, 2023. pp. 4–5.
  8. ^ "Green Line B Branch Improvements and Accessibility Upgrades" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 22, 2024.
  9. ^
  10. ^ "Accessibility Initiatives—June 2024" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 25, 2024. p. 4.

Media related to Packards Corner station at Wikimedia Commons


Stub icon

This article relating to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.