Manchester (MBTA station)

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Location 40 Beach Street
Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, 01944-1468
Coordinates 42°34′26″N 70°46′09″W / 42.5740°N 70.7691°W / 42.5740; -70.7691Coordinates: 42°34′26″N 70°46′09″W / 42.5740°N 70.7691°W / 42.5740; -70.7691
Owned by MBTA
Line(s)
  Newburyport/Rockport Line
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Construction
Parking 71 spaces (free)
6 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities 7 spaces
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Fare zone 6
Traffic
Passengers (2013) 307 (weekday average inbound boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
Newburyport/Rockport Line
toward Rockport

Manchester is a passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line, located in downtown Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. Although the official name is 'Manchester', the station is signed as "Manchester by the Sea'.

A small parking area is provided for local commuters. The station is fully handicapped accessible, with mini-high platforms at the outbound end of the platform.[1]

History

A 1909 postcard of the 1895-built depot

The Gloucester Branch opened from Beverly to Manchester in August 1847. It was extended to Gloucester in December 1847, and Rockport in November 1861.[2] The line later passed to the Eastern Railroad, which itself was absorbed by the Boston and Maine Railroad.

The original passenger station was replaced by a newer station in 1895. Neither survive, but the original freight house is present and used as a community center.[3]

When the MBTA was formed in August 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter service, Manchester was the northeast limit of its funding district. On January 18, 1965, the Boston & Maine cut Gloucester Branch service back to Manchester. After Gloucester and Rockport reached funding deals to subsidize out-of-district operations, full service was returned to Rockport on June 28, 1965.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 264–265. ISBN 0942147022.
  3. ↑ Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780942147087.
  4. ↑ Belcher, Jonathan (22 March 2014). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.