Fitchburg Intermodal Transportation Center

The Fitchburg Intermodal Transportation Center is a regional rail and bus station located in downtown Fitchburg, Massachusetts. It is a stop on the MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line and a hub for Montachusett Regional Transit Authority local and intercity bus routes.

Fitchburg
Fitchburg station in December 2013
Location150 Main Street, Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°34′51″N 71°47′33″W
Line(s)Fitchburg Line
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks3
Connections MART: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, Intercity/MWCC, Devens Shuttle, Boston Shuttle, Worcester Shuttle
Construction
Parking400 spaces ($3.00 fee)
6 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities20 spaces
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone8
History
OpenedJanuary 13, 1980
RebuiltMay 15, 2000
Passengers
2018287 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Wachusett
Terminus
 Fitchburg Line North Leominster
toward North Station

History
An early-20th-century postcard of Fitchburg Union Station

The Fitchburg Railroad was completed westward to Fitchburg on March 5, 1845.[2]:87 The Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad (V&M) soon extended the line west of Fitchburg, reaching Baldwinville in September 1847 and Greenfield on January 20, 1850.[2]:87 The Cheshire Railroad opened in stages from South Ashburnham beginning in 1847; Fitchburg was the first major station to the east of the junction.[3]:233 The Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad (F&W) opened in 1850, giving Fitchburg connections to Framingham and Worcester.[3]:238

Schedules allowed commuting from Fitchburg starting in 1864; after 1880, it was the outer terminal of commuter service on the line.[2]:88 Fitchburg Union Station, a brick structure with a five-story clock tower, was constructed in the late 19th century.[4] By 1900, the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) had acquired the Fitchburg, the V&M, and the Cheshire; the New Haven Railroad owned the F&W.[3] Fitchburg was a major station for B&M intercity trains - including the Green Mountain Flyer, Mount Royal both on the Cheshire Branch, and Minuteman on the Boston–Troy mainline.[5]

Fitchburg–Worcester passenger service ended around 1926, followed by Fitchburg–Framingham service in 1931, though the line remained in use by freight.[3]:238 B&M passenger service on the Fitchburg Route was never as heavy as the other three mainlines, and it mostly escaped significant cuts until the 1950s. Cheshire Branch service was cut back to Fitchburg on May 18, 1958, as part of major service cuts that day. All service west of Fitchburg ended on April 23, 1960.[2]:89 No longer needed, Union Station was demolished in 1962 and replaced by a small brick building.[4]

MBTA era
An MBTA train at Fitchburg in 1980

The newly formed MBTA began subsidizing B&M commuter service on January 18, 1965. The Fitchburg Line was cut back to West Concord - the outer limit of the MBTA funding district.[2]:89 Fitchburg reopened on January 13, 1980 as part of an extension of the line from South Acton to Gardner.[6] Fitchburg was the outer terminus of Fitchburg Line service from the closure of Gardner in early 1987 to the opening of Wachusett station in September 2016.[6]

The still-extant 1980 station - a short stretch of bare asphalt with a bus shelter - was replaced by the Fitchburg Intermodal Transportation Center on May 15, 2000.[4] The new facility added a handicapped-accessible platform, waiting rooms, bus bays, and a larger parking lot.[7] In June 2005, most of the surface parking was replaced with a 400-space parking garage.[8]

Bus connections
The bus bays, waiting room, and commuter rail platform seen from the garage roof

Fitchburg is a major hub for the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority, serving local and intercity routes:

  • 1: Intermodal Center-Kmart-Monument Square-The Mall at Whitney Field-Kings Corner
  • 2: Intermodal/Monument Square Via Rte 12
  • 3: Intermodal Center-Kings Corner-Mall at Whitney Field- Monument Square-Kmart
  • 4: Intermodal Center-Fitchburg State University
  • 5: Intermodal Center/Parkhill Plaza
  • 6: Intermodal Center/Burbank/Fitchburg High School
  • 7: Intermodal Center/John Fitch Plaza/Lunenburg Crossing
  • 11: Intermodal Center/Waites Corner/Monty Tech
  • MWCC/Commuter Rail Bus
  • Boston Shuttle
  • Worcester Shuttle

References
  1. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  2. Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. ISBN 9780685412947.
  3. Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. ISBN 9780942147124.
  4. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 154–156. ISBN 9780942147087.
  5. "Boston and Maine section, Table 6, 28". Official Guide of the Railways. August 1949.
  6. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  7. Prescott, Michael R. (11 October 2009). Boston Transit Equipment 1979-2009. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 52. ISBN 9780938315063.
  8. Hill, Mary Jo (November 28, 2007). "Rail parking lot to get decks". Worcester Telegram. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
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