Manchester station (MBTA)

Manchester is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. Located in Downtown Manchester, it serves the Newburyport/Rockport Line. Although the official name is "Manchester", the station is signed as "Manchester by the Sea".

Manchester By The Sea
An outbound train at Manchester station in 2014
Location40 Beach Street
Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°34′26″N 70°46′09″W
Owned byMBTA
Line(s)Gloucester Branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Parking71 spaces (free)
6 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities7 spaces
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone6
Passengers
2018198 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Beverly Farms
toward North Station
 Newburyport/​Rockport Line West Gloucester
toward Rockport

A small parking area is provided for local commuters. The station is accessible, with mini-high platforms at the outbound end of the platform.[2]

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 station in December 1847, and to Rockport in November 1861.[3] 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.[4] West Manchester station, which was located on Boardman Street, was closed in early 1940.[5]

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.[6]

References
  1. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  2. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  3. Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 264–265. ISBN 0942147022.
  4. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780942147087.
  5. "Two Stations closed on Boston & Maine". Boston Globe. December 28, 1939. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.

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