Haverhill station (Massachusetts)

Haverhill is an intercity and regional rail station located in downtown Haverhill, Massachusetts, United States. It is served by Amtrak's Downeaster service and the MBTA Commuter Rail Haverhill/Reading Line; it is the northern terminus of MBTA service.

Haverhill
Haverhill Station in May 2012
LocationWashington Street at Railroad Square
Haverhill, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates42.7735°N 71.0864°W / 42.7735; -71.0864
Owned byMBTA
Line(s)Western Route
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections MVRTA: 1, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 51, 83
Construction
Parking159 spaces ($4.00 daily)
6 accessible spaces
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeHHL (Amtrak)
Fare zone7 (MBTA)
History
OpenedDecember 17, 1979[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2017)44,827 (annual)[2]  0.71% (Amtrak)
Passengers (2018)290 (weekday average boardings)[3] (MBTA)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Woburn
toward Boston North
 Downeaster Exeter
toward Brunswick
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Bradford
toward North Station
 Haverhill Line Terminus

History
1918 postcard showing the 1905-built station

The Boston and Portland Railroad opened to Haverhill in 1840; it was merged into the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1840. A freight house was built soon after, and a second freight house in 1870; both structures (the earlier cut in half) are still extant.[4] The B&M built a new passenger station in 1905 as part of a grade crossing elimination project; it was demolished in the 1960s.

On January 3, 1965, the B&M discontinued all intercity service past Haverhill; a single commuter round trip to Dover was retained.[5][1] On June 30, 1967, that trip was curtailed to Haverhill; Haverhill and several towns to the south paid to retain the single trip.[1] North Andover stopped funding in 1974 and Andover in 1975; Haverhill withdrew support and the trip was discontinued in June 1976.[1] After a three-year period with no rail service, the current station opened on December 17, 1979 when the MBTA funded a return of several daily round trips.[1]

The other stations on the northern section of the Haverhill Line were modified for accessibility in the early 1990s; however, MBTA and town officials could not agree on the details of the Haverhill reconstruction.[6] The MBTA opened bidding on the Haverhill station project - which included accessible mini-high platforms and a 160-space parking lot - in June 1998.[7] The $4 million project was projected to take 18 months.[6] The Downeaster began service on December 14, 2001.[1]

Bus connections

Haverhill is one of two major hubs for MVRTA fixed-route local bus service. Nine routes run from the Washington Square Transit Center three blocks to the east:

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References
  1. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2017, State of Massachusetts" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017.
  3. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  4. LaPointe, Gary. "Existing Railroad Stations in Essex County, Massachusetts". Railroad Stations in Massachusetts. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  5. Bell, Tom (October 29, 2014). "Downeaster train service adds stop in Kennebunk". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  6. Cole, Caroline Louise (January 4, 1998). "Haverhill sees train station as downtown 'centerpiece'". Boston Globe. p. 68 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (June 2, 1998). "Notice to Bidders". Boston Globe. p. 27 – via Newspapers.com.
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