Mansfield station (MBTA)

Mansfield is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Located in downtown Mansfield, it serves the Providence/Stoughton Line. With 1,966 weekday boardings in a 2018 count, Mansfield is the third-busiest station on the system outside Boston.[1]

Mansfield
Mansfield station in November 2014
Location1 Crocker Street, Mansfield, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°02′00″N 71°13′10″W
Owned byMBTA
Line(s)Northeast Corridor
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections GATRA: 140
Construction
Parking806 spaces ($4.00 fee)
9 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities12 spaces
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone6
History
Opened1835
Rebuilt1955, January 2004, 2017–2019
Traffic
Passengers (2018)1,966 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Attleboro
toward Wickford Junction
 Providence/​Stoughton Line Sharon
toward South Station
Attleboro
toward Providence
 Providence/​Stoughton Line
(Special events)
 Foxboro
Terminus
Former services
Preceding station New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Following station
Attleboro
toward New Haven
 Shore Line East Foxboro
toward Boston

With mini-high platforms on both tracks, Mansfield is fully accessible. Large parking lots are available west of the tracks, with limited parking including accessible spots next to the station building east of the tracks.

History

Early stations
1908 view of the original depot building

The Boston and Providence Railroad opened through Mansfield in 1835, with a flat-roofed depot built near the modern station site. The Taunton Branch Railroad opened the next year; through cars operated to New Bedford soon after the New Bedford and Taunton Railroad opened in 1840, though the service was not suitable for commuters until 1885.[2] The Mansfield and Framingham Railroad opened in 1870 as part of the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railroad; it was merged into the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad in 1876 which itself became part of the Old Colony Railroad system in 1883 as the Old Colony's entrance to northern Massachusetts.[3]

Mansfield became a short turn point for some B&P trains in 1885. The Old Colony acquired the B&P in 1888 and subsequently increased Mansfield - New Bedford service which connected with trains to Boston at Mansfield.[2] The Old Colony was absorbed by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1893, unifying rail service in southeastern Massachusetts under the single operator. After South Station opened in 1899, both Taunton and New Bedford service operated as through trains to Boston via Mansfield.[2] Service to the South Coast began running more often via Stoughton after 1918, and most branch line service via Mansfield except a handful of Taunton locals was cut by 1927.[2]

Declining service
The 1955-built "temporary" station in 1985

Service to Framingham ended in 1933.[3] South Coast service was switched back to via Mansfield in 1937 though New Bedford service was once again changed to via Stoughton in 1950. In 1955, the New Haven Railroad raised the tracks through Mansfield to eliminate grade crossings; the branch to Taunton was severed and all South Coast service ran via Stoughton until it was cut three years later.[2] A 'temporary' wooden station was built, which became permanent as the New Haven fell into financial crises.[4]

Mansfield was briefly served by a small number of Amtrak intercity trains around 1972.[5]

MBTA era

The MBTA began funding service to Mansfield in August 1971.[2] The same month, game-day service from Boston and Providence to Foxboro station at the New England Patriots' newly opened Schaefer Stadium was introduced. The Providence section of the service turns off the mainline onto what is now the Framingham Subdivision at Mansfield after making the station stop. The special service from Providence was discontinued after one season while Boston service continued, but returned in 1994.

Ramp structure under construction in December 2018

In mid-2002, the town of Mansfield began a $1.5 million project to replace the derelict 1955 station. The new brick station opened in January 2004; it also serves as a town meeting hall for community functions.[4]

Mansfield is located on a straight section of the Northeast Corridor where the Acela Express is permitted to travel at its top speed of 150 mph (240 km/h).[6] Mansfield and Kingston are the only two stations where the Acela Express reaches this speed on platform tracks.[note 1] A fence is located between the tracks to prevent passengers from crossing, due to the danger from high-speed trains. On March 2, 2016, a crossing passenger was struck and killed by a northbound Northeast Regional. The station was closed through the next day because hazardous materials workers had to clean the site because of the high speed of the collision.[7] Another illegally crossing passenger was struck and killed by a Northeast Regional train on September 22, 2016 - the ninth fatality involving a train in Mansfield in less than a decade.[8]

A construction project is under way which will improve accessibility at Mansfield station. The project includes replacement of the mini-high platforms, better signage, new ramps and stairs between the platforms and to Route 106, better lighting, improved guardrails, and full paving of all parking lots.[9] Construction began in June 2017.[10] A temporary inbound mini-high platform opened that December, with a similar temporary platform also added on the outbound side.[11] In July 2018, estimated completion was delayed until December 2019 after it was discovered that the ramps would not meet code.[12] The new ramps and stairs opened on March 6, 2020, followed by the outbound mini-high platform on April 27 and the inbound mini-high platform on May 4.[13]

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. pp. 29–37. ISBN 9780685412947.
  3. Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 307–309. 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. Nationwide Schedules of Intercity Passenger Service. Amtrak. June 11, 1972. p. 44 – via Museum of Railway Timetables.
  6. "Northeast Corridor Employee Timetable #5" (PDF). National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak). 6 October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2016 – via National Transportation Safety Board.
  7. Ellement, John R. (3 March 2016). "Mansfield commuter rail station remains closed after fatal accident". Boston Globe. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  8. "Pedestrian hit, killed by train in Mansfield". WCVB-TV. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  9. Weinstein, Susan Parkou (January 22, 2015). "Accessibility plan for Mansfield train station". Wicked Local Norton. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  10. Whitehead, Donna (June 8, 2017). "MBTA construction to start Monday, June 26 at Mansfield train station". Wicked Local Mansfield.
  11. "Service Alerts and Notices". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 7, 2017. Archived from the original on December 11, 2017.
  12. Foster, Rick (July 26, 2018). "Some bad news for commuters: Mansfield train station work to be delayed". Sun Chronicle.
  13. "Mansfield Station Accessibility Improvements". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020.

Notes
  1. Attleboro, T.F. Green Airport, and Wickford Junction are also located on 150 mph (240 km/h) sections where the Acela Express does not stop, but the platforms at these stations are located on sidings not normally used by the Acela Express.
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