Oak Grove
Oak Grove station in September 2022
General information
LocationWashington Street at Winter Street
Malden, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°26′13″N 71°04′15″W / 42.436942°N 71.070889°W / 42.436942; -71.070889
Line(s)Haymarket North Extension
Western Route
Platforms1 island platform (Orange Line)
1 side platform (Commuter Rail)
Tracks2 (Orange Line)
1 (Commuter Rail)
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 131, 132, 137
Construction
Structure typeAt grade
Parking788 spaces ($9 fee / $3 fee on weekends)
Bicycle facilities140 spaces in "Pedal and Park" bicycle cage
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone1A (Commuter Rail)
History
OpenedMarch 20, 1977 (Orange Line)[1]
Passengers
FY20196,637 (daily average boardings)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Malden Center
toward Forest Hills
 Orange Line Terminus
Malden Center
toward North Station
 Haverhill Line Wyoming Hill
toward Haverhill
Location

Oak Grove station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station in the northern section of Malden, Massachusetts, just south of the Melrose border. It is the northern terminus of the rapid transit Orange Line and a stop on the Haverhill Line commuter rail service. The accessible station has a 788-space park and ride lot and is served by four MBTA bus routes.

The Boston and Maine Railroad opened through Malden in 1845, and a stop at Oak Grove was added by the 1870s. It closed in 1958 amid a series of cuts. The MBTA opened the modern station in March 1977 as the northern terminus of the Haymarket North Extension of the Orange Line. It also temporarily served as the southern terminus of Haverhill Line service in 1984–85 after a bridge fire at North Station. Renovation work on the Orange Line platform, including a new emergency exit ramp, took place in 2013–14. Three new elevators were added in 2019–2022, with one existing elevator replaced. Haverhill Line resumed stopping at the station during a 2022 closure of the Orange Line; Oak Grove was retained as a stop after.

Station layout

Oak Grove has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Orange Line. Terminating trains use both tracks, changing tracks at a crossover just south of the station.[3] A single side platform serves the Haverhill Line track on the east side of the Orange Line. A fare lobby is located over the tracks at the south end of the station. It has entrances from Washington Street on the west and Banks Place on the east, with elevators to the lobby from both entrances and the Orange Line platform for accessibility.

Southbound ←      Orange Line toward Forest Hills (Malden Center) →
Island platform
Southbound ←      Orange Line toward Forest Hills (Malden Center) →
Commuter Rail ←      Haverhill Line toward North Station (Malden Center)
     Haverhill Line toward Haverhill (Wyoming Hill) →
Side platform

Three MBTA bus routes serve Oak Grove station. Routes 131 and 137 use a dedicated busway in the parking area on the east side of the station, while route 132 runs on Washington Street on the west side of the station.[4]

History

Former station

The former station building in 1962

The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) opened its mainline from Wilmington Junction to Boston on July 1, 1845, allowing it to operate independently of the Boston and Lowell Railroad.[5] Oak Grove was not initially a stop on the line, but was in service by 1859.[6]: 154 [7] The two-story wooden station building, located on the west side of the tracks just south of Oak Grove Court, had a prominent central gable.[8][9] The Western Route became a busy commuter line, but service declined after World War I, and again after World War II.[5]

On April 18, 1958, the Public Utilities Commission approved a vast set of cuts to Boston and Maine Railroad commuter service, including all stations on the Western Route south of Wyoming Hill save for Malden.[10] The stations were closed on May 18, 1958, amid the first of a series of cuts.[5][11] The Oak Grove station building was reused as an antique store by 1962, and was later demolished.[12]

MBTA station

Entrance to the then-closed commuter rail platform from the fare mezzanine. The sign labels it as the outbound Orange Line platform, as the inner Haverhill Line was intended to be turned into an extension of the Orange Line to Reading.

Oak Grove opened on March 20, 1977, as the northern terminus of the Haymarket North Extension of the Orange Line.[1] The design of Oak Grove station was based on that of North Quincy, opened in 1971.[13] The extension was originally intended to run to Reading, but was cut back to Oak Grove. A platform (sized for Orange Line trains rather than longer commuter rail trains) was built to serve the single Western Route commuter rail track, for potential use should the remainder of the extension be built. In the fare mezzanine, a sign labels the platform as "Orange Line outbound".

Malden Center served as a stop for commuter rail trains from 1977 to 1979, while Oak Grove did not. After the approach trestles at North Station burned on January 20, 1984, Oak Grove became the inbound terminus for the Haverhill Line. When North Station reopened on April 20, 1985, Malden Center replaced Oak Grove as the Malden commuter rail stop.[1] The switch may have been made due to a request by John A. Brennan Jr., who was then constructing a large development near Malden Center station.[14]

Because of its Orange Line connection, Oak Grove occasionally served as a temporary inbound terminus for Haverhill Line service during commuter rail service disruptions between Oak Grove and Boston's North Station. (Double track begins just north of the station, making operations easier than using Malden Center as the terminal.[15]) It served this role during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, when North Station was closed for a week for security purposes.[1] In October 1997, Oak Grove was identified as a possible site for a parking garage, but this was never pursued.[16]

Renovations

Washington Street elevator under construction in November 2020

During 2013, the MBTA performed heavy maintenance on the Orange Line platform, which had substantially deteriorated during 36 years of operation. High-pressure water was used to strip away the top layer of concrete; a smoother top coat and new tactile platform edging were installed. The work was performed on one side of the platform at a time with no station closures.[17] The project also included new track lighting, guardrails, and expansion joints.[18]

The project, originally expected to cost $2.3 million, was issued a notice to proceed in December 2012. Phase 1, which lasted from April to August 2013, focused on the inbound side of the platform. Original plans called for an exit-only ramp on the north end of the Orange Line platform to be constructed as part of Phase 1; however, this was put off due to the discovery of buried utilities not present on site plans. Phase 2, from August to December 2013, focused on the outbound side of the platform.[18] From March 2 to June 30, 2014, the MBTA constructed the emergency exit ramp and a public restroom as Phase 3.[17]

The existing elevators, which connect the fare mezzanine to the Orange Line platform and the busway, were built with the station and renovated in 1987.[19][20] (This made Oak Grove the first Orange Line station to be accessible.)[21][22] Three elevators are being added to the station – an elevator between Washington Street and the mezzanine, a redundant elevator between the mezzanine and the platform, and a redundant elevator between the busway and the mezzanine – and one existing elevator renovated.[23] The MBTA awarded a $22.5 million construction contract in August 2019, and work began that December.[24][25][23] The Washington Street elevator opened on January 31, 2021, followed by the first new platform elevator in August.[26][27] The new east elevator opened in May 2022, with the replacement platform elevator completed that November.[28]

The entire Orange Line, including Oak Grove station, was closed from August 19 to September 18, 2022, during maintenance work. The Haverhill Line stopped at Oak Grove during the closure to provide alternate service.[29][30] Oak Grove was retained as a permanent Haverhill Line stop after the Orange Line closure.[31][32] Rail service on the inner Haverhill Line was suspended from September 9 to November 5, 2023, to accommodate signal work. Substitute bus service was operated between Reading and Oak Grove.[33]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. ↑ "A Guide to Ridership Data". MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation. June 22, 2020. p. 8.
  3. ↑ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  4. ↑ "System Map". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 67–70. ISBN 9780685412947.
  6. ↑ Kennedy, Charles J. (Summer 1962). "Commuter Services in the Boston Area, 1835-1860". The Business History Review. 36 (2): 153–170. doi:10.2307/3111453. JSTOR 3111453. S2CID 154294514.
  7. ↑ Walling, Henry Francis (1859). Map of Boston and its vicinity (Map). 1:12,672. F.A. Baker.
  8. ↑ Whitney, S.Y. (December 8, 1951). "Oak Grove station, Malden, Mass., December 8, 1951". Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society.
  9. ↑ Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Malden, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Sanborn Map Company. May 1925. p. 69.
  10. ↑ "Drastic Service Cuts Approved on Five B.& M. Divisions". Daily Boston Globe. April 19, 1958. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "B.&M. Closes Saugus Branch, 3 Other Lines". Daily Boston Globe. May 17, 1958. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Glynn, Robert E. (October 6, 1962). "Passengers Will Find Gift Shops, Laundries Replacing Rail Depots". Boston Globe. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ 9th Annual Report. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 1973. p. 19 – via Internet Archive.
  14. ↑ Mooney, Brian C. (October 23, 1988). "Malden senator has golden touch". Boston Globe. p. 1, 52 – via Newspapers.com. (first page) Open access icon
  15. ↑ Held, Patrick R. (2010). "Massachusetts Bay Colony Railroad Track Charts" (PDF). Johns Hopkins Association for Computing Machinery. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2013.
  16. ↑ "INDEPENDENT STATE AUDITOR'S REPORT ON CERTAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY: JULY 1, 1996 TO JULY 31, 2001" (PDF). Auditor of the Commonwealth. April 3, 2002.
  17. 1 2 "Oak Grove Platform Rehabilitation Project". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  18. 1 2 Sacco, Jessica (May 16, 2014). "Work continues at Oak Grove MBTA station". Wicked Local Melrose. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  19. ↑ Tran Systems and Planners Collaborative (August 24, 2007). "Evaluation of MBTA Paratransit and Accessible Fixed Route Transit Services: Final Report" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  20. ↑ "MBTA plans reduced fare for disabled". Boston Globe. September 11, 1975. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  21. ↑ Operations Directorate Planning Division (November 1990). "Ridership and Service Statistics" (3 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 1-4 – via Internet Archive.
  22. ↑ Oak Grove Station, Malden. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 1977. Oak Grove is the first new station with an elevator for the use of handicapped persons when new elevators planned or under contract at several stations being modernized are installed.
  23. 1 2 "Oak Grove Station Improvements: Public Meeting November 25, 2019" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. November 25, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Oak Grove Station Improvements Project: MBTA Construction Contract No. A92CN01" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 12, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Construction Begins at Oak Grove Station" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 11, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Report from the General Manager" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. May 10, 2021. p. 16.
  27. ↑ "Second New Elevator Installed at Oak Grove Station" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 23, 2021.
  28. ↑ "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2022" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. December 6, 2022. p. 3.
  29. ↑ "A Rider's Guide to Planning Ahead: Upcoming Orange & Green Line Service Suspensions" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 2022.
  30. ↑ "Haverhill Line: 2022 Orange Line Surge Schedule" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 19, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Haverhill Line 2022 Spring/Summer Schedule" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. September 19, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Alerts: Haverhill Line". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. September 15, 2022. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Service Disruption September 9 to November 5 on Haverhill Commuter Rail Line" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 10, 2023.
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