Ashmont station (signed as Ashmont/Peabody Sq.) is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station located at Peabody Square in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the southern terminus of the Ashmont branch of the rapid transit Red Line, the northern terminus of the connecting light rail Mattapan Line, and a major terminal for MBTA bus service. Ashmont has two side platforms serving the below-grade Red Line and a single side platform on an elevated balloon loop for the Mattapan Line. The station is fully accessible for all modes.

Station design

thumb|left|The station busway in 2016

Ashmont station has two below-street-level side platforms for the Red Line, which runs northwest–southeast through the station. The outbound platform, only used by terminating trains, is outside the paid area. Fare mezzanines are located above both ends of the platforms. Elevators connect both mezzanines to the inbound platforms; an elevator in the center of the outbound platform connects to a walkway to the south mezzanine. The Mattapan Line runs on an elevated balloon loop at the south end of the station, with a single side platform connected to the south mezzanine outside fare control.

A two-lane busway runs along the west side of the station at street level. The main entrance from Peabody Square leads to the north fare mezzanine; entrance to the south fare mezzanine is from the busway, with a sidewalk to Dorchester Avenue. A secondary entrance from Radford Lane leads directly to the south end of the inbound platform, and a secondary exit leads from the south end of the outbound platform to Beale Street.

Ashmont is a major terminal for the MBTA bus system, with local routes – – serving the station busway. The Brockton Area Transit Authority (BAT) operates its route 12 to Ashmont – one of the only non-MBTA routes running to an MBTA rapid transit station.

In 1929, the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway began operating bus service to Ashmont; unlike Fields Corner and , it was never served by Eastern Mass streetcars. The Eastern Mass eventually operated three bus routes out of Ashmont, all of which became MBTA bus routes in 1971: to Brockton (now route ), to Quincy via Granite Avenue (), and to Quincy via Adams Street (). It included closure of the original Peabody Square headhouse and connecting passages in December 1975 due to safety concerns. The station was made accessible during the renovation, though the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act created stricter standards. In 1981, the platforms were extended for six-car trains, which were introduced in 1988. The agency issued a request for proposals for transit-oriented development on an adjacent MBTA-owned parcel on January 22, 2002, and began negotiations with a developer that June. The developer signed an 85-year lease and paid $1.4 million up front to the MBTA.

In September 2004, the MBTA began reconstruction of the 75-year-old station, then expected to cost $44 million. The MBTA awarded the $35.2 million main construction contract on June 9, 2005. The reconstruction included demolition of the existing station, the addition of two fare lobbies over the ends of the station, and a new busway at the fare lobby level. Elevators were added to make station fully accessible, and direct access from Peabody Square (removed in the 1970s renovation) was added. The Ashmont–Mattapan line loop was moved to a new viaduct at the south end of the station, with a platform near the south fare lobby; the former cross-platform transfer was eliminated. Charliecard electronic fare collection equipment at the station was activated on December 22, 2006.

Red Line service to Ashmont was maintained through the whole construction process. The total cost of the entire reconstruction was $83 million. The MBTA plans to convert the Mattapan Line to modern light rail equipment. All stations would have raised platforms for level boarding on the new vehicles. The 2007-built streetcar loop and platform at Mattapan would be demolished and replaced with a new alignment.

References

  • MBTA – Ashmont
  • Station from Google Maps Street View