Boston College station is a light rail station on the MBTA Green Line B branch. It is located at St. Ignatius Square on the Boston College campus near the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Lake Street, on the border between the Brighton neighborhood of Boston and the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Newton, Massachusetts. Originally opened in 1896, it has been the terminus of the Commonwealth Avenue line since 1900. The current station is planned to be replaced by a new station located in the median of Commonwealth Avenue just east of Lake Street.

History

Original median station

thumb|left|Boston Elevated Railway trams at Lake Street in March 1900

On August 15, 1896, the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) added tracks on newly constructed Commonwealth Avenue from the Newton town line east to Chestnut Hill Avenue, where they were connected to the existing Beacon Street Line at Cleveland Circle. Except for rights to the Watertown Line inherited from the West End Street Railway, the BERy did not have operating rights in Newton. Instead, the Commonwealth Avenue Street Railway was built westward on the wide median of Commonwealth Avenue to Auburndale in 1895. It was soon taken over and operated by the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway (M&B). The two lines met at Lake Street station on the town line. On November 20, 1918, an out-of-service BERy streetcar rolled down a hill and destroyed the station, killing a waiting passenger.

Remaining M&B service on Commonwealth Avenue was replaced by buses in 1930, and the BERy no longer needed the old median station. The BERy built a storage yard on the site of the loops; a platform and waiting room in the yard opened on September 12, 1930. Boston College station has not had MBTA bus connections since the 535 Lake Street–Auburndale route (the direct descendant of the Commonwealth Avenue Street Railway) was discontinued in 1976. (Boston College operates a system of private shuttle buses, but they stop on the campus rather than at the station.)

On May 23, 1979, the MBTA opened a new carhouse at the Lake Street yard. The carhouse provides light maintenance services to reduce the load on Reservoir and Riverside. Not a separate station, they were used when congestion in the yard (common with the introduction of the new Boeing LRVs) prevented trains from entering or exiting. The eastbound of these platforms, and a bus shelter on the westbound side, were removed during a 1980-81 renovation of the line.

Proposed new station

thumb|left|A train at the 2009-opened inbound platform

In the early 2000s, the MBTA modified key surface stops with raised platforms for accessibility as part of the Light Rail Accessibility Program. Portable lifts were installed at Boston College around 2000, along with a wooden mini-high platform (for level boarding on older Type 7 LRVs) on the inbound side. By 2005, the MBTA planned to relocate the station to the median of Commonwealth Avenue, just east of the Lake Street intersection. Boston College later agreed to aid the project financially and to donate land to widen Commonwealth Avenue to accommodate the station. New raised platform allowing level accessible boarding on newer low-floor Type 8 LRVs were completed on the existing site in 2009 at a cost of $296,000. It would eliminate trains having to cross Commonwealth Avenue traffic to access the platforms, which would reduce moves across Commonwealth Avenue by 89%, though trains would still need to cross to access the yard. It was to have raised platforms for accessible boarding on newer low-floor LRVs and a ramp for accessible boarding on older high-floor LRVs.

A $29.3 million reconstruction and expansion of Lake Street Yard to support new Type 10 LRVs is planned for the late 2020s. A design shown in March 2024 called for the maintenance building to be removed, the yard tracks reconfigured, and a traction power substation added. Boston College station would be relocated to the median of Commonwealth Avenue, with a single island platform east of Lake Street. By November 2024, the station project was included with a larger set of station renovations on the line. , the MBTA expects to issue the $74 million design-build contract in fall 2026, with construction lasting from mid-2027 to late 2028.

References

  • MBTA - Boston College
  • Engineering drawings of new station
  • Station from Google Maps Street View