Chestnut Hill station (MBTA)

{{Short description|Light rail station in Newton, Massachusetts, US}}

{{about|the Green Line D branch station|the Green Line B branch station|Chestnut Hill Avenue station}}

{{Infobox station

| name=Chestnut Hill

| style=MBTA |style2=Green

| image=Chestnut Hill MBTA Green Line Station, March 2025.jpg

| caption=An outbound train leaving Chestnut Hill station in March 2025

| address=Hammond Street and Chestnut Hill Road

| borough=Chestnut Hill, Newton, Massachusetts

| coordinates={{coord|42|19|37|N|71|9|53|W|display=inline,title|type:railwaystation_region:US-MA}}

| line=Highland branch

| other=

| platform=2 side platforms

| tracks= 2

| parking=69 spaces

| bicycle=Covered racks

| opened=July 4, 1959{{NETransit}}

| closed=

| rebuilt=October 2024; 2026 (planned)

| accessible=Yes

| former=

| passengers=1,416 (weekday average boardings){{MBTA Bluebook 2014}}

| pass_year=2013

| services={{Adjacent stations|system=MBTA|line=Green|type=D|left=Newton Centre|right=Reservoir}}

| other_services_header = Former services

| other_services_collapsible = yes

| other_services = {{Adjacent stations|system=New York Central Railroad|line=Highland branch|left=Newton Centre|right=Reservoir}}

| map_locator=

| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-marker-color = #{{rcr|MBTA|Green}}

| mapframe-marker = rail-light

| mapframe-zoom = 14

}}

Chestnut Hill station is a light rail station on the MBTA Green Line D branch, located off Hammond Street north of Massachusetts Route 9 in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Newton, Massachusetts. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks. Chestnut Hill station was made accessible in October 2024; additional reconstruction is planned to begin in 2026.

History

File:Chestnut Hill station from Houghton collection.jpg

The Brookline Branch of the Boston and Worcester Railroad was extended west to Newton Upper Falls by the Charles River Branch Railroad in November 1852. Chestnut Hill was added as a flag stop by 1858.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I1o3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA12 |title=ABC Pathfinder Railway Guide |page=12 |year=1858 |publisher=New England Railway Publishing Company |via=Google Books}} After 1886, loop service on the Highland branch was run via what is now the Framingham/Worcester Line and later the Needham Line.

In June 1957, the Massachusetts Legislature approved the purchase of the branch by the M.T.A. from the nearly-bankrupt New York Central Railroad for conversion to a trolley line. Service ended on May 31, 1958.{{cite book |title=Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years |last1=Humphrey |first1=Thomas J.|last2=Clark |first2=Norton D. |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |year=1985 |isbn=9780685412947 |pages=21–24}} The line was quickly converted for trolley service, and the line including Beaconsfield station reopened on July 4, 1959. The station building was demolished and replaced by a small wooden shelter on the inbound platform. The M.T.A. was folded into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in August 1964.

=Accessibility=

File:Inbound train at Chestnut Hill station, December 2015.JPG

In 2019, the MBTA indicated that the four remaining non-accessible stops on the D branch were "Tier I" accessibility priorities.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/fmcb-meeting-docs/2019/04-april/2019-04-01-fmcb-pati-accessible.pdf |work=Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI) |title=Preview of 2019 Recommendations: Presentation to the FMCB |page=12 |date=April 1, 2019 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} A preliminary design contract for accessibility modifications at the four stations was issued in February 2021.{{cite web |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319204214/https://www.mbta.com/projects/d-branch-station-accessibility-improvements |archivedate=March 19, 2021 |url=https://www.mbta.com/projects/d-branch-station-accessibility-improvements |title=D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |access-date=March 23, 2021 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-04/2021-04-28-GLD-station-accessibility-public-meeting.pdf |title=D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements: Waban, Eliot, Chestnut Hill, Beaconsfield: Virtual Public Meeting |date=April 29, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} The station platforms will be raised and rebuilt, and a new accessible path to Hammond Road will be built.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2022-06/2022-06-23-d-branch-accessibility-improvements-presentation.pdf |title=D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements: Beaconsfield, Chestnut Hill, Eliot, Waban: Public Meeting |date=June 23, 2022 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} Design reached 75% in June 2022 and was completed late that year.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2022-12/2022-12-7-swa-initiatives-report-december-accessible.pdf |title=System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2022 |date=December 6, 2022 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility |page=4}} Plans shown in March 2024 called for the platforms to be rebuilt in their existing configuration.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-04/2024-03-14-green-line-d-branch-accessibility-upgrades.pdf |title=Green Line D Branch Accessibility Upgrades |date=March 14, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}

By November 2023, construction was expected to be advertised in early 2024 and begin midyear.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2023-11/2023-11-27-accessibility-initiatives.pdf |title=System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—November 2023 |date=November 27, 2023 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility |pages=3–4}} However, in June 2024, the MBTA indicated that the renovations at the four stations would be done in two phases. The first phase added sections of accessible platform similar to those previously installed at {{bts|Newton Highlands}}; some entrances were made accessible.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-06/2024-06-Accessibility-Initiatives.pdf |title=Accessibility Initiatives—June 2024 |date=June 25, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |page=4}} Construction at the four stations took place primarily over the weekends of October 5–6 and 19–20, 2024, leaving them "generally accessible".{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2024-09-18/october-service-changes-mbta-continues-repair-work-improve-reliability-across-the |title=October Service Changes: MBTA Continues Repair Work to Improve Reliability Across the System |date=September 18, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-10/GM%20Report%20to%20the%20Board%2010.24.2024%20v6.pdf |title=GM’s Report to the Board |date=October 24, 2024 |first=Phil |last=Eng |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}} The full renovations are expected to begin in 2026 to serve new Type 10 vehicles.{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-10-D-Branch-Station-Accessibility-Improvements-Fall-Construction-Update-Flyer.pdf |title=MBTA Green Line D Branch Station Accessibility Improvements |date=October 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-12/2024-12-06-accessibility-initiatives.pdf |title=Accessibility Initiatives—December 2024 |date=December 6, 2024 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |page=4}}

References

External links

[https://www.mbta.com/stops/place-chhil MBTA - Chestnut Hill]
Google Maps Street View: [https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3267193,-71.165533,3a,75y,64.47h,83.3t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sOp4xQPSoGyS6bxOLiK842g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Hammond Street stairs], [https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3262313,-71.1639469,3a,75y,345.03h,74.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s577IDEhDx43EcK9A55pqeA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Middlesex Road entrance]

Category:Green Line (MBTA) stations

Category:Railway stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Category:Former Boston and Albany Railroad stations

Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1959

Category:Buildings and structures in Newton, Massachusetts