Dedham Corporate Center station

Dedham Corporate Center station (signed as Dedham Corporate Center/128) is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Dedham, Massachusetts. It serves the Franklin Line, and is located just off exit 14 of Interstate 95/Route 128. It serves mostly as a park-and-ride location for inbound riders. The station consists of two platforms (each a long low asphalt platform with a short high-level platform for accessibility) serving the Franklin Line's two tracks. Previous stations named Dedham Junction (1881-1884 and 1888-1899) and Rust Craft (1955-1977) were located near the modern site.

Dedham Corporate Center/128
An outbound train enters Dedham Corporate Center station in 2012
Location125 Allied Drive, Dedham, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°13′37″N 71°10′27″W
Line(s)Franklin Branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Parking497 spaces ($4.00 fee)
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone2
History
OpenedJanuary 15, 1990[1]
Previous namesDedham Junction (1881–1899)
Rust Craft (1955–1977)
Passengers
2018763 (weekday average boardings)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Islington
toward Forge Park/495 or Foxboro
 Franklin Line Endicott
toward South Station
Foxboro
Terminus
 Franklin Line
Game day special service only
 Back Bay
toward South Station

History

Dedham Junction

The Norfolk County Railroad completed their Midland Division from Islington to Boston in January 1855.[3] No station was originally located at the modern location, which was in the middle of a swamp until the middle of the 20th century. The line passed through several operators and finally to the New York and New England Railroad in 1875.[3]

In 1881, the NY&NE built a branch from Dedham Junction (near the modern station site) to Dedham to replace the Norfolk County's original route to Dedham. This allowed the railroad to (unsuccessfully) compete with the Boston and Providence Railroad's Dedham Loop for Boston-Dedham commuter traffic.[3] The branch was closed in 1884, but reopened in 1888 by state commission order. In 1890 a short leg allowing Dedham-Islington travel for the Old Colony Railroad's Wrentham Branch was opened; trains using this route skipped Dedham Junction station. By 1898, the New Haven Railroad had acquired the Old Colony, NY&NE, and the Boston & Providence. With the New Haven having no need for four routes to the small town of Dedham, the southern branch was soon abandoned. Service via Dedham Junction ended in 1899 and via Islington in 1904.[3]

Rust Craft

On May 2, 1955, the New Haven Railroad opened Rust Craft station off Rustcraft Road, slightly east of the modern station location.[4][5] The station served the 1,500 employees of the Rust Craft greeting card plant, which opened that July.[6] It was the first reverse commute-focused station on the MBTA system and was "hailed as the start of a new era".[4] Rust Craft station was closed in 1977 due to low ridership.[1][4] On October 25, 1977, a group of teenagers blocked a Conrail freight train by placing a tree across the tracks near the station, then looted the stopped train.[7]

Dedham Corporate Center
The 2014-built kiss-and-ride lane in 2015

In the late 1980s, the Dedham Corporate Center office park was built nearby due to convenient access to Route 128 and Route 1.[8] The developer, National Development, constructed the station platforms and a temporary 500-space parking lot at a cost of $527,000.[9] The size and temporary nature of the parking lot was intended to avoid lengthy environmental review.[9] National Development had previously donated land for Forge Park/495 station, which had opened in 1988.[10] The development and station were opposed by some residents and local politicians concerned about additional traffic at the East Street rotary.[9][8]

Dedham Corporate Center station was opened on January 15, 1990.[1][11] The station initially failed to attract ridership; six weeks after opening, just 44 cars were counted in the parking lot one weekday.[10] The MBTA offered free parking during August 1990 in an attempt to attract riders.[12] A planned parking garage on the north side of the station and a road bridge over the tracks were never constructed.[13][9] Accessible mini-high platforms were added by 1992.[14][15] In 1994, Boston–Foxboro service for events at Gillette Stadium was shifted to the Franklin Line.[1] Dedham Corporate Center was added as a stop then or soon after.[16]

There was initially no access to the station from Rustcraft Road on its north side; a nearby apartment complex was forced to operate a shuttle bus to avoid a two-mile walk to the station.[13] A crosswalk and sidewalk providing access were added around 2007. In late 2014, a kiss and ride dropoff lane was built on the north side of the station off Rustcraft Road.[17]

See also

References
  1. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit.
  2. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  3. Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 295–298. ISBN 0942147022.
  4. Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 46. ISBN 9780685412947.
  5. "NH Dedicates New Rust Craft Station, Unique Depot to Serve New Plant". Boston Globe. May 3, 1955. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Rust Craft Opens Plant Tomorrow With Medieval 'Bless House' Rites". Boston Globe. July 22, 1955. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Sullivan, Jerome; Morgan, Thomas J, 3rd (October 26, 1977). "13 face US action in looting of train". Boston Globe. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Stevens, John (December 10, 1989). "Rail, office project fought in Dedham". Boston Globe. pp. South 1, South 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Ackerman, Jerry (September 11, 1989). "Dedham aims to limit hours of T's new commuter rail station". Boston Globe. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Little-used commuter station awaits traffic". Boston Globe. March 4, 1990. pp. South 1, South 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Rosenberg, Ronald (January 15, 1990). "Commuter rail cars leaving riders cold". Boston Globe. p. 56 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Rosenberg, Ronald (July 23, 1990). "Let the highway work begin... finally". Boston Globe. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Preer, Robert (September 21, 2006). "No easy access to rail station". Boston Globe. pp. 89, 93 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Operations Directorate Planning Division (November 1990). "Ridership and Service Statistics" (3 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 1-4 – via Internet Archive.
  15. MBTA : ACCESS; The Guide to Accessible Services and Facilities. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 1992. p. 15 – via Internet Archive.
  16. "T Patriots train!". Boston Globe. August 15, 1997. p. 86 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Conservation Commission Meeting 9-4-14". Town of Dedham Conservation Commission. 14 September 2015. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015.
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