Hyannis Transportation Center

The Hyannis Transportation Center (HTC) is an intermodal transportation center in Hyannis, Massachusetts operated by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA). It is the terminus for several CCRTA bus lines and its CapeFLYER passenger train that operates on summer weekends between Boston South Station and Hyannis. It also used by the Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway and Peter Pan Bus Lines intercity bus services. The Cape Cod Central Railroad uses a separate station building across the tracks for its excursion services. A rail yard used by the Cape Cod Central is located north of the station, along with a former roundhouse.

Hyannis Transportation Center
Hyannis Transportation Center with a CapeFLYER train in 2013
Location1 Transportation Avenue (Transportation Center)
252 Main Street (Cape Cod Central station)
Hyannis, Massachusetts
Coordinates41°39′22″N 70°16′48″W
Owned byCape Cod Regional Transit Authority
Line(s)Cape Main Line (Hyannis Branch)
Platforms2 side platforms
Connections CCRTA
Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway
Peter Pan Bus Lines
Construction
ParkingShort-term (free)
Long-term (160 spaces, $6/day)
Bicycle facilitiesYes
Disabled accessYes
History
OpenedJuly 8, 1854; July 1981
Closed1964
Rebuiltc. 1900; April 23, 1953; 2002
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Bourne
toward South Station
 CapeFLYER Terminus
Preceding station Cape Cod Central Railroad Following station
West Barnstable
toward Buzzards Bay
 Main Line Terminus
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
West Barnstable
toward New York
 Cape Codder
1986–1996
 Terminus
Preceding station Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad Following station
West Barnstable
toward Braintree or Attleboro
 Braintree-Hyannis
1984–1988
 Terminus

The first Hyannis station was built by the Cape Cod Railroad in 1854. It was replaced by a nearly-identical structure in the early 1900s. The New Haven Railroad used a separate station 1.0 mile (1.6 km) north from 1953 until passenger service ended in 1964. The Cape Cod Central began excursion service in 1981; part of a former gas station was converted for use as a station. The station was also used by the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad from 1984 to 1988, and the Amtrak Cape Codder. The Hyannis Transportation Center opened in 2002, with a second platform opposite the Cape Cod Central platform. It was only used by buses until CapeFLYER service began in 2013.

History
Postcard of Hyannis station, c. 1914
The Cape Cod Central station in 2012

The first Hyannis station was constructed in the early 1850s by the Cape Cod Railroad in time for the arrival of the first train from Boston on July 8, 1854. It is said that the train was met by a crowd estimated at 3,000. Immediately the line started running three trains a day to and from Boston.[1] Tracks continued 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south to Hyannis Wharf, where ferries connected to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island. Passenger service between Hyannis Wharf and Hyannis ended in July 1872 when the Woods Hole Branch was opened, though freight service continued until 1937.[2]

The line became part of the Old Colony Railroad in 1872; the Old Colony in turn was leased by the New Haven Railroad in 1893.[2] The original repair shops at Hyannis, damaged by fire in 1857, were destroyed by another fire in 1898. They were never rebuilt, but a replacement roundhouse was built in 1901.[3] The original station was replaced in the early 1900s by a nearly-identical building.[4] Through the first half of the 20th century, the station supported year-round service to Boston and seasonal service to New York City.[5]

On April 23, 1953, the New Haven moved to a new station 1.0 mile (1.6 km) to the north, and the older station was soon demolished.[6][4] The final summer for the New Haven's nighttime Cape Codder service was in 1958. Regular passenger service to Boston ended in 1959, with limited summer service (including the last Day Cape Codder) until 1964; the 1953-built station was reused for commercial purposes.[2][4]

The roundhouse was sold to a moving company in 1954, and sold again and renovated as a nightclub in 1980. It was placed on the Massachusetts Register of Historic Places on October 3, 1996.[3] The building and surrounding property were sold to Hy-Line Cruises in 2015 for parking and storage. Hy-Line proposed to demolish the building in 2019, but withdrew the application after pressure from historical and civic groups.[7][8]

In July 1981, the Cape Cod Central Railroad began summer-only excursion service between Hyannis and Sandwich.[2] Part of a former gas station in Hyannis, built sometime between 1900 and 1930 just northeast of the New Haven Railroad station, was converted for use as a station.[4] The station was served by the Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad from 1984 to 1988, and the Amtrak Cape Codder from 1986 to 1996.[2] The station platform on the east side of the mainline is approximately 645 feet (197 m) long, which accommodates a seven car train.[9]

The larger Hyannis Transportation Center (HTC) was constructed just to the north in 2002, with a platform on the opposite side of the same track.[4] Seasonal CapeFLYER service, which began in 2013, uses the newly-constructed station, while the Cape Cod Central Railroad continues to use the older station, though the accessible high-level platform of the HTC is often used.[2] As of 2020, Hyannis serves as the point of departure for several excursion trains running to Cape Cod Canal and back, often including a stop at West Barnstable[10] and sometimes an additional stop at the historic Pairpoint Glass facility in Sagamore.[11] Hyannis also serves as the point of departure for a variety of dining trains.[12]

Bus connections

A row of bus bays on the north side of the HTC are used for local and intercity bus routes:

CCRTA
  • H2O West - Hyannis to/from Harwichport
  • H2O East - Hyannis to/from Orleans
  • Barnstable Villager - Hyannis to/from Barnstable
  • Sandwich Line - Hyannis to/from Sandwich
  • Hyannis Area Trolley (in season)
  • Sealine - Hyannis to/from Falmouth/Woods Hole

Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway
  • Hyannis to Barnstable, Sagamore, Plymouth, Rockland, Boston South Station, Logan Airport
  • Hyannis to Barnstable, Sagamore, Plymouth, Rockland, Boston-South Station, Boston-Park Square
  • Hyannis to Harwich, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown

Peter Pan Bus Lines

References
  1. Farson, Robert H. (1993). Cape Cod Railroads Including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Joan Hollister Farson. Yarmouthport, Massachusetts: Cape Cod Historical Publications. ISBN 0-9616740-1-6.
  2. Karr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. pp. 408–414. ISBN 9780942147124.
  3. Patricia J. Anderson (July 1991). "FORM B - BUILDING" – via Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System.
  4. Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 172, 173, 301. ISBN 9780942147087.
  5. New Haven Railroad timetable, June 22, 1931, Tables 46, 50
  6. "Railroad Opens New Depot in Hyannis Today". Boston Globe. April 23, 1953. p. 17.
  7. Spillane, Geoff (September 18, 2019). "Effort underway to save Hyannis railroad roundhouse once housing Pufferbellies". Cape Cod Times.
  8. Spillane, Geoff (September 19, 2019). "Hy-Line abandons plan to raze roundhouse". Cape Cod Times.
  9. Transportation Planning and Resource Group (March 2012). PHASE I Project Report: Cape Cod Seasonal Passenger Rail Service (Report). p. 14.
  10. "Cape Cod Excursion Train Departing Hyannis and West Barnstable". Cape Cod Central Railroad. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  11. "Cape Cod Excursion Train and Pairpoint Glass Tour". Cape Cod Central Railroad. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  12. "All Dining Trains". Cape Cod Central Railroad. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
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