Rowley station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Rowley, Massachusetts. It is the penultimate station on the Newburyport branch of the Newburyport/Rockport Line.

Rowley
The platform at Rowley station in 2010
General information
Location70 Railroad Avenue
Rowley, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°43′37″N 70°51′33″W / 42.7269°N 70.8591°W / 42.7269; -70.8591
Line(s)Eastern Route
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
Construction
ParkingYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone7
History
OpenedOctober 26, 1998
Passengers
2018113 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Ipswich Newburyport/​Rockport Line Newburyport
Terminus
Location
Map

History

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Circa-1920s postcard of Rowley station

The small Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) station building in Rowley was in disrepair by 1961, and was later demolished.[2] Service to the station ended on April 20, 1967, when the B&M received permission from the Interstate Commerce Commission to discontinue all service on the line (which had been cut back from Portsmouth to Newburyport in January 1965); at that point, service beyond Ipswich consisted of only one daily round trip to North Station.[3] Both Rowley and Newburyport were, at the time, outside the MBTA's service district; the town of Newburyport signed a subsidy agreement with the MBTA, allowing it to continue to receive service, but Rowley did not, and its station closed.[3] Newburyport service continued to run until April 2, 1976.[4]

The current station opened on October 26, 1998, as part of the restoration of service on the Newburyport/Rockport Line between Ipswich and Newburyport.[5] As with Newburyport, the new station was built with a full-length high-level platform, which allows level boarding for all cars of even the longest MBTA trains.

References

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  1. ^ Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  2. ^ McLean, Robert A. (July 10, 1961). "B & M Launches Station Clean-up; Commuters Grouse: 'High Time'". Boston Globe. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  4. ^ "End of Commuting". Boston Globe. April 1, 1976. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Dodge, John (October 1998). "The railroad returns to Newburyport". Trains. 57 (10): 48.
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  Media related to Rowley station (MBTA) at Wikimedia Commons