An older station was located in downtown Middleborough, serving passenger service from 1846 to 1959 and Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad service from 1984 to 1988. The current station opened along with the rest of the Old Colony Lines on September 29, 1997, and CapeFlyer service began in 2013. The station is planned to be closed to commuter rail service when the new Middleborough station opens in May 2025 as part of South Coast Rail, though it will remain open for CapeFlyer and additional commuter parking.
Station layout
The station is located on Commercial Drive off South Main Street (Massachusetts Route 105) south of the Interstate 495 interchange.[4] The station has a single curved high-levelside platform, about 835 feet (255 m) long, on the west side of the single-track Cape Main Line.[5] The 769-space parking lot and most of the platform are in Lakeville, while the northern portion of the platform is in Lakeville.[4] Middleborough/Lakeville station is fully accessible.[6] With 867 daily boardings in 2018, Middleborough/Lakeville was the busiest station on the line.[3]
History
Former service
A 1911 postcard of Middleborough station
The Fall River Railroad opened between South Braintree and Fall River in stages from June 1845 to December 1846.[7][8]: 403 Middleborough station was located at Courtland Street at the west edge of the downtown area.[9] Haskins station (renamed Lakeville by 1854) was located on Bedford Street.[10] Two other stations were located in Middleborough on the 1856-opened Cape Main Line southeast of downtown: Rock (also known as Rock Meeting House) at Miller Street in Rock Village, and South Middleboro at Spruce Street.[11]
Middleborough became a major railroad junction, with lines in five directions to Boston, Plymouth, Cape Cod, Fall River, and Taunton by 1892. The New Haven Railroad leased the Old Colony Railroad – which owned all lines meeting at Middleborough – in 1893.[8]: 406 Lakeville station was briefly renamed Montwait, then back to Lakeville.[10]
Service declined in the 20th century; passenger service on the lines to Taunton and Plymouth ended in 1927, followed by the original line to Fall River in 1931. The latter two lines were soon abandoned.[8]: 406 The former Lakeville station, constructed in 1879, is still extant and has been converted for residential use.[10][12] Rock and South Middleboro stations were closed on July 17, 1938, as part of a massive station closure.[13][14]
Commuter service between Cape Cod and Boston via Middleborough ended on June 30, 1959. The lines north, west, and southeast from Middleborough remained in use for freight service: by the New Haven until 1969, Penn Central to 1971, Conrail to 1997, and CSX since. Freight service southeast from Middleborough was taken over by the Bay Colony Railroad shortline in 1982 and the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad in 2007, interchanging with CSX at Middleborough Yard.[8]: 413
MBTA era
A nearby apartment complex built as transit-oriented development
Restoration of passenger service was proposed intermittently through the 1960s and 1970s. On October 15, 1979, a special train ran from Braintree to Middleborough to publicize the state's plans for restored service.[15] A 1974 state analysis of restoring commuter rail service indicated that the Middleborough station could be reused.[16] From 1984 to 1988, Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad seasonal commuter and excursion service stopped in Middleborough at the former station.[17][18] The former station was demolished in the 1990s.[10]
In 1984, a state-directed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) study found that restoration of commuter rail service would be feasible.[19] A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was released in May 1990, followed by a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) in 1992. Both called for a Middleborough/Lakeville station off Route 105 south of Middleborough on the Lakeville border, rather than reusing the old station site.[20][4]MBTA Commuter RailMiddleborough/Lakeville Line service to Middleborough/Lakeville station began on September 29, 1997.[2]
The station opened with around 400 parking spaces, which was immediately insufficient due to commuters driving from areas to the south as well as from Middleborough and Lakeville.[21][22][23] The lot was expanded to 864 spaces in 2000.[24][25][26] A dirt lot was closed in November 2003 due to safety concerns and falling demand after the completion of the Big Dig, reducing the station to 769 spaces.[27][24][28] The station attracted transit-oriented development in the form of adjacent apartment complexes.[24] A 2007 study of commuter service to Wareham and Buzzards Bay proposed an additional stop near the former Rock station site.[11]CapeFlyer summer weekend service between Boston and Hyannis began on May 24, 2013, with a stop at Middleborough/Lakeville.[2]
South Coast Rail
The new Middleborough station under construction in 2021
In 2017, the South Coast Rail project was re-evaluated due to cost issues. The new proposal called for early service via Middleborough by 2022, followed by full service via Stoughton by 2030. A new Middleborough station was to replace the existing Middleborough/Lakeville station, which could not be served by South Coast Rail trains.[29] Middleborough and Lakeville officials were critical of the possibility of abandoning the current Middleborough/Lakeville station or requiring its riders to take a shuttle train, as well as possible traffic issues from a downtown Middleborough station.[30]
The January 2018 Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report considered three potential operational patterns: a reverse move to serve the existing station, shuttle service from the existing station to Bridgewater station, or a new Middleborough station with a bus shuttle from the existing station. The latter was preferred because it had a shorter travel time than the reverse move, and would not require additional double track as the Bridgewater shuttle would. The new Middleborough station will be located in the wye (Pilgrim Junction) between the Middleborough Main Line and Middleboro Secondary.[31] The CapeFlyer will continue to use Middleborough/Lakeville station, as the new station will not have a platform on the Middleborough Main Line. However, the new station includes space for a future platform to serve shuttle trains to Cape Cod.[31]: 37 A construction contract for the new station was awarded in August 2020; it is expected to open in May 2025.[32][33]
^ abc"Figure VIII-B7: Middleborough/Lakeville Station Conceptual Site Plan". Old Colony Railroad Rehabilitation Project from Boston to Lakeville, Plymouth and Scituate, Massachusetts: Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report. Vol. 3. United States Department of Transportation Urban Mass Transportation Administration. 1992 – via Google Books.
^Humphrey, Thomas J. & Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 95–96. ISBN9780685412947.
^ abcdKarr, Ronald Dale (2017). The Rail Lines of Southern New England (2 ed.). Branch Line Press. ISBN9780942147124.
^ abcdRoy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 175, 192. ISBN9780942147087.
^ abHumphrey, Thomas J. (January 2007). Buzzards Bay Commuter Rail Extension Feasibility Study. Central Transportation Planning Staff of the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization – via State Library of Massachusetts.
^Krim, Arthur (January 2004). "Form B – Building". Massachusetts Historical Commission – via Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System.
^"Executive Summary". Old Colony Railroad Rehabilitation Project from Boston to Lakeville, Plymouth and Scituate, Massachusetts: Final Environmental Impact Statement/Report. United States Department of Transportation Urban Mass Transportation Administration. March 1992. p. ES-4 – via Internet Archive.
^"Figure VIII-B7: Middleborough/Lakeville Station Conceptual Site Plan". Old Colony Railroad Rehabilitation Project from Boston to Lakeville, Plymouth and Scituate, Massachusetts: Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Report. Vol. 3. United States Department of Transportation Urban Mass Transportation Administration. May 1990 – via Google Books.
^Preer, Robert (March 28, 1999). "Around the towns". Boston Globe. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
^ abcSoutheastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization and Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (2012). "Commuter Rail"(PDF). 2012 Regional Transportation Plan. Archived from the original(PDF) on November 12, 2011.
,_December_2021.JPG)
