McGovern Transportation Center

Lawrence
McGovern Transportation Center in 2025
General information
Location211 Merrimack Street
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°42′7″N 71°9′9″W / 42.70194°N 71.15250°W / 42.70194; -71.15250
Owned byMVRTA
Line(s)Western Route
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks3
Connections MVRTA: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 24
Construction
Parking400 spaces (5 accessible)[1]
Bicycle facilities18 spaces[1]
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone6
History
Opened1848, 1979
Closed1976
Rebuilt1931, 2005 (relocated)
Passengers
2018482 (weekday average boardings)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Andover
toward North Station
 Haverhill Line Bradford
toward Haverhill
Former services
Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station
Shawsheen
toward Boston
 Western Route North Andover
toward Portland
Boston – Dover
until 1967
 North Andover
toward Dover
Boston – Haverhill North Andover
toward Haverhill
Location

The Senator Patricia McGovern Transportation Center, also known as the McGovern Transportation Center or simply Lawrence station, is a transit station in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA Commuter Rail Haverhill Line and Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority local bus service. The station, which opened in 2005, is the latest of seven distinct stations located in Lawrence since 1848; it is located in the city's Gateway District.

History

Early stations

The city of Lawrence was chartered in 1846, several years after the Boston & Maine Railroad opened. In 1848, the original tracks from Ballardvale to North Andover were abandoned and the route was relocated to the modern routing through Lawrence south of the Merrimack River.[3] That year, the B&M set a land speed record for railed vehicles by operating the first authenticated 60 mph (96.6 km/h) train, The Antelope, from Boston to Lawrence, travelling 26 miles in 26 minutes.[4]

The first station in Lawrence, South Lawrence, was a wooden structure built in 1848 just north of Salem Street.[5][6] It was enlarged just two years after construction, then replaced in 1872 by a brick depot between Salem and Andover Streets.[5][7]

In 1849, the Manchester and Lawrence Railroad was built from South Lawrence depot north through Lawrence proper. A new station was located at Essex Street and named North Lawrence; the original wooden building was replaced in 1851 by a permanent building (similar to the depot at Andover) then in 1879 by a Victorian Gothic brick structure.[5] In 1880, the Boston and Lowell Railroad extended the 1848-built Lowell and Lawrence Railroad to a new depot north of the Merrimack River on Canal Street. After the B&M absorbed the B&L in 1887 the depot became redundant, though it saw service until 1918.[5] Passenger service on the Lawrence & Lowell ended in 1926.[8]

Consolidation

In 1931, the Boston & Maine consolidated the existing South and North Lawrence into a single station, Lawrence, located off Parker Street. The tall brick and marble building, technically located at 65 Merrimack Street still stands as part of a strip mall.[5] Passenger service on the Manchester and Lawrence ended in 1953.[8]

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was formed in 1964 to subsidize suburban commuter rail service. Lawrence was outside the MBTA district. On January 4, 1965, the B&M discontinued most interstate service. The only service north of Haverhill was a single Boston–Dover round trip.[9] On January 18, 1965, the B&M discontinued almost all remaining intrastate service outside the MBTA district. This left only the Dover round trip serving Lawrence.[10] It was cut to Haverhill on June 30, 1967, with Lawrence and the other towns outside the district subsidizing the train.[11][12]

The single Haverhill round trip ended on June 30, 1976, due to a loss of state subsidies, ending service to Lawrence.[13] The MBTA purchased most of the B&M commuter assets, including the Western Route, on December 27, 1976.[11] Planning began in 1978 for restoration of Haverhill service using the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority as a funding intermediary.[14]: 70  Haverhill Line service returned on December 17, 1979, including the resumption of the Lawrence stop.[11] A mini-high platform for accessibility was added around 1992.[15]

McGovern Transportation Center

On December 6, 2005, the Senator Patricia McGovern Transportation Center opened with a new Lawrence train station a quarter mile to the east, replacing the former station.[11] The old platform is still extant.

Service to the station is at a single full-length high-level platform on the north side of the tracks. After the station was built in 2005, there was also a temporary platform located on the south side of the tracks, but locals were unhappy with having to cross active tracks to reach the garage from the platform.[16] The second platform was removed from service after several years and was demolished when Pan Am built a second freight track through the station around 2010. With freight trains now on their dedicated tracks, the single passenger track is sufficient for current service levels. A similar platform was built in 2014 for use during track work on the line.

On September 1, 2024, MeVa moved its Lawrence hub to McGovern Transportation Center, replacing Buckley Transportation Center in downtown Lawrence.[17][18]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
  2. ^ Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  3. ^ Karr, Ronald Dale (2010). Lost Railroads of New England (Third ed.). Branch Line Press. p. 86. ISBN 9780942147117.
  4. ^ George, Charles B. (1887). "A MILE A MINUTE". Forty Years on the Rail (2nd ed.). R.R. Donnelley & Sons. pp. 50–54.
  5. ^ a b c d e Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 176–177. ISBN 9780942147087.
  6. ^ Walling & Gray (1871). "Lawrence 1871". Official Topographical Atlas of Massachusetts, 1871. WardMaps LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  7. ^ Walker Lithograph; Publishing Co. (1891). "Lawrence 1891". Topographical Atlas of Massachusetts, 1891. WardMaps LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Karr, Ronald Dale (1995). The Rail Lines of Southern New England. Branch Line Press. pp. 232, 241–244. ISBN 0942147022.
  9. ^ "B&M Posts Notices On Rail Curbs". The Bangor Daily News. UPI. January 2, 1965. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Hanron, Robert B. (January 16, 1965). "B&M Switches Monday". The Boston Globe. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b c d Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  12. ^ "Last B&M Train to New Hampshire". Transcript-Telegram. UPI. June 30, 1967. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "B&M Lawrence, Haverhill runs closed". The Berkshire Eagle. UPI. July 2, 1976. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association.
  15. ^ MBTA : ACCESS; The Guide to Accessible Services and Facilities. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 1992. p. 15 – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ Mason, Edward; Vogler, Mark E. (September 21, 2006). "Financial woes hit McGovern Transportation Center". Eagle-Tribune. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  17. ^ "About McGovern" (Press release). Merrimack Valley Transit. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025.
  18. ^ Date, Terry (September 5, 2024). "MeVA makes big move to McGovern". The Eagle-Tribune. Archived from the original on September 5, 2024.
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