Auburndale (MBTA station)

AUBURNDALE
An outbound train stopped at Auburndale in May 2012
Location	477 Lexington Street Auburndale, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°20′45″N 71°15′01″W / 42.3458°N 71.2503°W / 42.3458; -71.2503Coordinates: 42°20′45″N 71°15′01″W / 42.3458°N 71.2503°W / 42.3458; -71.2503
Owned by	MBTA
Line(s)	Framingham/Worcester Line
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	2
Connections	MBTA Bus: 505, 558
Construction
Parking	35 spaces ($4.00 daily) 2 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities	Racks available
Other information
Fare zone	2
History
Opened	Early 1850s
Closed	January 30–March 16, 1981 (temporary)
Rebuilt	1881 (H. H. Richardson depot) 1961 (modern station)
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	325 (weekday inbound average)
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Wellesley Farms toward Worcester Framingham/Worcester Line West Newton toward South Station   Former services   New York Central Railroad Riverside toward Worcester Worcester Line West Newton toward Boston

Auburndale is a regional rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Framingham/Worcester Line, located next to the Massachusetts Turnpike in Auburndale, Massachusetts near Lasell College. The modern bare station platform, built in 1961, replaced a highly acclaimed 1881 depot building designed by H. H. Richardson. Commuter service at Auburndale is oriented towards rush hour service, but a handful of off-peak locals stop as well, as do all weekend trains.

A full renovation of the station for handicapped accessibility is planned. However, the project has attracted criticism because of concerns it will degrade service on the entire line.

The Boston and Worcester Railroad opened the segment from West Newton to Wellesley Hills in July 1834. A second track was added in 1839, and in 1843 the railroad began offering season fares for around $60, making it one of the first commuter rail systems. Due to the popularity of the other Newton stops, a station at Auburndale was opened in the early 1850s. The depot was located on the south side of the tracks in a large open area at the intersection of Auburn Street, Lexington Street, and several other roads. In 1867, the Boston & Worcester joined with the Western Railroad to become the Boston & Albany Railroad.

Beginning in 1881, the Boston & Albany began a massive improvement program that included the building of over 30 new stations along its main line as well as the Highland Branch, which it bought in 1883. Acclaimed architect H. H. Richardson was hired to design several stations (eventually nine) along the line, starting with Auburndale. Although not as grand as some of his other B&A works like Framingham and Palmer stations, the Auburndale station's design was highly praised. Henry-Russell Hitchcock called it "the best he ever built" in The Architecture of H.H. Richardson and His Time, and a 1904 architecture journal claimed that Richardson's depots at Auburndale and Chestnut Hill "created a new standard of way-station construction."