Framingham (MBTA station)

Framingham
Modern station platforms and pedestrian bridge, opened in 2001
Location	417 Waverly Street Framingham, Massachusetts
Owned by	MBTA
Line(s)	Amtrak:   Lake Shore Limited MBTA:   Framingham/Worcester Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	MWRTA: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, Framingham Commuter Shuttle, Westborough Commuter Shuttle
Construction
Parking	166 spaces ($4.00 daily) 4 accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities	10 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	FRA (Amtrak)
Fare zone	5 (MBTA)
History
Opened	1834
Rebuilt	1848, 1885 (H. H. Richardson depot) 2001 (modern platforms)
Previous names	South Framingham (until January 8, 1915)
Traffic
Passengers (FY2016)	1,892  3.62% (Amtrak)
Passengers (2013)	1,299 (MBTA weekday average)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Worcester toward Chicago Lake Shore Limited Boston Back Bay toward Boston South Station MBTA Ashland toward Worcester Framingham/Worcester Line West Natick toward South Station   Former services   New York Central Railroad Ashland toward Albany Boston and Albany Railroad Main Line Newtonville toward Boston Ashland toward Worcester Worcester Line Natick toward Boston Whitneys toward St. Joseph Milford Branch Terminus
Framingham Railroad Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Framingham Railroad Station in 1959
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Coordinates	42°16′35″N 71°25′6″W / 42.27639°N 71.41833°W / 42.27639; -71.41833Coordinates: 42°16′35″N 71°25′6″W / 42.27639°N 71.41833°W / 42.27639; -71.41833
Built	1885
Architect	H. H. Richardson
Architectural style	Richardson Romanesque
NRHP Reference #	75000258
Added to NRHP	January 17, 1975

Framingham Railroad Station is a historic Boston and Albany Railroad station located in downtown Framingham, Massachusetts. Designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson, it was one of the last of the railroad stations he designed in the northeastern United States to be built. The station, built in 1884–85, served as a major stop on the B&A Main Line as well as a hub for branch lines to Milford, Mansfield, Fitchburg, and Lowell. After years of deterioration, the station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and restored a decade later.

In 2001, MBTA Framingham/Worcester Line and Amtrak operations were shifted to a new set of platforms nearby, which have high-level sections for handicapped-accessible boarding and a footbridge for crossing the tracks. This new Framingham station is among the busiest on the MBTA system, with 41 daily MBTA and 2 Amtrak trains on weekdays. The H. H. Richardson-designed station building remains largely intact and is currently used as a restaurant.

The Boston and Worcester Railroad, which had opened from Boston to Newton in April 1834, opened to South Framingham in August 1834. The village's first major station, a 2-story wooden Dutch Colonial structure, was constructed in 1848. After being replaced, it was moved slightly west and converted to a freight house – a function it served until it was demolished in the 1960s.

Over the next several decades, South Framingham became an important regional rail hub. The Boston and Worcester built its 12-mile Milford Branch from South Framingham to Milford via Holliston in 1848. The next year, the B&W built a short branch to Framingham Center, which the B&W mainline had bypassed. This line, later called the Agricultural Branch Railroad, was realigned near Framingham Center and extended to Pratts Junction in Sterling in 1855. Franklin Street was built on the former branch right of way. The Agricultural Branch and the Framingham & Lowell (which branched off it at Framingham Center) were the northernmost section of the Old Colony Railroad, which took over the lines in 1879.