Gloucester (MBTA station)

GLOUCESTER
Gloucester station looking outbound from Washington Street
Location	75 Railroad Avenue Gloucester, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°37′00″N 70°40′06″W / 42.61675°N 70.66830°W / 42.61675; -70.66830Coordinates: 42°37′00″N 70°40′06″W / 42.61675°N 70.66830°W / 42.61675; -70.66830
Owned by	MBTA
Line(s)	Newburyport/Rockport Line
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Connections	CATA buses
Construction
Parking	100 spaces ($4.00 fee) No accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities	5 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	7
History
Opened	December 1847
Rebuilt	September 2005
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	590 (weekday inbound average)
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station West Gloucester toward North Station Newburyport/Rockport Line Rockport Terminus

Gloucester is a regional rail station on the Rockport Branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line, located off Railroad Avenue and Washington Street in the downtown area of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The station consists of a single side platform serving the line's single track. The station has a mini-high platform, making it handicapped accessible.

The Eastern Railroad built their Gloucester Branch in 1847, reaching Gloucester in December. The station was located in downtown Gloucester, at the intersection of Railroad and Maplewood Avenues. Gloucester was the end of the line until 1861, when the Rockport Railroad was built to extend the branch to Rockport station. Due to the new curve heading to Rockport, a new station was built to the west near Washington Street. The old depot, now on a short spur, was still used for freight service for several decades to come.

Initially, Rockport trains were operated by the Eastern Railroad and met Eastern mainline trains at Beverly. In 1864, trains began to be through-routed to Boston to increase frequencies on the inner part of the trunk line. The Eastern Railroad bought the Rockport Railroad in 1868, but the branch is still known as the Gloucester Branch. By the 1870s, regular commuter service was available. The Eastern was leased by the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1885 and merged into it in 1890. In 1911, the branch was doubled-tracked to Gloucester. (Today, the double track ends west of the station). Commuter service continued in the same fashion for decades, with 13 inbound round trips in 1906, 14 trips in 1950, and 11 trips in 1962.

Gloucester has seen nearly continuous service to Boston since 1848, with only 2 interruptions. When the newly formed MBTA began funding commuter rail service in 1965, communities outside the funding district were left to pay for trains to continue stopping. Gloucester and neighboring Rockport initially declined to subsidize service. Service past Manchester was discontinued on January 28, 1965, along with the outer sections of the Fitchburg Line and Central Mass Branch. The MBTA rushed to reach subsidy agreements with out-of-district towns, and after negotiations service was to resume on June 6. After a lawsuit in which the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway challenged the right of the MBTA to provide out-of-district service, Rockport service resumed on June 28, 1965.