Rockport (MBTA station)

ROCKPORT
A train parked at the Rockport station platform in July 2016
Location	17 Railroad Avenue Rockport, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°39′21″N 70°37′36″W / 42.6559°N 70.6267°W / 42.6559; -70.6267Coordinates: 42°39′21″N 70°37′36″W / 42.6559°N 70.6267°W / 42.6559; -70.6267
Owned by	MBTA
Line(s)	Newburyport/Rockport Line
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	6 (1 station, 4 layups, 1 auxiliary)
Connections	CATA
Construction
Parking	88 spaces (free) No accessible spaces
Bicycle facilities	7 spaces
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	8
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	323 (weekday average boardings)
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station Gloucester toward North Station Newburyport/Rockport Line Terminus

Rockport is a passenger rail station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line, located just outside the downtown area of Rockport, Massachusetts. It is the terminus of the Rockport branch of the line. The station complex consists of a single side platform with one revenue track plus 4 layover tracks for parked trains and a short stretch of auxiliary track.

Like many MBTA Commuter Rail stations, Rockport's platform is mostly low with a single high section in the center. Other stations have the high section on the outer end of the platform, but this was not possible due to a commercial property abutting the outer end of the station.

The MBTA is currently planning upgrades to the Rockport station area, including a bus shelter and information kiosk as well as improvements to the layover yard. Further improvements, including a full-length high-level platform, were recently planned but shelved due to funding issues.

Rockport was opened as the terminus of the Rockport Railroad (an independent extension of the Eastern Railroad's Gloucester Branch) in November 1861. The only loop on the entire Boston & Maine system was built at Rockport in the early 1900s, just west of the station around what is now Loop Pond. Although most trains did not need to be turned, private and parlor cars run in the summer months needed to be reversed before the return trip. Double-ended Budd RDC railcars took over service in 1955, though the loop was in regular use until 1962. The loop tracks were removed in 1965. An unpaved trail, connected to Tarrs Lane and Applecart Road, now follows the path of the loop.

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 bought the branch in 1868; 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. Rockport service continued in the same fashion for decades, with 13 inbound round trips in 1906, 14 trips in 1950, and 11 trips in 1962. A second station, Bass Rocks, briefly existed in Rockport at Eastern Avenue (Route 127). However, the station primarily served the Bass Rocks area of Gloucester, as the Rockport station was closer to most inhabitants of Rockport. It was discontinued in the early 20th century.