Wollaston (MBTA station)

WOLLASTON
Looking outbound on Wollaston's brutalist-style platform
Location	Newport Avenue and Beale Street Wollaston, Quincy, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°15′56″N 71°01′10″W / 42.265638°N 71.01953°W / 42.265638; -71.01953Coordinates: 42°15′56″N 71°01′10″W / 42.265638°N 71.01953°W / 42.265638; -71.01953
Owned by	MBTA
Line(s)	Red Line
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	550 spaces ($5.00 fee)
Bicycle facilities	88 spaces in "Pedal and Park" bicycle cage ~20 outside spaces
History
Opened	September 1, 1971
Closed	June 30, 1959
Rebuilt	2017-2020 (planned)
Previous names	Wollaston Heights (former station)
Traffic
Passengers (2013 daily)	4,624
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station North Quincy toward Alewife Red Line Braintree Branch Quincy Center toward Braintree

Wollaston is a rapid transit station on the MBTA Red Line, located in the Wollaston neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts. It serves Quincy's Wollaston neighborhood. It was opened in September 1971 as the second of three stations in the original South Shore Extension, replacing a mainline rail station which had been located there from 1845 to 1959. As of 2015^[update], Wollaston is the only Red Line heavy rail station that is not wheelchair accessible, but planning is underway for a major renovation.

Wollaston station serves Eastern Nazarene College, which is 0.5 miles (0.80 km) away.

The Old Colony Railroad opened through Quincy in November 1845. Several local stations were located in Quincy, including Wollaston station (also known as Wollaston Heights) at Beale Street. In 1877, a large station with a clock tower was built on the west (inbound) side of the tracks. The Old Colony switched from English-style left-hand running to American-style right-hand running in 1893 when it was acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad; the depot was moved to the east side of the tracks in 1895.

Passenger service on the Old Colony system declined after World War II, and the New Haven decided to abandon the line in the late 1950s. Emergency subsidies kept the lines open during construction of the Southeast Expressway, but all passenger service to Wollaston and the rest of the former Old Colony system was ended on June 30, 1959.

Even before 1959, discussion was underway to bring rapid transit to the Old Colony mainline. The 1926 Report on Improved Transportation Facilities and 1945–47 Coolidge Commission Report recommended a branch of the Cambridge-Dorchester Line (later renamed as the Red Line) to parallel the Old Colony mainline to Braintree, taking over service on local stops. The newly formed MBTA bought the Old Colony right-of-way from South Boston to South Braintree in 1965. In 1966, the Program for Mass Transportation recommended the extension, and construction of the station began that year. Wollaston opened along with North Quincy and Quincy Center on September 1, 1971.