Packards Corner station

Packards Corner station (announced as Brighton Avenue/Packards Corner) is a light rail stop on the MBTA's Green Line B branch located at Packard's Corner—the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Brighton Avenue—in Allston, Boston, Massachusetts. The station is located in a median between the westbound travel lanes and frontage road of Commonwealth Avenue.

Packards Corner
An inbound train at Packards Corner station in 2018
General information
Location	Commonwealth Avenue at Brighton Avenue Allston, Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°21′7.51″N 71°7′29″W / 42.3520861°N 71.12472°W / 42.3520861; -71.12472
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	MBTA bus: 57
Passengers
2011	2,654 (weekday average boardings)^[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Harvard Avenue toward Boston College Green Line B branch Babcock Street toward Government Center
Former services Preceding station MBTA Following station Union Square toward Watertown Green Line A branch (closed 1969) Alcorn Street toward Park Street
Location

History

The Green Line A branch formerly diverged just north of the platforms; its trolleys stopped at separate Packards Corner platforms on Brighton Avenue. The Brighton Avenue streetcar reservation was removed from July 1 to October 5, 1949, and the side platforms for the Watertown Line were replaced with an island platform.^[2] The A branch was closed on June 21, 1969 and replaced with the route 57 bus, though the trackage was retained for non-revenue moves to Watertown Yard.^[3] The line was finally abandoned in 1994; a several-hundred-foot stub track was left until the mid-2000s to temporarily store disabled trains. The switch and the last few feet of track were not disconnected until track work in 2014.

Packards Corner was not made accessible during the initial 2001–03 round of Green Line station renovations. In 2019, the MBTA listed Packards Corner as a "Tier I" accessibility priority.^[4] Track work in 2018–19, which included replacement of platform edges at several stops, triggered requirements for accessibility modifications at those stops.^[5] Design for Packards Corner and four other B Branch stops was 30% complete by December 2022.^[6] As of November 2023^[update], construction is expected to begin at Packards Corner in spring 2024, ahead of other B Branch stations.^[7] A design shown in March 2024 called for the platforms to be rebuilt at their current locations, with a new track crossing and crosswalk to the west sidewalk at the south end of the station.^[8]

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  Watertown Line (future A Branch) platforms in 1948
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  A Boston College-bound (future B Branch) train at Packards Corner in 1965
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  Former A branch turnout switch in 2011

References

1. "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14th ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014.
2. Clarke, Bradley H. (2003). Streetcar Lines of the Hub - The 1940s. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 110. ISBN 0938315056.
3. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
4. "Preview of 2019 Recommendations: Presentation to the FMCB" (PDF). Plan for Accessible Transit Infrastructure (PATI). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 1, 2019. p. 12.
5. Brelsford, Laura (May 24, 2021). "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—May 2021" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. pp. 4–5.
6. "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2022" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. December 6, 2022. pp. 4–5.
7. "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—November 2023" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. November 27, 2023. pp. 4–5.
8. "Green Line B Branch Improvements and Accessibility Upgrades" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 22, 2024.

External links

  Media related to Packards Corner station at Wikimedia Commons

• MBTA – Packards Corner
• Station from Brighton Avenue from Google Maps Street View