Owned by MBTA Platforms 2 side platforms Connections MBTA Bus: 47, CT2 | Line(s) Green Line "D" Branch Tracks 2 | |
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Location Park Drive near The Riverway
Boston, Massachusetts | ||
Fenway is a light rail stop on the MBTA Green Line "D" Branch, located under Park Drive near the Riverway in the Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It opened along with the rest of the D Branch on July 4, 1959, when trolleys replaced Highland Branch commuter rail service. The station is fully handicapped accessible from Park Drive via the Landmark Center parking lot as well as from Miner Street.
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Named after the Fenway parkway rather than Fenway Park, it is not the nearest station to the stadium - Yawkey commuter rail and Kenmore Green Line station are closer. Nevertheless, it is heavily used during Red Sox home games and other Fenway Park events.
History
The Boston and Worcester Railroad opened a 1.4-mile (2.3 km) branch from Brookline Junction to Brookline on April 10, 1848. The Charles River Branch Railroad extended the Brookline Branch to Newton Upper Falls in November 1852 and to Needham in June 1853, keeping the original B&W station for its service.
The Boston and Albany Railroad bought back the line, then part of the New York and New England Railroad, in February 1883. It was double-tracked and extended to the B&A main at Riverside; "Newton Circuit" service via the Highland Branch and the main line began on May 16, 1886. No station was located at what is now Park Drive; the nearest stations were Chapel and later Longwood to the west, and Brookline Junction to the east.
In June 1957, the Massachusetts Legislature approved the purchase of the branch by the M.T.A. from the nearly-bankrupt New York Central Railroad for conversion to a trolley line. Service ended on May 31, 1958. The line was quickly converted for trolley service and reopened on July 4, 1959. All pre-1958 station locations were kept (though many station buildings were demolished for parking lots) and a new Fenway Park station was added at Park Drive.
The station was renamed Fenway after the road of the same name at a later time, as it is significantly further from Fenway Park than Kenmore. Until the 2006 season, it remained well-trafficked by fans from Red Sox games because the MBTA did not collect fares at outbound Green Line surface stops, making the trip to Riverside free for those boarding at Fenway but not at Kenmore. At the beginning of 2007, the MBTA started collecting fares on outbound trips and the station's popularity declined. However, some fans still use the station either due to confusion or to avoid crowding at Kenmore.
In June 2007, the MBTA constructed a new siding at Fenway station to store maintenance equipment.
Fenway station was a proposed stop on the MBTA's proposed Urban Ring Project. The Urban Ring was to be a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Line designed to connect the current MBTA Lines to reduce strain on the downtown stations. Under the most recent plan, the line would have run under the "D" Branch near Fenway in a bored tunnel, with an underground station at Fenway. The Urban Ring project is currently shelved due to the MBTA's financial difficulties.
Station layout
The station is located under the Park Drive overpass, with platforms stretching under the bridge and slightly to the west. A set of stairs connects the inbound platform to the bridge. Accessible sidewalks connect the inbound platform to Park Drive via the Landmark Center parking lot and to Miner Street next to the tracks. The outbound platform has no entrances of its own and is accessed via pedestrian crossings from the inbound platform.
As of December 2016, the MBTA is considering adding one or two elevators to improve accessibility at the station.
Bus connections
Two MBTA Bus routes run on Park Drive, with stops on the bridge above the station. There are no crosswalks to access the southbound bus stop at the station; the nearest crosswalks are at Riverway.