Natick Center (MBTA station)

Description

The station, located below grade in a wide cut adjacent to North Main Street (MA-27), has two low-level side platforms serving the line's two tracks. Natick Center station is not handicapped accessible; the low platforms do not support level boarding, and passage to street level is via staircases only. The busiest non-accessible station on the system, it is planned to receive a major renovation and modernization.

Natick Center station is primarily used by those walking from nearby neighborhoods. A small lot with 71 spaces, owned by the town, is adjacent to the station; a town permit is needed to park. West Natick station, with a larger lot and daily pay spaces, opened two miles to the west in 1982 to serve park and ride commuters. All inbound trains except for a handful of express trains stop at both stations, as well as most outbound non-express trains.

Early history

The Boston & Worcester Railroad, extending outwards from Boston, reached Natick in August 1834. To create the first Natick station, the B&A took advantage of eminent domain to take land owned by the Harrison Harwood Baseball Manufacturing Company. The baseball factory is now a condominium overlooking the train station. In 1839, the line was double tracked through Natick. Two other stations were located in Natick: Lake Crossing (at Pond Road on the border with Wellesley to the east) and Walkerville (at Speen Street to the west). Neither lasted long into the 20th century.

The 3.87-mile (6.23 km) Saxonville Branch opened from Natick to the Saxonville section of Framingham on July 6, 1846, with through trains to Boston. Although branch ridership was never high, these trains were timed to allow commuting from Natick for the first time. Stations on the branch included Felchville (at Fisher Street), Cochituate (at Commonwealth Road on the Natick/Framingham border), and Saxonville.

Longfellow station

By 1894, the line was quadruple tracked as far west as Lake Crossing. Later that decade, as a grade crossing elimination project,the line was depressed into a wide cut through downtown Natick. A new granite and brownstone station designed by Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow, Jr., a student of H.H. Richardson (who had designed nine stations for the B&A in the 1880s), opened in 1897. The New York Central Railroad acquired the line in 1900, and the third and fourth tracks were extended through Natick in 1907.

Decline

The lightly used Saxonville Branch never saw more than three daily round trips; in 1936, passenger service was discontinued. A "bus" - the Saxonville station agent's car - ran to Saxonville until 1943. Freight service continued until the 1980s; the Cochituate Rail Trail is now being built on the right-of-way.

The line was reduced to two tracks through Natick in 1962. Around that time, a large building was built over the 1897 station, with the old station becoming the wine cellar of a liquor store. The original inbound canopy remains for use by the public, though the only station facilities are two bare platforms. The inbound side of the station is supported by the rear wall of the liquor store, decorated with a colorful mural of the Downtown Natick area. A second station serving the town opened at West Natick in 1982 to provide additional parking.

Name change and new station

Natick Center station is not handicapped accessible; the low platforms do not support level boarding, and passage to street level is via staircases only. Inbound weekday ridership in 2013 was 1077 passengers, making Natick Center the busiest non-accessible station on the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Flooding of the inbound track and platform during heavy rains is a recurrent problem. In January 2013, the Town of Natick formed an formal committee to advise the town on developing plans for a rebuilt station.

In June 2014, conceptual plans were unveiled for upgrades to make the station fully handicapped accessible with high-level platforms and accessible routes from street level. The rebuilt station would replace the existing side platforms with an island platform for cost and operational reasons, with a third track (to serve as a freight passing track) able to fit into the wide existing trench as well. The proposal would provide better integration of the station with the surrounding streets, including a deck over parts of the trench between Washington Street and Main Street. One option with the new station and a pedestrian-only deck was projected to cost $26.0 million, while a deck incorporating a bus loop would add $17 million more.

In July 2014, the MBTA agreed to the town's request to change the station's name as part of a larger rebranding of the Natick Center area. Online maps were changed shortly thereafter, and on January 12, 2015, the station was officially renamed as Natick Center. In March 2016, $4 million for completing design of the station was included in a draft 2017-2021 MBTA capital plan. As of December 2016, an 18-month-long design contract was to be signed in January 2017.

Bus connections

MWRTA buses serve Natick Center station via Route 27 (North Main Street). The Route 10 - Natick Daily Route and Route 11 - Natick Mid-Day run all-day service in identical loops in opposite directions around Natick, and connect to West Natick station and the Framingham hub to the west.

The Natick Commuter Shuttle provides rush hour service, designed to connect reverse commuters from Boston to employers in the Natick area.