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Reading
Reading station in 2014
General information
Location	35 Lincoln Street Reading, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°31′18″N 71°6′27″W / 42.52167°N 71.10750°W / 42.52167; -71.10750
Line(s)	Western Route
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	1
Connections	MBTA bus: 137
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	10 spaces
Accessible	Yes
Architectural style	Stick/Eastlake, Queen Anne
Other information
Fare zone	2
History
Opened	1845
Rebuilt	1870, 1991
Passengers
2018	855 (weekday average boardings)
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Wakefieldtoward North Station Haverhill Line North Wilmingtontoward Haverhill
Former services Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station Wakefieldtoward Boston Western Route Reading Highlandstoward Portland
Boston and Maine Railroad Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
MPS	Reading MRA
NRHP reference No.	84002509
Added to NRHP	July 19, 1984
Location

Reading station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Reading, Massachusetts. It serves the Haverhill/Reading Line. It is located at Lincoln and High Streets on the western fringe of Reading's central business district. The station's historic depot building was built in 1870 by the Boston and Maine Railroad. The station was the terminus of the line from 1959 until the re-extension to Haverhill station in 1979.

Architecture and history

The Boston and Maine Railroad Extension from Wilmington Junction to Boston was completed in 1845, with intermediate stops including Reading. A new station building was constructed in 1870. The depot is located southwest of the tracks, at the junction of Lincoln and Prescott Streets. It is a long rectangular building with Queen Anne styling, with paneled pilasters at the corners and between the bays, and large knee braces that help support the wide overhangs of the hip roof. The north (track-facing) facade has seven bays, alternating windows (4) and doors (3). One of the windows is a projecting bay with a band of narrow and tall windows, whose upper sash has colored lights.

The station was purchased by the town in 1960, and was briefly used as a museum of railroad history. The MBTA purchased the Haverhill Line in 1973, intending to replace commuter rail service with extended Orange Line subway service between Oak Grove and Reading. The new Reading/128 terminus would have been located outside the downtown area just south of Route 128, rather than at the current downtown location. Ultimately, the extension was not built past Oak Grove due to rising costs, and commuter rail service was kept on the corridor. The station building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The town sold the building to private owners in 1985, with preservation restrictions.

The station was later rebuilt around 1991 with a mini-high platform on the inbound side for accessibility. The second track, removed decades earlier, was not rebuilt; the outbound platform was repaired, but a second mini-high platform was not built. Thus, the inbound platform serves trains in both directions. In June 2022, the MBTA indicated plans to add a turnback track at the station at a cost of $1.5–2 million. It would be completed in 2023, allowing service between Reading and Boston to operate on 30-minute headways.

Rail service on the inner Haverhill Line was suspended from September 9 to November 5, 2023, to accommodate signal work. Substitute bus service was operated between Reading and Oak Grove and between Reading and Anderson/Woburn.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Reading, Massachusetts

References

1. Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
2. ^ "National Register Information System – (#84002509)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
3. ^ "MACRIS inventory record and NRHP nomination for Boston and Maine Railroad Depot". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
4. Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
5. Hanron, Robert (October 31, 1965). "THE M.B.T.A.: A Transit System Picks Up Speed". Boston Globe. p. C4 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Operations Directorate Planning Division (November 1990). "Ridership and Service Statistics" (3 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. pp. 1–5 – via Internet Archive.
7. MBTA : ACCESS; The Guide to Accessible Services and Facilities. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 1992. p. 15 – via Internet Archive.
8. Sawers, Alistar (June 23, 2022). "Regional Rail Transformation Update: Traction Power Planning for Regional and Urban Rail Services" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 17.
9. "Service Disruption September 9 to November 5 on Haverhill Commuter Rail Line" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 10, 2023.

External links

Media related to Reading station (MBTA) at Wikimedia Commons

• MBTA - Reading

v t e Reading, Massachusetts
Incorporated in 1644 Based in Middlesex County in Massachusetts Population 24,747
General information	Reading History Settlement 19th Century 20th Century Geography Demographics Government Education Transportation Points of Interest Notable residents Suggested reading
Institutions	Ace Art Company Camp Curtis Guild Compugraphic Reading Public Schools MBTA bus routes Coolidge Middle School Reading (MBTA station) Reading Municipal Building Wood End School
Attractions	Aberjona River NRHPs
Notable residents	Jess Brallier Joshua Eaton Mark Erelli William M. Fowler Fred Foy Dr. John Hart Lennie Merullo Moses Nichols Dea. Thomas Parker Eddie Peabody Chris Pizzotti Bill Russell Tom Silva Charles Austin Tweed Brad Whitford
Natl. Hist. Places (Houses)	Bancroft Houses Joseph Samuel Wendell Edwin Bassett House Batchelder House Batchelder Houses Alden George Nathaniel Battell House Benjamin Beard House Brackett House Brande House Carroll–Hartshorn House Carter Mansion Gilman Coggin House Asa M. Cook House Damon Houses Joseph Washington Durgin House Eaton–Prescott House Luther Elliott House Samuel Foster House Stephen Hall House Harnden–Browne House Timothy Hartshorn House Hartwell House 11 Beach St. 26 Center Av. 322 Haven St. 129 High St. 77 Howard St. 1177 Main St. 16 Mineral St. Salem St. 42 79–81 Summer Av. 199 242 483 44 Temple St. 206 West St. 57 Woburn St. Lewis House Manning Houses Charles Jacob Nichols Houses James Richard Octagon House Old Hose House Parker Houses Haven St. Salem St. Nathaniel Joseph Samuel Stillman William Pierce House Pratt House Stillman Pratt House Roberts House Rowhouses, 256–274 Haven Rev. Peter Sanborn House Thomas Symonds House Temple Houses Joseph Mark Charles Wells House Weston Houses Ephraim Jabez
Natl. Hist. Places (Buildings)	Ace Art Company B&M Depot Bowser Gazebo Common Hist. Dist. Dewey Place Haverhill Street Milestone Highland School Kemp Barn Kemp Place Masonic Block Daniel Nichols Homestead Jerry Nichols Tavern Parker Tavern Pearl Street School Pierce Organ Pipe Factory Reading Municipal Building Reading Municipal Light and Power Station Reading Standpipe Smith Shoe Shop Walnut St. School Wisteria Lodge Woburn St. Hist. Dist.
v t e Neighboring towns Wilmington North Reading Lynnfield Pinehurst Reading Woburn Stoneham (Template) Wakefield (Template)
Category Town of Reading

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
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• Buildings and structures in Reading, Massachusetts
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1870
• Former Boston and Maine Railroad stations
• Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
• MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
• National Register of Historic Places in Reading, Massachusetts