South Acton (MBTA station)

Infobox Station
name=South Acton
type=MBTA Commuter Rail


image_size=
image_caption=
address=10 Central St.
Acton, MA 01720
coordinates= coord|42.461428|N|71.456881|W|type:railwaystation_region:US
line=rail color box|system=MBTA|line=Fitchburg
other=
structure=at-grade
platform=single platform
depth=
levels=
tracks=Single
parking=287 spaces, 170 Resident Sticker Spaces ($50 Annually) 107 Non-Sticker ('Open') spaces ($2.50 12 hours daily)
bicycle=44 spaces
baggage_check=
passengers=873 [http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/Business_Center/Bidding_and_Solicitations/Design_and_Construction/Report%20(1%20of%202).pdf]
pass_year=170000
pass_percent=+10
pass_system=
opened=10/1/1844
closed=
rebuilt=
electrified=
ADA=
code=
owned=Town of Acton
zone=6
fare= $6.75 to Boston, $3.50 interzone
former=
services=s-rail|title=MBTA
mpassengers=

South Acton is a station [cite web|url=http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/lines/stations/?stopId=192|title=MBTA.com - South Acton] on the MBTA Fitchburg Line in Acton, Massachusetts. The station is owned by the Town of Acton and is located at 10 Central St. near Massachusetts Route 27. It is the busiest station on the Fitchburg line, accounting for roughly 873 weekday passenger boardings, generating 15% of the line's traffic. [http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/Business_Center/Bidding_and_Solicitations/Design_and_Construction/Report%20(1%20of%202).pdf]

The station is convert|25.06|mi|km|1 away from North Station. While most trains on the Fitchburg Line run to Fitchburg, some trains terminate at South Acton instead, and the line is sometimes referred to as the Fitchburg/South Acton Line by MBTA. The station is located in Zone 6.

Parking

There are 300 parking spaces including 6 handicap accessible spaces at South Acton split between two lots. The main lot contains 282 spaces, which are split between 155 resident permit parking spaces and 107 daily 12-hour spaces. The secondary "overflow" lot is located two-tenths of mile from the station on School Street and contains 15 resident permit parking spaces. Resident Parking Permits cost $50 annually, whereas the daily 12-hour spaces cost $2.50 a day.

History

The Fitchburg Railroad began serving the town with a stop, located off of School St, when it reached the town on October 1st, 1844. The railroad completed the first station in 1845 and, when the new station was built in 1892, the old station was moved to Jones Farm and utilized as a fire station until 1927. [Images of America Series: Acton, by William A. Klauer. Arcadia Press, p69] The new South Acton Station served the Boston & Maine Railroad until the company sold the building in the early 1970s after it exited the passenger transportation business. This station burned in 1984 and was torn down. [Images of America Series: Acton, by William A. Klauer. Arcadia Press, p75] South Acton served as a station stop for both the Fitchburg Branch and Marlborough Branch of the B&M. The Marlborough Branch split off from the Fitchburg Railroad after the station. The station also maintained a two-stall round house, a freight house, and a turntable, located off the Marlborough Branch. The South Acton station was temporarily closed on January 17, 1965 but reopened on June 28, 1965. In the 1980s, the Town of Acton and the MBTA moved the station stopping point two tenths of a mile westward, off of Central Street, to provide expanded on-site parking. The original site is now the site of the "overflow" parking lot.

Nearby attractions

[http://www.discoverymuseums.org/ Children's and Science Discovery Museums]

Connecting service

Clock Tower Shuttle provides connecting service between the South Action station and the Clock Tower Place office park in downtown Maynard. [cite web|url=http://www.clocktowerplace.com/shuttleschedule.htm|publisher=Clock Tower Place|title=Shuttle Schedule|year=2008|accessdate=2008-04-13]

References