Lynn station

Central Square – Lynn
A passenger train leaving a small railway station
The interim Lynn station in December 2023
General information
LocationLynn, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°27′55″N 70°56′26″W / 42.46522°N 70.94067°W / 42.46522; -70.94067
Line(s)Eastern Route
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 426, 426W, 429, 435, 436, 439, 441, 442, 455, 456
Construction
Bicycle facilities14 spaces
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone2
History
Opened1838
Rebuilt1848, 1872, 1895, 1909–1914, 1952, 1991–1992, 2023[1]
Passengers
2018549 (weekday average boardings)[2]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
River Works Newburyport/​Rockport Line Swampscott
Proposed services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
River Works Blue Line Terminus
Location
Map

Lynn station (signed as Central Square–Lynn) is an intermodal transit station in downtown Lynn, Massachusetts. It is a station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line and a hub for the MBTA bus system.

Service on the Eastern Railroad through Lynn began on August 27, 1838. The original wooden station was replaced by a larger structure in 1848, and the Saugus Branch began serving Lynn in 1855. In the "Great Lynn Depot War", a local disagreement in 1865 about where to place a replacement station became a major court case. It ended in 1872 with the construction of stations at two closely spaced sites, though one was soon torn down. The other station burned in 1889; it was replaced in 1895 by a depot with a large clock tower.

The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M), which had acquired the Eastern in 1883, began a grade separation project through Lynn in 1909 – part of an attempt to quadruple-track the whole line. Completed in 1914, it expanded the station to four tracks and two island platforms, with the 1895-built structure modified "not for the better". It was replaced in 1952 by a modernist brick structure. Saugus Branch service ended in 1958; service on the mainline was subsidized beginning in 1965 by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).

The MBTA opened a new accessible island platform in 1992, along with a large parking garage that anticipated a never-realized extension of the Blue Line. In 2003, the bus routes were moved to a busway adjacent to the garage. The rail station and parking garage temporarily closed on October 1, 2022, pending a reconstruction project, while the busway remained open. Interim platforms nearby opened in December 2023.

  1. ^ Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  2. ^ Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.