Falmouth station is a bus station and former railroad station in

Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. T ...

. Built in 1912 to replace an older station, it was used for rail service until 1964, with brief revivals in 1984 and 1988.

History

The original station in Falmouth was placed in service in 1872 when the

Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, ...

inaugurated service on the Woods Hole branch. In 1912 the original station was sold to the Swift family who moved it across the tracks. In its place the

New Haven Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

built a replacement brick station, which stands to this day. It served daily year-round New Haven RR trains to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

until 1959. Summertime service continued to 1964. The station was also a stop for day and nighttime versions of the NH's '' Cape Codder'' service to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

; these trains were among the trains terminated in 1964.

Failed passenger service proposals

The

Cape Cod and Hyannis Railroad The Cape Cod & Hyannis Railroad was a railroad that provided tourist and seasonal passenger services in Southeastern Massachusetts in the 1980s. Its primary service operated from the Braintree MBTA station to Hyannis on Cape Cod; branches to At ...

served the station briefly in 1984, and again in 1988. In 1989, a mini-high level platform was built when commuter service was proposed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in order to ease traffic congestion in the seasonally popular town. Falmouth rail service remained a hotly debated topic for nearly two decades, as the housing boom of the 1990s and 2000s took hold. With a new platform in Falmouth that never saw a passenger, resumption of passenger and freight service was promised by the commonwealth. However, pro-

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

advocates wielded considerable political influence with State Representative

Eric Turkington Eric Thornton Turkington (born August 12, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a former Democratic member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, who represented the Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket District from 1989-2009. ...

, who passed legislation before leaving office in 2008 that provided funding for the extension of the rail trail to North Falmouth. In June 2008, the line was cut back to North Falmouth and replaced with an extension of the existing bike path. Additionally, this cut off any possibility of restoration of service to Woods Hole Railroad Station, the traditional final station of the north-south branch from Bourne on the west side of the Cape.

Bus depot and cafe

The station was converted in 1989 for use as a bus depot. In 2015 the station was leased by Massachusetts DOT to the Falmouth Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (EDIC). The Falmouth EDIC renovated the station, retaining much of the historic design and details. The station opened in Spring 2017 as a transportation center, café and event venue. The station is served by the

Peter Pan Bus Lines Peter Pan Bus Lines operates an intercity bus service in the Northeastern United States. It is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. It operates service to and from Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampsh ...

, Plymouth & Brockton Bus Company, and

Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) operates a bus transit system of fixed and flexible routes, seasonal rail service to Boston, and a paratransit service in the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts. The CCRTA was created under the provisi ...

. The station is home to The Station Grill cafe, which serves meals and snacks to travelers and bicyclists.

Shining Sea Bikeway

The rail line that once carried trains to the station was converted into the Shining Sea Bikeway in 1975.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline Falmouth, Massachusetts Railway stations in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Former railway stations in Massachusetts Repurposed railway stations in the United States Bus stations in Massachusetts Transportation buildings and structures in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States opened in 1872 Former Old Colony Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States closed in 1988