The Fitchburg Intermodal Transportation Center is a

regional rail Regional rail is a public transport, public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connectin ...

and bus station located in downtown

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fitchburg State University is located here. History ...

. It is a stop on the

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track on 12 lines to 142 stations. It ...

Fitchburg Line The Fitchburg Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system which runs from Boston's North Station to Wachusett station in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The line is along the tracks of the former Fitchburg Railroad, which was built across nort ...

and a hub for

Montachusett Regional Transit Authority The Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (MART) is a public, nonprofit organization established under Chapter 161B of the Massachusetts General Laws to provide public transportation to the Montachusett Region. MART is one of Massachusetts' 1 ...

local and intercity bus routes.

History

The

Fitchburg Railroad The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main l ...

was completed westward to Fitchburg on March 5, 1845. The

Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, United States, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900. The main l ...

(V&M) soon extended the line west of Fitchburg, reaching Baldwinville in September 1847 and Greenfield on January 20, 1850. The Cheshire Railroad opened in stages from South Ashburnham beginning in 1847; Fitchburg was the first major station to the east of the junction. The

Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad The Fitchburg and Worcester Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1840 to provide a rail connection between Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Fitchburg and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester. Service began on February 11, 1850, ...

(F&W) opened in 1850, giving Fitchburg connections to Framingham and Worcester. Schedules allowed commuting from Fitchburg starting in 1864; after 1880, it was the outer terminal of commuter service on the line. Fitchburg Union Station, a brick structure with a five-story clock tower, was constructed in 1877. By 1900, the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the e ...

(B&M) had acquired the Fitchburg, the V&M, and the Cheshire; 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 ...

owned the F&W. Fitchburg was a major station for B&M intercity trains - including the ''

Green Mountain Flyer The ''Green Mountain Flyer'' was an international day train between Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the Northeast United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. It was operated in cooperation between the Rutland Railroad, the Canadian ...

'' and ''Mount Royal'' on the Cheshire Branch, and ''Minuteman'' on the Boston–

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

mainline. A short branch line ran from the station to the Cushing Flour and Grain mill on Cushing Street. It was electrified in 1890 using the first US-built electric locomotive and was used until 1947. Fitchburg–

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

passenger service ended around 1926, followed by Fitchburg–

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popula ...

service in 1931, though the line remained in use by freight. B&M passenger service on the Fitchburg Route was never as heavy as the other three mainlines, and it mostly escaped significant cuts until the 1950s. Cheshire Branch service was cut back to Fitchburg on May 18, 1958, as part of major service cuts that day. All service west of Fitchburg ended on April 23, 1960. No longer needed, Union Station was demolished in 1962 and replaced by a small brick building.

MBTA era

The newly formed

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

began subsidizing B&M commuter service on January 18, 1965. The

was cut back to West Concord - the outer limit of the MBTA funding district. Fitchburg reopened on January 13, 1980 as part of an extension of the line from South Acton to Gardner. Fitchburg was the outer terminus of Fitchburg Line service from the closure of Gardner in early 1987 to the opening of Wachusett station in September 2016. The still-extant 1980 station - a short stretch of bare asphalt with a bus shelter - was replaced by the Fitchburg Intermodal Transportation Center on May 15, 2000. The new facility added a handicapped-accessible platform, waiting rooms, bus bays, and a larger parking lot. In June 2005, most of the surface parking was replaced with a 400-space parking garage.

References

External links

{{commons category-inline
MBTA – Fitchburg
Former Boston and Maine Railroad stations MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Worcester County, Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States opened in 1980 Buildings and structures in Fitchburg, Massachusetts Former Old Colony Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States closed in 1965 Bus stations in Massachusetts