The MBTA Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility (signed as, and often known by, its former name of Boston Engine Terminal) is the primary train maintenance repair facility for 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 ...
system. It is located in the
Inner Belt area of
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...
, near
North Station
North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtr ...
in
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 ...
. The present Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility was built from 1995 to 1998, replacing the Boston Engine Terminal which was built by the former
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 ...
. The present facility opened on March 25, 1998.
Three small platforms on asphalt crossings serve as flag stops for MBTA employees only. One platform serves the
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 ...
, another the
Lowell Line, and a third the
Haverhill Line
The Haverhill Line (formerly the Haverhill/Reading Line) is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts to Haverhill, Massachusetts, Haverhill. The service operates on the Western Route of the form ...
and
Newburyport/Rockport Line (which split a mile north of the CRMF).
It was considered as a possible location for a light rail maintenance facility for the under-construction
Green Line Extension
The Green Line Extension (GLX) was a construction project to extend the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line (MBTA), Green Line light rail system northwest into Somerville, Massachusetts, Somerville and Medford, Massac ...
.
The Green Line facility was ultimately built on an industrial site just west of the Commuter Rail facility.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston Engine Terminal
Buildings and structures in Somerville, Massachusetts
MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Rail yards in Massachusetts