The Senator Patricia McGovern Transportation Center, also known as the McGovern Transportation Center or simply Lawrence station, is a transit station in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen, Massachusetts, Methuen ...

. It serves 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 ...

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

Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority Merrimack Valley Transit, formerly known as Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, United States, charged with providing public transportation to an area consisting of the cities and town ...

local bus service. The station, which opened in 2005, is the latest of seven distinct stations located in Lawrence since 1848; it is located in the city's Gateway District.

History

Early stations

The city of Lawrence was chartered in 1846, several years after the

Boston & Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a 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 end of 1970, B&M ...

opened. In 1848, the original tracks from Ballardvale to North Andover were abandoned and the route was relocated to the modern routing through Lawrence south of the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...

. That year, the B&M set a

land speed record for railed vehicles This article provides an overview of speed records in rail transport. It is divided into absolute records for rail vehicles and fastest connections in the timetable. Current speed records The world record for a conventional wheeled passenger ...

by operating the first authenticated 60 mph (96.6 km/h) train, ''The Antelope'', from

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 ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

, travelling 26 miles in 26 minutes. The first station in Lawrence, South Lawrence, was a wooden structure built in 1848 just north of Salem Street. It was enlarged just two years after construction, then replaced in 1872 by a brick depot between Salem and Andover Streets. In 1849, the

Manchester and Lawrence Railroad The Manchester and Lawrence Railroad was a railroad company that was chartered in New Hampshire, United States, by businessmen from Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester, to build a rail line from that city to the Massachusetts state line. Hist ...

was built from South Lawrence depot north through Lawrence proper. A new station was located at Essex Street and named North Lawrence; the original wooden building was replaced in 1851 by a permanent building (similar to the depot at

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

) then in 1879 by a Victorian Gothic brick structure. In 1880, the

Boston and Lowell Railroad The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine R ...

extended the 1848-built

Lowell and Lawrence Railroad The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad was a small independent railroad that was chartered in 1846 to build a rail line linking the two giant Merrimack River Valley cities of Lowell, Massachusetts to Lawrence, Massachusetts. Early history Originally, ...

to a new depot north of the Merrimack River on Canal Street. After the B&M absorbed the B&L in 1887 the depot became redundant, though it saw service until 1918. Passenger service on the Lawrence & Lowell ended in 1926.

Consolidation

In 1931, the Boston & Maine consolidated the existing South and North Lawrence into a single station, Lawrence, located off Parker Street. The tall brick and marble building, technically located at 65 Merrimack Street still stands as part of a strip mall. Regular Manchester & Lawrence service ended in 1953, and after January 18, 1965, service to Boston was reduced to a single daily round trip. Service on the

past Reading was cut in June 1976, ending service to Lawrence. However, the MBTA bought BM commuter assets in December 1976, and the

1979 energy crisis A drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian revolution led to an energy crisis in 1979. Although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four percent, the oil markets' reaction raised the price of crude oil drastically ...

prompted a return of service. Service returned on December 17, 1979, including the resumption of the Lawrence stop. A mini-high platform for accessibility was added around 1992.

McGovern Transportation Center

On December 6, 2005, the Senator Patricia McGovern Transportation Center opened with a new Lawrence train station a quarter mile to the east, replacing the former station. The old platform is still extant. Service to the station is at a single full-length high-level platform on the north side of the tracks. After the station was built in 2005, there was also a temporary platform located on the south side of the tracks, but locals were unhappy with having to cross active tracks to reach the garage from the platform. The second platform was removed from service after several years and was demolished when

Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

built a second freight track through the station around 2010. With freight trains now on their dedicated tracks, the single passenger track is sufficient for current service levels. A similar platform was built in 2014 for use during track work on the line. On September 1, 2024, MeVa moved its Lawrence hub to McGovern Transportation Center, replacing Buckley Transportation Center in downtown Lawrence.

References

External links

{{commons category
MBTA - LawrenceMVRTA - Senator Patricia McGovern Transportation CenterPhoto set of the building of the 1931 station
Former Boston and Maine Railroad stations Buildings and structures in Lawrence, Massachusetts MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Essex County, Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States opened in 1931 Railway stations in the United States opened in 2005 1931 establishments in Massachusetts 2005 establishments in Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States closed in 1976