Shirley station is an

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...

station in Shirley, Massachusetts. It 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 norther ...

, and is located in the village center. The station consists of a short low-level platform with an asphalt patch for passengers to cross the tracks, plus a small wooden shelter on the inbound side. Shirley station is not accessible.

History

The Fitchburg Railroad opened to Shirley on December 30, 1844. The station was located near Davis Street. Service - later operated by the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it 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 ...

- lasted until the newly formed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority began to subsidize service in 1965. The section of the line from West Concord to Fitchburg was outside the MBTA's funding district, and service was cut back to West Concord on January 18, 1965. The mid-sized station building was torn down around this time. The line was re-extended as far as Ayer (one stop inbound of Shirley) later in 1965 and cut back to South Acton in 1975. Service was extended out to Gardner in January 1980, but the stops at Shirley and West Acton were not restored. Shirley reopened in May 1981 at Phoenix Street, east of the former site, with a small plexiglass bus stop shelter on the inbound side. The bus shelter was replaced by a hip-roofed wooden structure - its style based on the original Shirley station - in 1993.

References

External links

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MBTA - Shirley
Former Boston and Maine Railroad stations MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts 1844 establishments in Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States opened in 1844 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1981 Shirley, Massachusetts