West Acton was a railway station in

Acton, Massachusetts Acton is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, approximately west-northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston along Massachusetts Route 2 west of Concord, Massachusetts, Concord and about southwest of Lowell ...

. It served 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 was located in the

West Acton West Acton is a place in West London, England. It is part of Acton, in the London Borough of Ealing. The area includes Hanger Hill Garden Estate conservation area, which has many houses built in the mock Tudor style. Transport * West Acton S ...

village. The station was closed in 1975.

History

West Acton station was a

flag stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a bus stop, stop or train station, station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or drop ...

by 1858. It served the village of West Acton, and later Boxborough when its stop was closed in the 1930s. The station building, located on the east side of the tracks, was demolished in the mid 1960s as ridership declined. When 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 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 ...

's intrastate service on January 18, 1965, service was only kept to communities in the MBTA's limited funding district. All service on the Fitchburg Line west of West Concord, including to West Acton, was cut. Service was restored as far as Ayer on June 28, 1965, after several towns reached subsidy agreements with the MBTA. In December 1973, state subsidies for towns outside the MBTA funding district were halved, resulting in the MBTA needing to renegotiate subsidies from 14 municipalities. Ultimately Ayer, with just 14 daily commuters, refused to pay its $8200 bill in 1974; Littleton also refused $12,300 for its 21 riders. On March 1, 1975, the line was cut back to South Acton, dropping stops at Ayer, Littleton, and West Acton. When service was restored in 1980, West Acton (which was considered too close to South Acton) and

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American biographical film about Shirley Jackson * ''Shirley'' ( ...

were not reopened, in order to speed travel times to

Gardner Gardner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gardner (given name) *Gardner (surname) Places United States * Gardner, Colorado *Gardner, Illinois *Gardner, Kansas *Gardner, Massachusetts * Gardner, North Dakota * Gardner, Tennessee * Ga ...

. Shirley reopened in 1981, but West Acton has remained closed.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:West Acton (Mbta Station) Former Boston and Maine Railroad stations MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Acton, Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States closed in 1975 1975 disestablishments in Massachusetts Demolished railway stations in the United States