Arlington Centre (MBTA station)

ARLINGTON
Arlington station in 1925
Owned by	Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Line(s)	Lexington Branch
History
Opened	1846 (original); October 1965 (MBTA)[1]
Closed	1958 (original); 10 January 1977 (final)[2][1]
Traffic
Passengers	7–12 daily (1976)[2]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station East Lexington toward Bedford Depot Lexington Branch Lake Street toward North Station

Arlington Centre (signed as Arlington) is a former station on the Lexington Branch, opened in 1846 along with the rest of the Lexington Branch and ending its life as part of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. The station was closed in 1958, but was later reopened in October 1965 following community requests to that end.^[2][1] In January 1977, following a major snowstorm which temporarily shut down the Lexington Branch, stranding a train at Bedford Depot, the MBTA announced that commuter rail service on the branch would not be restored.^[3] In the 1980s, the MBTA planned to extend the Red Line through Arlington and Lexington to Route 128 along the former path of the Lexington Branch as part of the Northwest Extension, including renewed service to Arlington Centre station, but fierce opposition from Arlington residents scuttled this plan, and the Northwest Extension was cut short to Alewife in northwestern Cambridge.

The only surviving stations of the Lexington Branch are Bedford Depot and Lexington; Arlington Centre was demolished at some point following the branch's closure.^[3]

References

1. Belcher, Jonathan (22 March 2014). "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). NETransit. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
2. Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Construction (22 April 1976). Capital needs developed at the corridor level: core and west (Report). Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Construction. p. 101.
3. "About the Lexington Branch". Friends of Bedford Depot Park. Retrieved 9 July 2015.