page_title: Grafton station (MBTA)
section_title: Former station
hierarchical_section_title: Grafton station (MBTA) / History / Former station
caption_attribution_description: English: A streetcar (probably a Upton Street Railway car running on the Grafton &amp; Upton) and North Grafton station on an early postcard
context_page_description: Grafton is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in the North Grafton village of Grafton, Massachusetts, served by the Framingham/Worcester Line. The station is fully accessible, with mini-high platforms serving both of the line's two tracks.
  A former station at North Grafton was open from the 1800s until 1960. The modern station, located near Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine 1.3 miles east of the former station, opened in 2000.
context_section_description: The Boston and Worcester Railroad, which later became part of the Boston and Albany Railroad (B&A) opened to Worcester on July 4, 1835. Grafton station was established near New England Village (later called North Grafton) along the road to Shrewsbury. The Grafton Centre Railroad, a 3-mile (4.8 km) narrow-gauge feeder line, opened on August 20, 1874. Grafton station was renamed North Grafton to differentiate it from the Grafton Centre terminus. The branch line was converted to standard gauge in 1887, renamed the Grafton and Upton Railroad (G&U) in 1888, and extended to Milford in 1890.
  The G&U was electrified in 1902; passenger service was provided by streetcars operated by the Milford and Uxbridge Street Railway. North Grafton was a transfer point between B&A trains, G&U streetcars, and Worcester Consolidated Street Railway streetcars on the Worcester–Westborough line and Grafton Centre branch. Under great financial strain, the Worcester Consolidated cut its unprofitable suburban lines between 1925 and 1931. Westborough service ended in 1927; Grafton service lasted until 1931. Streetcar service on the G&U ended on August 31, 1928, though freight service continued. The G&U has continued to use a yard at North Grafton, where the freight house (built between 1930 and 1957) remains in use by the railroad.
  Grafton station continued to be served by B&A commuter trains. The station was closed on April 24, 1960 when the B&A dropped almost all stops west of Framingham as part of service cuts. In August 1973, the 1964-formed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) began subsidizing service (operated by Penn Central since 1968) between Boston and Framingham. On October 27, 1975, the one remaining Worcester round trip was cut back to Framingham.
caption: North Grafton station in the early 1900s
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