page_title: Gloucester station (MBTA)
section_title: MBTA era
hierarchical_section_title: Gloucester station (MBTA) / History / MBTA era
caption_attribution_description: English: An inbound train arrives at Gloucester station in April 2014
context_page_description: Gloucester is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Located off Railroad Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Gloucester, it serves the Rockport branch of the Newburyport/Rockport Line. The station consists of a single side platform serving the line's single track. The station has a mini-high platform, making it accessible.
context_section_description: Gloucester has seen nearly continuous service to Boston since 1848, with only 2 interruptions. When the newly formed MBTA began funding commuter rail service in 1965, communities outside the funding district were left to pay for trains to continue stopping. Gloucester and neighboring Rockport initially declined to subsidize service. Service past Manchester was discontinued on January 28, 1965, along with the outer sections of the Fitchburg Line and Central Mass Branch. The MBTA rushed to reach subsidy agreements with out-of-district towns, and after negotiations service was to resume on June 6. After a lawsuit in which the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway challenged the right of the MBTA to provide out-of-district service, Rockport service resumed on June 28, 1965.
  The MBTA bought most B&M commuter assets, including the Gloucester Branch, on December 27, 1976. On January 20, 1984, the North Station approach trestles were destroyed by a fire. Gloucester Branch trains were terminated at a temporary station near Sullivan or bussed from Lynn. On November 16, 1984, the Beverly Draw bridge connecting Salem to Beverly burned, cutting the Rockport Branch and the Ipswich Line from the rest of the system. (All lines running north and west of Newburyport were abandoned by 1984, leaving no route to move equipment to the rest of the northside.) A shuttle train was run from Rockport to Beverly Depot until January 7, 1985, when it was replaced by bus service. The locomotives used were then trucked to Danvers so they could be repaired at the MBTA's main maintenance facility. A new bridge opened on December 1, 1985, reconnecting Gloucester to the larger system.
  On June 3, 2004, the MBTA board approved a renovation of the station, including new parking spaces, lighting, and signage, as well as a "mini-high" platform for handicapped accessibility. The $3.4 million rebuilt station was opened in September 2005.
  On April 29, 2020, service between West Gloucester and Rockport was indefinitely replaced by buses due to a failure of the old bridge. That June, the MBTA indicated the closure would continue until the completion of the bridge replacement in mid-2021.
caption: The accessible mini-high platform, completed in 2005
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