Category: Massachusetts

Ah yes, the last station on the original section of the Fall River/New Bedford Line (i.e. pre-extension opening, as this was written on 2025-03-10, the extension will have opened on 2025-03-24). Welcome to Holbrook/Randolph, and quite possibly the most annoying station on the line to handle.

Yeah, it’s your standard station. Shelter, benches, yellow signage, high-level platform, single-tracked (there is a siding just past the station on one side!). There’s really not much to say. But, the 238 and 240 stop here! Unfortunately, weekdays only, and I was here on a Saturday. Also, there’s a lot of parking here. Changing lots is done at a grade crossing. Yeah, sorry, not much to say. But, hey, a bus shelter exists for the buses! Montello didn’t have that!

The good: It’s your bogstandard Commuter Rail station. There’s buses from here, too! Weekdays only, though.

The bad: WHY ARE THE BUSES WEEKDAY ONLY?!

Nearby points of interest: There’s a pizza place nearby! Crawford Square is a mile away! It’s mostly residential otherwise.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (New Bedford, Fall River)
MBTA bus (238, 240)

Overall, not much to remark.

Rating: 6.5/10

South Weymouth is yet another Kingston Line station, however unlike most of them, there’s actually stuff nearby! Let’s look.

So, the station is copy-pasted largely (unsurprising), complete with wastebaskets, benches, yellow dot matrix signage, and even an expansive parking lot! But, in a shocking twist of fate, there’s GOOD LAND USE?! WOAH! Yeah, shockingly, there’s TOD here! On BOTH sides of the track no less! You have two apartment complexes, a pizza place, and then usual suburbia once you get a little ways out. Fun fact, though, this actually used to be a naval air station! Sadly, though, no buses go out here – with the route 226 bus to Braintree being a 1 and a half mile walk north. Nevertheless, it’s not that bad a station!

The good: Usual Kingston Line talking points. Platform amenities. Shelter. Full level boarding. Also, the land use is actually pretty good!

The bad: The 226 really should run down here… Also, I can’t help but feel this station is just begging to be double tracked…

Nearby points of interest: It’s suburbia, but Columbian Square is a little ways north with the 226!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Kingston)

Overall, I’d say this might just be the best station on the entire line, boiling to land use. Good job, Weymouth!!!

Rating: 8/10

The last of the shuttered MBTA stations. Well, this one was a particularly nasty one to do as well. Located in the Cordage Park area of North Plymouth (near the Kingston/Plymouth boundary), I had several options, all of which were unpleasant for a variety of reasons, for trying to handle this station:
1. I could buy an Uber to/from. This cheated me out of the fun of pain and suffering. (yes, I suffer for y’all. :3)
2. Pray that a friend was able to ferry me to/from. This would have been the same as option #1 for downsides, however at least I would be able to banter with a friend in the process. Sadly, I had no friends available that were up for this.
3. Utilize the GATRA Freedom/Liberty Links. It’s GATRA. I probably was in for a bad time regardless, plus I didn’t have cash on me, and I didn’t know how to use the GATRA Pay app. Furthermore, GATRA’s own website doesn’t mention GATRA Pay ANYWHERE. So, if I used it, I was at the risk of a bus operator telling me to fuck off.
4. Walk the 2 and a half miles from Kingston/Rte. 3 to Cordage Park. This had the issue of being a long walk. Unfortunately, this was also the path of least resistance.

So, after a long and treacherous walk, and likely mildly injuring myself at the Kingston Collection/Rte. 3 interchange, I finally made it to Cordage Park, and the former least-used Old Colony station, and one of the least-used on the entire Commuter Rail system. So, with that in mind, how is it?

Well, the platform is your standard Kingston/Old Colony platform, with a shelter, benches, wastebaskets, and a yellow dot matrix sign. However, since the station is shuttered, the sign was turned off. In terms of bus connections, you have the Freedom and Liberty Links on Rte. 3A/Court Street. There’s a small amount of parking as well. Originally, allegedly, this also was intended to be the sole terminus of the line, however there was no space for a yard here specifically. Though, I do wonder, if the dilapidated building nearby could be demolished and replaced with a small yard akin to that of Needham’s or Franklin’s layover facility. There’s also a rail trail following the ocean into downtown Plymouth. As for land use, it’s depressingly pretty good. I say depressingly here, because if the station was treated better, it’d probably qualify as TOD. Overall, though, the station’s actually pretty good. It’s just sad that it got killed off by shitty operational practices. Below is a picture of how bad it was.

To serve BOTH stations, trains heading to Boston would originate at Plymouth (marked with a P in the diagram), go up the blue-colored line, clear the interlocking where the three colors meet, BE PUT INTO REVERSE, DO BRAKE TESTS, PRESUMABLY WITH THE ENGINEER RUNNING TO CHANGE ENDS OF THE TRAIN, then go down the yellow-colored line to Kingston/Rte. 3 (marked with a K). THEN REVERSE AND BRAKE TEST AGAIN, and FINALLY head on out to Boston via the Kingston/Plymouth Line (marked in green), making the usual stops. THAT. IS. BAD. YEAH. AND ALL THIS TIME BETWEEN THE TWO STOPS, THE TRAIN IS SIMULTANEOUSLY THE INBOUND AND THE OUTBOUND! RAAAAAAAAAAGH. THAT MEANS, IF YOU WANT TO GO FROM HALIFAX TO KINGSTON, OUTBOUND, YOU’D BE ON THE TRAIN FOR A GOOD 40-50 MINUTES, JUST TO GO WHAT SHOULD BE A 7 MILE JOURNEY. FURTHERMORE, IF YOU WANTED TO GO FROM PLYMOUTH TO HALIFAX INBOUND, THAT’S ANOTHER 40 OR SO MINUTES. JESUS CHRIST THIS WAS BAD. Just double track the entire line and run trains from both termini, some turning in downtown, and some at Braintree. Just, please…anything but this again should the station reopen.

The good: It’s surprisingly kinda close to downtown Plymouth! (though, not IN downtown Plymouth, which is annoying in its own right). There’s also development around it, after the land use being kinda shit for the longest time (a Walmart?!)

The bad: Operational practices, really. That’s what killed ridership here and, killed service entirely.

Nearby points of interest: Around Cordage Park? There’s a boardwalk and a beach! Going up to downtown, though, and you have stuff like the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock (it’s just a random rock someone carved “1620” into, don’t visit it), and even…….cult activities??? Yeah……..I don’t know much about the Twelve Tribes, but from a friend that lives in the area, she told me that they actually set up shop in the area. I digress. The oceanside views are pretty nice, though!

Transit connections:
GATRA (Freedom/Liberty Links)

Overall, if this station has to return (it really should!!!), PLEASE, AT LEAST RUN SHUTTLE TRAINS TO/FROM HERE!!!

Rating: 4/10 (8/10 station, 2/10 service before it was shuttered)

Kingston is an Amtrak-

wait, what? this is a different Kingston? Well shit.

Kingston is an MBTA station located in the middle of an industrial park off Route 3 in, well, Kingston, Massachusetts. It’s one of the two termini for the Kingston/Plymouth (presently just Kingston) Line, and before Plymouth was closed, was more heavily used than Plymouth. With that aside, here’s the station review.

Kingston is a bigass park and ride station in an industrial park, located off Route 3. The platform is pretty bogstandard, with benches, wastebaskets, signage, and shelters. There’s even a kiss & ride area! Also, GATRA stops here! Yes, that’s right! About 6 times a day, the Freedom and Liberty Links stop to serve this station. GATRA’s Seaside Area InterLink (SAIL) also serves here, on the way to Marshfield and Duxbury. Neat! However, given the limited schedule (really? no Saturday bus service to here?!), just buy a fucking Uber instead. Way to go, GATRA. Also, it’s in an industrial wasteland, so land use is pretty bad overall. As a cool note though, the end-of-line layover facility is just beyond the station. However, trains do NOT sit at the station before turning around. Instead, they have to do all their brake testing in the yard before coming back. Oof. But, not a bad station. Just, not a grandiose terminus like Providence or Wickford, or even like Needham Heights or Haverhill.

*does some further research*

YOU MEAN THE STATION USED TO BE LOCATED IN DOWNTOWN KINGSTON?! WHY?! WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T THEY REACTIVATE THE PLATFORM THERE?! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WERE THEY SMOKING?! THERE’S NO REASON THIS STATION HAD TO BE BUILT OTHER THAN SOLELY FOR YARD ACCESS. HOLY FUCKING SHIT, THEY REALLY FUMBLED IT HARD! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!

The good: It’s a bigass parking sink off Route 3! It’s also pretty busy, by extension, being the closest Commuter Rail station to not just Plymouth, but also parts of Plympton, Carver, Wareham, and pretty much the entirity of Cape Cod. (this may, however, change when the New Bedford extension opens in about 3 weeks)

The bad: Really, my main gripes here come down to three things: Land use sucks massively, and bus connections are just bad. Lastly, WHY IS THIS THE STATION, WHEN THEY HAD A PERFECTLY FUCKING USABLE STATION IN DOWNTOWN KINGSTON OFF ROUTE 3A/SUMMER STREET?! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH

Nearby points of interest: It’s an industrial park. Unless you want to walk for half an hour to the Kingston Collection, there’s nothing.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Kingston)
GATRA (Freedom/Liberty Links, SAIL)

Overall, it’s okay. The land use sucks massively and is probably the biggest stinker on the whole line, but there’s still worse on the system.

Rating: 5.5/10

Whitman is yet another bogstandard Commuter Rail station on the Kingston Line, and I do not have any creative introductions to give for this one. Here we go.

Yep. It’s your standard Kingston Line station. Yellow signage? Mhm. Wastebaskets, benches, shelter are all present too, as is a lot of parking. This time, though, it’s split between TWO lots! WOAH! Now, unlike Hanson or Abington, there surprising is no microtransit connection here. However, in terms of cool things, you DO have a railroad turntable. But, since it was covered in snow, I couldn’t get any good pictures. The area is semi-rural as well, as the town proper is a mile away and I wasn’t going to walk it. While I was here, though, I actually got to witness an equipment move heading out to Kingston, so that was cool! The area’s largely pretty quiet though, given there’s not much going on. There is, however, a reminder here of a horrific and tragic incident that happened on May 30th, 2023. For those that are easily bothered by things like this, I won’t go into much detail about it. However, that aside, even though it’s a couple years after the fact, my condolences go out to those directly and indirectly affected by the incident both in the community, and onboard the train in question. I’ll also leave a reminder that it is REALLY important to be vigilant around railroad crossings and be aware of any oncoming trains, as trains CANNOT stop on a dime. Furthermore, there’s no shame in talking to someone or getting help as needed.

The good: The turntable is kinda cool! It’s accessible as well, has usual amenities, all that fun stuff. I feel like a broken record.

The bad: The town is a little ways away but meh, whatever.

Nearby points of interest: The town center is a mile or so away. A decent walk. There’s a couple of shops near the station itself, though. Not many though.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Kingston)

Overall, yeah, yet another “I don’t have a lot to say here” station. It’s got a cool turntable though!

Rating: 7/10

Abington is a modest Commuter Rail station along the MBTA’s Kingston Line, located in, well, Abington. Yeah, I don’t have much to remark about it so this one’s gonna be a short one. Ok? Okay.

Abington is a singular side platform, located off Centre Ave., in Abington. The area isn’t the worst, as both a convenience store and a Dunks exist nearby. One direction towards Centre Ave. brings you to Abington Center and a Walmart, while the other direction brings you to a Stop & Shop and a Target. The station itself is pretty standard with the usual yellow dot matrix signage, benches, and whatnot, along with a copious amount of parking (though, not to an extreme). As for bus connections, you surprisingly do have something, in the form of microtransit. That, of course, would be BAT’s Rockland Flex. Not much to remark on this one. Yeah, sorry.

The good: It exists! It’s got a connection to the Rockland Flex!

The bad: Nothing egregious to note.

Nearby points of interest: Stop & Shop? Target? Yeah, I’m grasping for straws on this one.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Kingston)
BAT (Rockland Flex)

Overall, not much to say here. Yeah, sorry.

Rating: 6.5/10