Category: Massachusetts

This is quite possibly the furthest out an MBTA bus goes from any singular subway terminal. This route runs through Forest Hills to Walpole Center (near the CR station), via Roslindale, Dedham, Islington (Westwood), and Norwood, and it either serves directly or very closely 5 different Commuter Rail stations. So, let’s look at this route, shall we?

The 34E begins at Forest Hills Station in JP, and starts running down Washington Street. This is gonna be the road we’re on ALL THE WAY TO WALPOLE. Yes. We do NOT deviate from this road in the slightest! Rozzie, of course, is primarily residential and is more akin to a small city in of itself, while progressing on beyond, the sprawl begins to slowly become more evident. Of course, we also entered Dedham, passing both a park and the Dedham Mall in the process. No deviation into either, however. We had to interface with a weirdly-configured roundabout with the Providence Highway, and then we continued through the town center and in the backside of a strip mall. We’d then cross I-95 into Westwood, serving the Islington neighborhood (& the CR station, indirectly), and make a slight maneuver to go underneath the Franklin Line, only to continue into going underneath again. At this point, we were in Norwood, passing through the town center and by Norwood Depot. It actually looked like there were some places of interest, I need to come back here some time. We’d also pass by Norwood Hospital & Norwood Central, entering Walpole soon enough. Walpole was much of the same, just without hospitals. We sorta serve a school, though! Sunday runs terminate at a loop in East Walpole, while weekday/Saturday runs continue on up East St. and terminate at Walpole Center.

The good: It’s a suburban route serving similar areas to the Franklin Line! There’s otherwise nothing out here for public transit, at that, so yeah. It also serves many town centers!

The bad: It short turns on Sundays. I guess, it’s okay, but c’mon… Also, why not run all the way to Walpole’s CR station???

Nearby points of interest: Norwood’s town center and Rozzie look interesting…

Overall, it’s alright. There’s nothing else out here (the Dedham Local Bus doesn’t exist anymore, either, to my awareness), so it’s pretty important. However, I do feel it’d be best supplemented with additional buses out here.

Rating: 6.5/10

Alrighty. So, I mentioned Islington was pretty deep into suburbia. Well, meet its twin, Endicott. Endicott is waist-deep into suburbia. I’m talking, so deep that you’ll be walking for at least 30-40 minutes to reach any transit connection that isn’t the Franklin Line. With that in mind, here we go.

Endicott, like Islington, is deep into suburbia. However, buses don’t even run out here. To describe how far into suburbia it is, it’s so deep I had to walk 40 minutes for a bus connection – at Readville. Yeah. But, the station is essentially a copy-paste of Islington. You have bicycle infrastructure (sorta), shelters, benches, wastebaskets, the classic red dot matrix signage, a grade crossing to change sides, and a small amount of parking. There’s more parking lining Grant Avenue, however I didn’t check it out, as I wanted to get to Readville to meet up with Brooke. But, it exists. There used to be a path to the inbound platform, however that’s now an entire street. Boooooooo… Parking is also permit-only, Dedham residents only. So, bugger off to Dedham Corporate Center! Overall, I kinda like the station, and the area is a vibe in general. Hell, it’s probably a treat to railfan during the autumn months as well.

The good: It’s in a suburban neighborhood and isn’t car-oriented! It’s also rather peaceful like Islington and has the amenities one might need – including shelter.

The bad: Eh, it’s inaccessible. There’s also little in the way of transit out here. It’s also, if memory serves, the least-used station on the Franklin Line, for what it’s worth, so maybe it’s also better off a flag stop. But, like, if you’re driving – just use Readville or Dedham Corporate Center! Hell, if you’re not doing anything in the immediate area, you may as well use either anyways as there’s no T buses out here! Not even the Dedham Local Bus runs here!

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot, and even less than Islington’s list of interesting places (somehow)

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Franklin, Foxboro)

Overall, good god, just why???? This station’s literally balls-deep in suburbia with no connections. It literally only exists to serve the walkshed and little else, and it doesn’t even do that well. Even West Gloucester fills this better! Sorry, Endicott!

Rating: 4.5/10

So, after doing the Norwood duo, I took the 34E back, however there were two pieces of unfinished business. The first, was a block and a half away from the 34E in Islington. In fact, it was Islington’s Commuter Rail station. Let’s look at this station located in suburbia, shall we? To describe from what a reader said to me, “they built a station in someone’s backyard”, to which I say there’s two stations that fit the bill here. The other station will be the next entry on this blog. (wink wink nudge nudge)

So, who here remembers the 10ft6 bridge at East St. in Westwood? Anybody? If not, here’s a video to remind y’all of what it was. It’s since been raised to 13ft3 (or rather, more likely, the road was lowered to make that the clearance) and now trucks aren’t careening into it and exploding spectacularly like in years prior. See, look!

The walk was actually rather pleasant. Crossing East Street into Carroll Street, the entrance to the inbound platform seems innocent enough – enough so to where as Miles put it in his entry on this station, one could easily mistake it for someone’s driveway! It’s such a cute little station! I mean, it’s got a small amount of parking, a 135ft low level platform on each side, crossovers, some benches, shelters, and if memory serves me right even a bicycle rack! There’s also a red dot matrix sign. Bleugh. But, overall, a decent (if inaccessible) station. It’s so cute, too!!! And, it’s in walking distance of the 34E!!!

The good: It’s such a cute little station! Furthermore, Islington is kinda town center-y, so it’s in a relatively dense (vs. the rest of the town, which doesn’t say much as it’s still single-family housing) area. It’s also relatively walkable too, although it’s a shame US-1 is close by. Furthermore, the 34E is close by, too!

The bad: It’s all single-family housing!!! Yikes. It’s also inaccessible, which stinks. Also, it’s so damn close to Dedham Corporate Center (which is also cheaper!) that, odds are, if you’re driving, it’s better to drive there and park.

Nearby points of interest: Not a lot… A couple of businesses exist on Washington Street, but nothing stood out.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Franklin, Foxboro)
MBTA bus (34E on Washington St.)

Overall, it’s a cute little station. I like it. Sometimes, a nice small suburban station without a major parking sink is nice to have, even. But, inaccessibility does take away from it, as does proximity to Dedham Corp. Eww.

Rating: 5.5/10

And now we’re at the OTHER Norwood station! Norwood Depot doesn’t have a depot, but it is in Norwood Center. Did someone swap the name plates for these?! Well, whatever.

The station has the mini-highs at the grade crossing, which is convenient, AND they have stuff on them. Benches, no less! Furthermore, they line the platform, which extends into the woods a bit. There’s also some parking, and a red dot matrix sign as well. Ugh. Well, whatever. You also have some suburban TOD in the form of apartment complexes, a kiss & ride, and even some bicycle racks. Yeah, this is actually pretty decent! Nice! Just no station building.

The good: It’s in the town center, has some parking, stuff on the mini-high, and some TOD around it!

The bad: I guess the worst thing this station has going for it is being too damn close to Norwood Central. I legitimately can’t think of much. Raise the platforms a bit?

Nearby points of interest: Norwood Center!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Franklin, Foxboro)
MBTA bus (34E, on Washington St.)

Overall, I like this station. There’s not much wrong with it, however the best change would be a full length high platform and some kind of up & over/down & under to change sides.

Rating: 7/10

Next stop on the Franklin Line that I visited, when I did my trip on 11/30/23, were the Norwood duo. First stop here, is Norwood Central.

The station is sorta similar to West Natick in some ways. It’s a giant parking sink, except instead the area is much more suburban than in Natick. You have your standard mini-high with amenities, a proper departure board on both platforms, crossings, and a LOT of parking. There’s also solar panels covering the parking. Neat! There’s also a station building which isn’t leased out presently. As for the neighborhood, it’s suburbia, and you have Norwood Hospital under construction. It’s also kinda industrial, but it’s also seen a lot of redevelopment in recent years, which is nice.

The good: It’s in a somewhat dense area! It’s also seen immense amounts of redevelopment as of late as well, which is nice. There’s also A LOT of parking.

The bad: WHY ARE THE MINI-HIGHS BARREN?! Is this the freakin’ Needham Line?! Also, it’s not really in Norwood Center – in spite of the name.

Nearby points of interest: Norwood Center is a short walk away! Norwood Hospital is also nearby along with some TOD!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Franklin, Foxboro)
MBTA bus (34E on Washington St.)

Overall, just, why? Why?! THIS STATION COULD’VE BEEN A 7 OR 8 IF THEY DIDN’T MAKE THE MINI-HIGH BARREN!!!!!

Rating: 5.5/10

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALPOLE!!!!!!! Yeah, it’s one of those kinds of stations. Let’s take a look.

Okay, so this station weirds me out. You have a decrepit station building that has nothing in it, a low-level platform, a lot of parking spread out between two or three lots, a grade crossing for the southeastern leg of Lewis’s Wye for both cars AND a second one for pedestrians, and it’s a short walk from the 34E bus (yes, the MBTA runs BUSES out here!), AND Foxboro trains can’t serve the station. Oh yeah, you do have your usual amenities and a red dot matrix sign. And it’s inaccessible.

The good: It’s got a lot of parking and is close to Walpole’s town center! It’s also just flat-out unusual being in the middle of a diamond junction. Furthermore, you (sorta) have a connection for the 34E as well. The station building is cool – even if unused.

The bad: THIS IS THE MOST-USED INACCESSIBLE STATION AS OF LAST COUNT! YEAH. ALL 700 SOMEODD PEOPLE WHO USED THIS STATION AT LAST COUNT BETTER BE ABLE-BODIED OR ELSE THEY’RE GONNA HAVE A REALLY BAD TIME – OR THEY’D BE BETTER OFF USING THE 34E. HOW ABOUT THAT AS A FUCK YOU?!

Nearby points of interest: There seemed to be a few cool spots in Walpole Center!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Franklin)
MBTA bus (34E)

Overall, this station could be good. Raise the damn platforms and/or bring the 34E closer! Please!

Rating: 4.5/10

In terms of total length, the 70 is one of the longer local bus routes in MBTA bus territory, clocking in at about 10 miles. So, what do those 10 miles have in store? Let’s take a look.

So, some runs of the route originate at Market Basket, and a couple does a deviatory loop around the Cedarwood neighborhood before going to Waltham’s Commuter Rail station. However, my run originates at Waltham as a short-turn. The run begins by going down US-20 and going over the Commuter Rail tracks. There’s some semblances of density around here, however the majority of it isn’t until Watertown. It’s largely a suburban stroad. Hey, we also passed by the Gore Estate (no, not Al Gore! A historical figure named Christopher Gore. Never heard of him until writing this.), and US-20 began becoming more lined with smaller businesses until we reached Watertown Square (the former Green Line’s A branch terminal). Across the river is the Watertown bus terminal – the only bus-only terminal with parking. However, we didn’t serve it. We continued down and turned onto Arsenal Street. Now, on the side of the bus I sat on, it was very, VERY dense, in stark contrast to the suburban housing across the street. Now, is this what they mean by upzoning in practice?

Continuing further down Arsenal Street, we passed by both the Watertown Mall (on my side) and Arsenal Yards (the other side), both were pretty sizable shopping centers. Then, we crossed the Charles River, cut through Allston- IS THAT A ROMAN COLISEUM?! No. It’s actually just Harvard’s stadium. DAMN, they got some taste though! Anyways, we crossed the Charles again, this time into Cambridge, turning onto Memorial Drive and River Street, through some neighborhoods and to Central Square. Lastly, we turned down Mass. Ave. I got off on Mass. Ave., however the bus still continues for another block and turns around on a side street.

The good: It’s a largely direct route from Waltham to Central Square and almost Kendall/MIT. Furthermore, it serves a couple of malls and Watertown Square as well! Neat! Headways are pretty decent too and it’s the only bus to (relatively frequently) serve Waltham on Saturdays (and is the only one on Sundays).

The bad: I mean, a consistent 15/20/30/etc. minute headway would be nice. There’s also too many damn variants of the route (to Cedarwood on weekdays, sometimes to Market Basket???). At that point, just send to Kendal Green!

Nearby points of interest: Waltham’s Central Square, Cambridge’s Central Square, Watertown Square, Arsenal & Watertown Malls, MIT, and even Market Basket to name some! Also Harvard’s stadium!

Overall, it’s an alright route. But, why the inconsistent headways and why are there too many variants of it?!

Rating: 6.5/10

WALTUH! Wait, Waltham? Ohhhhh….okay! Well, here’s Waltham. It’s currently barely past midnight and here I am rambling about a Commuter Rail station in one of the inner suburbs of Boston. Whoop de doo! Here we go!

First off, the station layout. It’s weird. Why are there two platforms? Why are they on the same track, at that? Why were they too lazy to double track and/or viaduct? Oh well, whatever. Both have mini-highs at least, along with the same amenities (wastebaskets, dot matrix signs, benches, shelter). Furthermore, the outbound platform also has parking. It’s also at the outbound platform where the track split into two. Cool! Furthermore, you also have Central Square (the third in the Boston area, after Cambridge and Lynn????). Buses are found here as well, with the 61, 70, 505, 553, 554, 556, and 558 all stopping here. Unfortunately, most are weekday-only. Oh well! The inbound platform also has cycling infrastructure as well.

The good: It’s in Waltham’s town center! Furthermore, it’s a major transfer between local buses and the 505 express bus. Waltham Tower is pretty cool, too. Also, bus connections aplenty.

The bad: Most of said connections are weekday-only. Furthermore, I hate the platform layout. Why, just WHY?! JUST USE A SINGLE TRACK!!! TRAINS CAN’T PASS ANYWAYS!

Nearby points of interest: There’s a visitor’s center! The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation is also nearby.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Fitchburg)
MBTA bus (61, 70, 505, 553, 554, 556, 558)

Overall, this station is weird. Plus, double track the damn thing! It’d help a lot! Hell, elevate it even!!! Just, do SOMETHING to axe this bottleneck. OR MAYBE EVEN JUST CONSOLIDATE THE TWO PLATFORMS INTO ONE!!!

Rating: 5/10