MBTA – chelsea's corner

Natick Center (MBTA)

Natick Center is currently undergoing reconstruction, so this really is only a station review of the temporary low-level platform. As such, I will almost certainly have to revisit this station once the much-delayed construction is finished. With that in mind, here’s Natick Center!

Located in the MetroWest region, Natick Center is, as the name suggests, located in downtown Natick. The station presently consists of two low-level platforms, stairs AND a ramp down, a bench, a wastebasket, lighting, and a wholeass construction site. There’s also a bus connection on Main Street to various MWRTA bus routes. Land use around the station, being in downtown Natick, is pretty good! Oh yeah, there’s even a D I N E R (I think featured in the Miles in Transit Boston-area Diner Video?) in walking distance, which is sick. I actually should come visit it and get food some time. Moving right along, that’s unfortunately about it for the area. There isn’t even any info displays that tell you if a train is boarding on the other track, which may or may not have led to everyone making a mad dash to the #1 track…

Bye!!! (as she pollutes the entire area)

And the stairs up. They’re kinda rusting a little…

This website does not support Donald Trump. Fuck Trump and Fuck Musk.

The good: It’s located in downtown Natick, which is always nice! Furthermore, it’s becoming accessible! And the MWRTA serves it!

The bad: The temporary station is barren! The rebuild’s been delayed many a times, AND there’s not even passenger info displays! This may have led to a mad dash from one platform to the other…yeah……

Nearby points of interest: Downtown Natick and the D I N E R!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Worcester)
MWRTA (10, 11, Natick Commuter Shuttle, MathWorks Shuttle)

Overall, I’ll almost certainly have to revisit after it’s finished being rebuilt, but for now, it’s………bad. 🙁

Rating: 2/10

Southborough (MBTA)

Southborough, despite the name, is barely in Southborough itself, If anything, much like Grafton being on the Shrewsbury line, Southborough is on the Hopkinton town line. Nevertheless, here’s Southborough Station.

Southborough is your standard Worcester Line infill station built in the early ’00s. There actually used to be a station within a mile of here to serve the Southville area of Southborough, however these days it’s somebody’s house, so obviously they couldn’t do that. However, the current Cordaville station site isn’t that bad. Unlike Westborough, the tracks don’t run through downtown, so I can’t use that against this. There’s a decently-sized parking lot, a mini-high, nonfunctioning yellow dot matrix signage (oops!), the usual amenities on the mini-high, and rather an overpass, there’s an underpass to change sides at the intersection of River St. and Southville Rd. As for land use, it’s rather suburban in nature, though once you cross into Hopkinton (which is VERY EASY on foot), you’re basically in a state park. Neat! As for buses, apparently the MWRTA stops here at peak hours on the way between Boston Scientific and the Blandin ITC. However, I didn’t see any traces of a bus stop anywhere. Overall, though, not bad! Funnily enough, this is, by way of microtransit, also the transfer point between the WRTA and MWRTA.

The good: There’s a mini-high! There’s some stuff around here (unlike Westborough!). Furthermore, there’s parking for those that need it. I was here midday on a Monday and it look like it was being decently used. It’s also got the usual you’d expect from a Commuter Rail station.

The bad: It’s a mini-high. Bleh. Also, it still feels desolate. And no way to change sides closer to the mini-high???

Nearby points of interest: Pizzaville restaurant is nearby, as is the Hopkinton State Park. Not a lot, otherwise.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Worcester)
MWRTA (15)
WRTA (Via WRTA)

Overall, not a bad station!

Rating: 7/10

Weymouth Landing/East Braintree (MBTA)

Weymouth Landing! Or, also, East Braintree? Well, whatever. This is the first station on the Greenbush Line after the split in Quincy. And, surprisingly, it’s pretty damn good! Let’s look at it.

Weymouth Landing is partly in a trench, curving, and is fully high-level. There’s a high-level platform, parking (though seemingly not an egregious amount!), wastebaskets, red signage, and even a BUS connection?! Oh, right, the 225 runs from here to Quincy. The 226 to Braintree and Columbian Square also apparently stops nearby, too. Neat! The land use is relatively very good as well, with housing and shops close by. Parking is also found across the tracks, however it’s not egregiously big unlike some stations. There’s also some apartment complexes nearby. Given this is a good station in all regards, on a line with famously bad land use and copy-pasted stations, this is actually a breath of fresh air! YAY! Good job, Weymouth/Braintree, for decent land use!

Empty track shot towards Boston (& during diversions, Braintree)

Parking and track shot towards Greenbush!

***WHY IS THERE HELVETICA CONDENSED?! IN THIS 2007-OPENED STATION?!***

The good: The land use is actually pretty decent, all things considered. It’s the best station on the line in this regard. And, honestly, shoutout to the people running Braintree and Weymouth for actually making the land use pretty good around here! (if only Braintree’s government made the land use around the Red Line station better…). Also, bus connections exist, it’s accessible, and just in a decent location.

The bad: Not a lot, actually! I guess the biggest offense comes down to the trenched nature of the station impeding on any future double-tracking efforts that may/may not be undertaken. Signage pointing to the 225 could/should be better, too.

Nearby points of interest: Weymouth Landing seems like a genuinely cool area, and the area on Washington/Commercial St.’s have a more downtown-ish vibe to them.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Greenbush)
MBTA bus (225, 226)

Overall, it’s really not a bad station, and easily the best on the Greenbush Line. Good to finish that line on a high note! 😀

Rating: 8/10

Nantasket Junction (MBTA)

*groans*

ANOTHER PARK AND RIDE?! Ya know, I’m starting to think all these are cookie cutters. But, duty calls, I guess…

Well, I guess I can handle this how I handled Cohasset. Here we go.

Signage. Wastebaskets. Parking. Lots of it. Red dot matrix signage. Full level platform. Warning siren for oncoming trains. Solar-powered parking. Single-family homes.

Not a lot to say. Sorry.

unexpected equipment move in boarding area

The good: it exists.

The bad: it’s in the middle of nowhere largely. yeah, i got nothing to remark.

Nearby points of interest: Not much.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Greenbush)

Overall, I just don’t have anything to say about this station in one way or another. Yeah, sorry. The 714 bus stops a mile away, though!

Rating: 6/10

West Hingham (MBTA)

West Hingham is a park and ride station located on the Greenbush Line in the namesake town of Hingham. I mean, I guess “park and ride” is being a little harsh – it’s a cute little neighborhood station that happens to have the qualities of a park & ride. Unfortunately, if you know anything about the Greenbush Line……you can blame Hingham. I’ll get into that in a bit.

Station signage with red dot matrix sign!

So, Hingham. The Greenbush Line runs right through the town center……..kinda. This station would’ve been better off in it, if it weren’t for one thing: THE FUCKING TOWN AND THE NIMBYS ROSE UP AND PITCHED THE LOUDEST FIT THE ENTIRE FUCKING REGION HAS EVER SEEN! THESE PEOPLE WERE SO STAUNCHLY ANTI-TRANSIT THEY ACTUALLY TOLD THE MBTA “LMAO GET BENT”. THIS IS WHY IT TOOK A FULL EXTRA DECADE FOR THE GREENBUSH LINE TO OPEN. THE MBTA, IN THEIR SMARTASSERY, TOLD HINGHAM “NO U”, GOT SOME STATE MONEY (NO FEDERAL – THAT WOULD TRIGGER ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW REGULATIONS, OF WHICH THE NIMBYS WANTED SO IT WOULD STALL THE PROJECT FOR AS LONG AS DOABLE!), AND BUILT THE FUCKING TUNNEL UNDER HINGHAM! Or, so the legend goes. But given how hardline NIMBY Hingham specifically is, I wouldn’t be shocked if this was actually true. And, thus, we ended up with both Nantasket Junction (which is a park & ride off Rte. 3A) and West Hingham (a neighborhood station masquerading as a park and ride).

West Hingham, specifically, is largely the same as the other Greenbush Line stations I’ve covered. You have a country club near the station, single-family homes, and even the local DPW! Neat! Of course, in my longass rambling above, I said that the line goes under Hingham Center. That’s about 3 miles from here, give or take. That also means there’s no bus connections. Yeah, sorry. The station otherwise has your standard amenities.

Towards Greenbush – and there’s a footpath!

The good: It’s accessible, has parking, and actually decent pedestrian access! Land use isn’t the worst, either!

The bad: IT’S IN FUCKING HINGHAM. FUCK HINGHAM NIMBYS, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?! JUST BUILD THE STATION DOWNTOWN YA FUCKING IDIOTS!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH

Nearby points of interest: A country club mainly, and suburbia.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Greenbush)

Overall, it’s not that bad a station. Just, I hate how Hingham said “fuck you” to a station downtown instead.

Rating:
I’d normally give it a 6/10 here, but because of the background behind the station’s existence, I kinda have to instead apply the “FUCK YOU IN PARTICULAR!!!” penalty. This gives a worse rating.
Rating w/ penalty: 3/10

Cohasset (MBTA)

Oh my, yet another Greenbush Line station. Ugh…

If my fatigue with the Kingston Line stations are anything to go by, I think y’all know the drill by now. Without further ado:
Shelter. Benches. Red dot matrix sign. High level platform. A crapton of parking. Grade crossings.

Yeah, it’s pretty standard and unremarkable. Land use consists primarily of country clubs. But, it gets worse as THE TRACKS RUN THROUGH COHASSET CENTER – AND THERE’S NO BUS CONNECTIONS TO THERE! There’s also a rail trail. And there’s an upscale-ish strip mall nearby too.

why is there a bus shelter if no buses stop here

The good: It’s standard. Shelter, benches, accessibility. Not much to say.

The bad: THE TRACKS RUN THROUGH COHASSET CENTER WITHOUT A STOP. THAT’S A PRETTY BIG FUCKING FLAW. THIS STATION IS POORLY LOCATED. FUCK YOU, COHASSET!

Nearby points of interest: Country clubs, mainly. There’s a rail trail too.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Greenbush)

Overall, meh. Not remarkable. WHY IS IT NOT IN COHASSET CENTER?!

Rating: 4/10

East Weymouth (MBTA)

The Greenbush Line is not famous for stations with remotely decent land use around them, and the bulk of the line’s shortcomings are also largely due to NIMBYism. However, a couple of stations, namely the ones closest to the split in Quincy, have it a little better. With that in mind, here’s East Weymouth! Good morning. Monday morning. :3 (it was Monday when I came here)

So, after a deviation to a nearby Dunks, I walked up the parking lot and began the station review. The lot’s pretty expansive, however it’s not TOO bad. In terms of land use, it’s among the better stations on the line. I mean, there’s housing and a Dunks nearby! The 222 bus also stops at the end of Commercial Street, as well. As for the station itself, it’s on a pretty sizable curve, but otherwise is standard. You have a new departure board, a shelter, benches, full accessibility, the usual stuff. Generally, not bad! You even get a nice view of the marshes opposite of the track! I also got to see an equipment move roar through here in the counter-peak direction (towards Greenbush Sta.), which is nice. But, generally, not bad!

The good: It’s got relatively decent land use and a close-ish bus connection! Furthermore, it’s accessible! Also, this station has a kind of vibe I kinda just dig, especially at the start of the morning when everyone’s slowly waking up.

The bad: The parking is a little excessive, also the 222 doesn’t stop directly here…

Nearby points of interest: There’s a park nearby, and Weymouth’s version of Jackson Square!

Transit connections
Commuter Rail (Greenbush)
At High & Commercial: MBTA bus (222)

Overall, not a bad station! Unfortunately, I wish I could say that about what remains in my backlog (as of writing this entry: the rest of the Worcester and Greenbush Lines primarily). Oh well! I’ll get there when I get there.

Rating: 7/10

Montello (MBTA)

There are a couple of spots where the MBTA and BAT interchange. The first, surprisingly, is Ashmont on the Red Line. However, I covered Ashmont a while ago. Instead, we’ll be covering the second place where one can interchange between the T and BAT. Meet: Montello

Montello is a station on the Fall River/New Bedford Line, and is one of a handful of double-tracked double-platformed stations on it. With two side platforms, this part of the line is designed for trains to pass, and oftentimes they meet here. The platforms are pretty standard with shelters, yellow signage, benches, and whatnot. Changing sides is done via a grade crossing. BAT buses pick up on Spark Street (written as SPARK Street on Google Maps?), while the MBTA’s route 230 to Quincy stops in the parking lot itself. As for the area, there’s not too much to remark. One side is relatively suburban, while the other is considerably more industrial. It’s also accessible, along with the rest of the line. Neat!

I do believe this is where the MBTA’s route 230 boards

Platform shot looking towards Fall River, New Bedford, and Hyannis

The good: It’s high-level! There’s buses and parking! Shelter!

The bad: Eh, the land use could be a little better, but the fact one side is closest to relatively dense housing isn’t bad! Also, can the 230 get a proper shelter please?

Nearby points of interest: Not much it seems. There’s a Stop & Shop nearby, I guess.

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Fall River, New Bedford)
MBTA bus (230)
BAT (10/11)

Overall, it’s passable. Not too bad, nothing to remark.

Rating: 7/10

Holbrook/Randolph (MBTA)

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!

And towards Fall River, Hyannis, and New Bedford! Also, double track this place!

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

Brockton & BAT Center (MBTA/BAT)

nanananananananana BATMAN!!!!!!!!! Oh, this is the BAT Center, not the BAT Cave? Booooo…….. Well, at least we’re in downtown Brockton now. Oh yeah, there’s a Commuter Rail station here too.

The BAT Center is BAT’s main bus terminal, where all their routes (sans the BSU campus shuttles and the Rockland Flex) all converge. While I was here on a Saturday, the cafe tenant that was here was closed, however in terms of other things, you have restrooms, BAT customer service, a very pixelated system map. There’s also a CharlieCard machine that was barricaded (BAT was fare-free). Yea, that’s right! BAT takes the trusty CharlieCard!!! The building is pretty nice, too, all things considered. There’s a pick up/drop off area on the road between the BAT Center and the Commuter Rail platform. So, walking to the Commuter Rail platform, it’s standard. The fact it’s behind the Brockton PD headquarters is a little sus, but whatever. It’s an island platform, and this section of the line is designed for trains to pass each other. As such, track 1 is outbound and track 2 is inbound. Yellow matrix signage, shelters, benches, blah blah blah. There’s a grade crossing here, though! And it’s in downtown Brockton, which is nice too. There’s some parking, not too much (apparently there’s a garage nearby?), and then, something amazing happened at the top of the hour as my friend and I were leaving.

At the top of the hour and half past, EVERY BAT route leaves the terminal. This, is the pulse. And, by god, is it a glorious thing to witness. All the buses leaving at the same time in a coordinated manner. BAT might be a smaller system, but for a first impression, they REALLY seem to have their shit together. Overall though, not bad!

Towards Fall River, New Bedford, and Hyannis!

The good: Location! It’s in downtown Brockton! It’s also intermodal with the BAT terminal and the Commuter Rail station pretty much being in the same spot. Furthermore, the BAT Center has some decent amenities. The Commuter Rail platform is standard, though.

The bad: Eh, not a lot here. I genuinely don’t have anything to say that’s bad.

Nearby points of interest: Downtown Brockton!

Transit connections:
Commuter Rail (Fall River, New Bedford)
BAT (1, 2, 3, 4, 4A, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10/11, 12, 14)

Overall, it’s probably……the only perfect Old Colony station?! Yeah, looks like we have gold in an unlikely place!

Rating: 10/10