JFK/UMass station
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JFK/UMass station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transfer station, located adjacent to the Columbia Point area of Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by the rapid transit Red Line; the Fall River/New Bedford Line, Greenbush Line, and Kingston Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, and three MBTA bus routes. The station is named for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the University of Massachusetts Boston, both located nearby on Columbia Point.
JFK/UMass station has four tracks and two island platforms for the Ashmont and Braintree branches of the Red Line, with one track and one side platform for Commuter Rail. A waiting room and fare lobby over the Red Line platforms is connected to Columbia Road, Sydney Street, and the busway on the east side of the station by footbridge. The station is fully accessible. North of the station, the complex Columbia Junction connects the two Red Line branches with the downtown tunnel and Cabot Yard lead tracks.
The Old Colony Railroad first opened through the area in 1845, with Crescent Avenue serving as a flag stop by 1848. A station building opened in 1868 and was rebuilt in 1883. The Boston Elevated Railway began construction of Columbia station on the Dorchester Extension of the Cambridge–Dorchester Tunnel in 1925. Crescent Avenue station closed in July 1927; Columbia station opened on November 5, with an additional footbridge added in 1929.
Columbia station was modernized in 1970, though without a platform for South Shore (Braintree Branch) service, which started in 1971. UMass Boston moved to Columbia Point in 1974, while the Kennedy Library opened in 1979; the station was renamed JFK/UMass in 1982. A 1987–88 renovation added a platform for the Braintree Branch. Commuter Rail service on the former Old Colony, last operated in 1959, resumed in 1997. However, the platform at JFK/UMass did not open until 2001.
Station layout
JFK/UMass station is located south of Columbia Road near Kosciuszko Circle, with the Interstate 93 viaduct to the south and west and Morrissey Boulevard to the east. The Red Line has four tracks and two island platforms at the station; the west platform is served by the Ashmont branch, and the east platform by the Braintree branch.<ref name=bluebook /> (This unusual configuration is the result of the decision to not originally have the Braintree Branch stop at the station.)<ref name=redlinebook /><ref name=jan2012plan>Template:Cite report</ref> East of the Red Line is a single track used by the three commuter rail lines, with a high-level side platform on its east side.<ref name=bluebook /> A two-lane busway, drop-off lane, and plaza are located east of the tracks.<ref name=nycsubway />
A waiting room and fare lobby is located over the middle of the Red Line platforms, with elevators and stairs to both platforms. Footbridges connect the lobby to the Columbia Road bridge to the north, Sydney Street to the west, and the east plaza via a ramp structure. Exit-only stairs also lead from the north ends of the Red Line platforms to Columbia Road, and from the south ends to Sydney Street at Crescent Avenue.<ref name=nycsubway /> Because northbound Red Line trains arrive on two different platforms, an automatic illuminated sign in the lobby indicates which platform the next northbound train will arrive at.<ref name=jan2012plan />
North of the station is a complex Red Line interlocking called Columbia Junction. The two track line from downtown Boston exits the tunnel under Dorchester Avenue about Template:Convert north of JFK/UMass station and splits into the four tracks with a flying junction. The junction also connects two yard leads from Cabot Yard, the main Red Line maintenance facility, which is located on the surface near Template:Bts.<ref name=bluebook /><ref name=jan2012plan /> South of the station, the Braintree Branch tracks cross over the commuter rail tracks via a lengthy flyover.<ref name=bluebook>Template:MBTA Bluebook 2014</ref> The flyover is dedicated to Milton DeVaughn, an MBTA track worker, who died in December 1993 when he fell under the wheels of an MBTA work train.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> Template:Clear left
Bus connections
Columbia was not built as a transfer station; streetcar—and later, bus—routes mostly served Andrew and Fields Corner. Bus service to the station began in 1954 when the Columbia Point Development was constructed, and increased in 1974 when the UMass campus opened.<ref name=netransit /> The 1988 renovations added a dedicated two-lane busway on the east side of the station.<ref name=nycsubway /><ref name=dec1988 /> The station is served by MBTA bus routes Template:MBTA bus links.Template:MBTA bus links/mapcite During service disruptions – both planned track work and unplanned incidents – JFK/UMass is often used as the terminus of busing on either Red Line branch.<ref name=netransit /> A privately operated shuttle bus also connects the station with the UMass campus and the John F. Kennedy Library.<ref name=busmap />
History
Old Colony Railroad
In 1845, the Old Colony Railroad opened between Boston and Plymouth, Massachusetts.<ref name=sne>Template:Cite book</ref> Crescent Avenue was a flag stop for South Braintree and Dorchester and Milton Branch trains by 1848.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A station building was opened at Crescent Avenue on November 2, 1868, and replaced in 1883.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=redlinebook>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=1883report>Template:Cite book</ref> The Old Colony Railroad was an early proponent of decorating the grounds of its train stations. By 1891, flowers were planted to spell "☾ AVE" at the station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In the early 1920s, the Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) began planning an extension of the Cambridge–Dorchester Tunnel over the Shawmut Branch to Template:Bts. The New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, which had succeeded the Old Colony, sold the Shawmut Branch to the BERy, with service ending on September 6, 1926.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The mainline stations at Crescent Avenue and Template:Bts were kept open during construction.<ref name=1926report>Template:Cite book</ref> Crescent Avenue station was closed on July 15, 1927, for final construction and demolished shortly thereafter.<ref name=1927report>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Clear left
Boston Elevated Railway
Crescent Avenue was replaced with Columbia station, which primarily served the residential areas to the west.<ref name=ERJ1927 /> The station had a single island platform, Template:Convert long and varying Template:Convert wide, covered with a full-length reinforced concrete canopy.<ref name=1926report /> It was designed to be extended southwards if future ridership required six-car trains.<ref name="ERJ1927">Template:Cite journal</ref> The entrance to the station was from the Columbia Road overpass; like other stations on the Dorchester Extension, it was a rectangular red brick structure with red sandstone and Concord granite trim. The roofs of the headhouse, the stairway to the platform, and the canopy were all flashed with copper. Fare control was in the headhouse, with a waiting room on the platform. The station was designed by William D. Austin.<ref name=1926report />
Construction of the station began in 1925 with the reconstruction of the Columbia Road bridge.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The station platform was built in mid-1926.<ref name=1926report /> Construction was completed in May 1927; the station was finished during the next several months under the possibility it would open before Savin Hill and Template:Bts.<ref name=1927report /> The three stations ultimately opened together on November 5, 1927.<ref name=netransit /><ref name=1927report />
In November 1928, the BERy began construction of a second station entrance from Sydney Street at Crescent Avenue. A footbridge was built over the southbound track at the south end of the station, with fare control located on a short extension of the platform.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The new entrance opened on March 18, 1929; by May, it was used by 42% of passengers at the station.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In late 1938, the footbridge was extended east over the other tracks to serve a parking area.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Clear left
MBTA era
On January 13, 1961, the MTA began operating "modified express service" on the line during the morning rush hour, following the introduction of similar service on the Forest Hills–Everett line the month before. Every other train bypassed Columbia and three other stations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was discontinued in September 1961 to reduce wait times at the skipped stations, most of which were outdoors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The New Haven Railroad ended commuter service on the Old Colony lines in 1959, but subway service to Ashmont via Columbia continued. On July 28, 1965, the MBTA signed an agreement with the New Haven Railroad to purchase Template:Convert of the former Old Colony mainline from Fort Point Channel to South Braintree in order to construct a new rapid transit line along the corridor. The line was expected to be completed within two years.<ref name=netransit /><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> On August 26, 1965, the Cambridge–Dorchester line was renamed as the Red Line as part of a rebranding by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which had taken over the system in 1964.<ref name=netransit />
In 1967, the MBTA began a station modernization program; modifications to Columbia took place in 1970.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A southward extension made the platform long enough for six-car trains (which were not run until 1987).<ref name=netransit /> The original brick headhouse was replaced with a plain concrete headhouse, which opened on February 20, 1970, and the platform waiting room was removed.<ref name=nycsubway /><ref name=chronicle /> The footbridge was also replaced.<ref name=nycsubway>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The South Shore Branch (later the Braintree Branch) opened in 1971. Trains used two new tracks on the east side of Columbia; they did not stop in order to speed travel time between Quincy and Boston.<ref name=netransit />
1980s
The Columbia Point Development opened to the southeast of the station in 1954; residents of the housing development secured the 1962 closure of the city dump, which opened the peninsula to development. Ridership at Columbia station grew quickly despite the MBTA's refusal to have the South Shore Branch stop.<ref name=redlinebook />Template:Rp Three major developments opening on Columbia Point in the 1970s—the UMass Boston campus in 1974, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in 1979, and the Bayside Expo Center—increased the importance of the station.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref><ref name=redlinebook />Template:Rp On December 2, 1982, the station was renamed as JFK/UMass after the campus and library.<ref name=netransit /><ref name=chronicle>Template:Cite book</ref> Columbia was re-added as a secondary name in 1985 as part of a series of station name changes.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> Repairs to the Columbia Road bridge closed the north entrance from early 1982 until January 10, 1983.<ref name=chronicle />
In January 1980, the MBTA indicated that a $1 million renovation of the station, including a second platform, would be completed in 1982.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> However, the project proved controversial; residents near Savin Hill station instead wanted a flyover there so that Braintree Branch trains would stop at both Savin Hill and JFK/UMass. State officials insisted that the flyover would be significantly more expensive than the second platform, and that five times as many South Shore riders were riding to JFK/UMass as to Savin Hill.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
The MBTA awarded a $13.5 million construction contract on February 4, 1987, and work began that June.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 16.<ref name=chronicle /><ref name=redlinebook /> A large waiting room and fare control lobby was built over the center of the platforms, with footbridges to Sydney Street on the west and a new busway on the east. The 1970s Columbia Road entrance became exit-only; an adjacent footbridge to the lobby was added. The south footbridge was modified with a connection to the new platform, and became exit-only. The east part of the footbridge was removed and an employee building constructed in its place.<ref name=nycsubway /> The platform for the Braintree Branch opened on December 14, 1988, allowing all Red Line trains to stop at the renovated station.<ref name="netransit">Template:NETransit</ref><ref name=redlinebook /> The renovation included elevators to both platforms, making the station accessible.<ref name=2007doc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=bluebook1990>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=dec1988>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref>
2000s
Commuter rail service on the Middleborough/Lakeville and Plymouth/Kingston lines was restored in September 1997.<ref name=netransit /> The MBTA initially did not plan to include a stop at JFK/UMass; not until November 1996 did the agency agree to build the platform.<ref name=bypass>Template:Cite news (second page, third page) Template:Open access</ref> Construction began in 2000, and trains began stopping on April 30, 2001.<ref name=netransit /><ref name=bypass /> This was the first time that mainline commuter trains stopped at the station since 1927. Several rush-hour Greenbush Line trains began to stop concurrent with that line's restoration in 2007.<ref name=netransit /> Not all commuter trains on the line stopped at JFK/UMass, however, because the station is in a single-tracked bottleneck section of the otherwise double-tracked route. All weekend trains, however, stopped at the station prior to July 2025 due to the more limited weekend schedule.<ref name=jan2012plan>Template:Cite report</ref><ref name="MBTAScheduleJuly2025">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>
JFK/UMass station was a proposed stop on the MBTA's planned Urban Ring Project.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Urban Ring was to be a bus rapid transit (BRT) line designed to connect the current MBTA lines to reduce strain on the downtown stations. Under 2008 plans, the Urban Ring would access the station via Columbia Road, with a one-bay dedicated BRT platform in the existing busway.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The project was cancelled in January 2010.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2012 and 2013, the MBTA installed over 50 security cameras in the station—in addition to over ten already present—in response to an increase of crime in nearby areas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Improvements to the station were proposed in 2014 as part of the city's bid for the 2024 Olympics, which was withdrawn in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On June 11, 2019, a Red Line train derailed just north of JFK/UMass station due to a broken axle, damaging three sheds of signal equipment that control the nearby Columbia Junction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=2019accelerate /> The Red Line was limited to 10 trains per hour (instead of the usual 13–14) for three months while repairs were made.<ref name=2019accelerate>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Full service resumed on September 25, 2019.<ref name=restored>Template:Cite press release</ref>
Structural deterioration affected the station entrances in the early 2020s. On January 29, 2020, the stairs between Columbia Road and the east side of the station were taken out of service for repairs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Boston University professor David K. Jones was killed when he fell through a missing section of the still-closed stairs (owned by the Department of Conservation and Recreation) on September 11, 2021.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The stairs from the east footbridge to the busway were closed from May to September 2022, and the southern stairs to Sydney Street were indefinitely closed in mid-2022.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=nov2022>Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2022, the MBTA closed the Columbia Road entrance, with repairs initially expected to take at least a month.<ref name=nov2022 /> Part of the Red Line was closed for a weekend in January 2023 to accommodate repairs.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> The Columbia Road entrance reopened that month.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The MBTA included $2.3 million in its draft fiscal year 2024–2028 capital plan for a planning study to redesign the station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Buses replaced service on the Ashmont Branch from October 14–29, 2023, to allow for track work.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Repairs and repainting of the Red Line platforms at JFK/UMass station was also performed during the closure.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2024, the MBTA applied for a $99 million federal grant to fund half of a renovation of the station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Transportation did not approve the MBTA's petition but did award a $2 million grant for planning and design work at the station.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Off-peak and weekend commuter rail trains no longer stop at JFK/UMass effective July 21, 2025, leaving only peak-hour peak-direction stops. The change was intended to improve reliability on the lines, which had been lowered after the South Coast Rail extension opened.<ref name="MBTAScheduleJuly2025" />
References
External links
- MBTA - JFK/UMass
- Google Maps Street View: Columbia Road entrance, Sydney Street entrance, Sydney Street exit, east plaza
Template:MBTA Subway Stations Template:University of Massachusetts Boston