Brookline Hills station is a light rail station on the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

(MBTA)

Green Line Green Line may refer to: Places Military and political * Green Line (France), the German occupation line in France during World War II * Green Line (Israel), the 1949 armistice line established between Israel and its neighbours ** City Line ( ...

D branch in the Brookline Hills neighborhood of

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

. The station has two

side platforms A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

serving the line's two tracks. It was closed from April 2021 to January 2022 as part of adjacent construction on a

Brookline High School Brookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts. It is a part of Public Schools of Brookline. The Headmaster is Anthony Meyer who holds a Master of Education in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard ...

building, which included renovations to make the station accessible.

History

The Brookline Branch of the

Boston and Worcester Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. Pass ...

was extended west to Newton Upper Falls by the

Charles River Branch Railroad The Charles River Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It ran from a connection with the end of the Charles River Branch Railroad in Dover to Bellingham through the current-day towns of Medfield, Millis, and Medway. Charles River Branch Ra ...

in November 1852. Cypress Street station – later Brookline Hills – was added after 1858. After 1886, loop service was run on the

Highland branch The Highland branch, also known as the Newton Highlands branch, was a suburban railway line in Boston, Massachusetts. It was opened by the Boston and Albany Railroad in 1886 to serve the growing community of Newton, Massachusetts. The line was ...

via what is now the

Framingham/Worcester Line The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts through the MetroWest region, serving 17 station stops in Boston, Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Framingham, Ashland, ...

, and later via the

Needham Line The Needham Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury, and the town of Needham. The second-shortest line of the system at just ...

. In March 1892, a new station designed by

Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic, religious, and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry ...

was opened. The station agent was removed in May 1949, but the station building remained in use as shelter for passengers. The final trains on the line ran on May 31, 1958. The line was converted to light rail by the M.T.A. and Brookline Hills reopened on July 4, 1959, along with the rest of the D branch. The 1892 depot is no longer extant.

Accessibility

In the early 2000s, the MBTA modified key surface stops with raised platforms for

accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

. Brookline Hills was not among those initially outfitted with portable lifts, nor was it retrofitted with raised platforms. However, portable lifts were installed by 2003. Around 2006, the MBTA added wooden mini-high platforms on both platforms, allowing level boarding on older Type 7 LRVs. These platforms were installed at eight Green Line stations in 2006–07 as part of the settlement of '' Joanne Daniels-Finegold, et al. v. MBTA''. The station was renovated with fully accessible platforms as part of an expansion of

, which included a new school building partially over the eastern end of the platforms. Construction began in late 2019; the station closed on April 12, 2021 for the final phase. The renovated station opened on January 8, 2022.

References

External links

MBTA - Brookline HillsStation from Google Maps Street View
{{MBTA Subway Stations 1959 establishments in Massachusetts Green Line (MBTA) stations Railway stations in Brookline, Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States opened in 1959 Former Boston and Albany Railroad stations Railway stations closed in 1958