Cohasset station is an

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...

station in

Cohasset, Massachusetts Cohasset is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 8,381. History Cohasset was inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans prior to European colonization, from whom English c ...

. It serves the

Greenbush Line The Greenbush Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system which serves the South Shore region of Massachusetts. The line runs from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the cities and towns of Quincy, Weymouth, Hingham, Cohasset, an ...

. It is located off Chief Justice Cushing Highway ( Route 3A) west of downtown Cohasset. The station was opened with the line on October 31, 2007, providing the first rail service to Cohasset since 1959. Cohasset station is fully

accessible 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. ...

History

The

South Shore Railroad The South Shore Railroad was a railroad in Massachusetts. It was incorporated in 1846 to provide rail service between Quincy and Duxbury, Massachusetts through the towns of Hingham, Cohasset, Scituate and Marshfield. History The 11.5 mile l ...

opened as far to Cohasset on January 1, 1849. By 1878, the

Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, ...

controlled the entire line. The Old Colony and successor

New Haven Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

operated four stations in Cohasset: North Cohasset (Nantasket) at Hull Street, King Street (Black Rock) at King Street, Cohasset at Pleasant Street and Beechwood at Beechwood Street. No station was located at the modern site, which is between populated areas. However, it was the site of the junction with the Whitney Spur, which led to the

Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex The Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Annex, sometimes called the “Cohasset Annex” or "Hingham Annex" by local residents, covered sections of the towns of Hingham, Massachusetts, Hingham, Cohasset, Massachusetts, Cohasset, Norwell, Massachusett ...

(open from 1941-1962). The New Haven ended passenger services on Old Colony Division on July 30, 1959. The former station was moved about and converted to a paint store by 1962. After the closure of the Annex in 1962, it was acquired by the state

Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission is ...

(DCR) and converted to

Wompatuck State Park Wompatuck State Park is a state-owned, public recreation area of about in size located primarily in the town of Hingham with portions in the neighboring towns of Cohasset, Norwell, and Scituate, Massachusetts, in the United States. In additi ...

beginning in 1969. In 2003, the DCR sold the land for the station and parking lot to the

MBTA 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 ...

in exchange for the construction of a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

on the former rail spur. The station opened with the rest of the Greenbush Line on October 31, 2007. It was intended as a

park-and-ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system (rapi ...

station, with a large parking lot but few pedestrian connections to neighborhoods. The Whitney Spur Rail Trail opened from the station to the park around the same time. However, a gate blocked access from the trail to the northwest section of the park, which still had several dangerous abandoned buildings. After years of requests, demolition of the buildings began in April 2014. The northwest section opened in November 2014 and the gate was removed. With the trail now serving as usable access to the park, 20 spaces in the station lot were dedicated for park users.

References

External links

{{commons category
MBTA - Cohasset
Stations along Old Colony Railroad lines Railway stations in the United States opened in 2007 Cohasset, Massachusetts MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Norfolk County, Massachusetts 2007 establishments in Massachusetts