Lowell station, officially the Charles A. Gallagher Transit Terminal, is an

intermodal transit Intermodal passenger transport, also called mixed-mode commuting, involves using two or more modes of transportation in a journey. Mixed-mode commuting is often used to combine the strengths (and offset the weaknesses) of various transportati ...

station in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

. The transit complex includes 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 as well as the Robert B. Kennedy Bus Transfer Center, which serves local and intercity buses. It is located off Thorndike Street ( MA 3A) near the end of the Lowell Connector south of downtown Lowell. The commuter rail station is the northern terminus of the

Lowell Line The Lowell Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts. Originally built as the New Hampshire Main Line of the Boston & Lowell Railroad and later operated as part of the Boston & M ...

, and is a major

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 for the system, serving commuters from Lowell, northern Massachusetts, and southern

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The Kennedy Bus Transfer Center is the transfer point for all

Lowell Regional Transit Authority The Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, charged with providing public transportation to the Greater Lowell area. This primarily includes the city of Lowell and the towns of Billerica, B ...

local bus routes and several intercity bus routes by other operators.

Terminal and services

The Charles A. Gallagher Transit Terminal is an

center at 101 Thorndike Street ( MA 3A) near to Downtown Lowell. The station is the northern terminus of 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 ...

, which provides train service to and from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The

(LRTA) operates bus service from the Kennedy Bus Transfer Center to 14 communities. The Route 18 downtown shuttle links the terminal to downtown, with buses departing every 15 minutes during the week and every 30 minutes on Saturdays. Other services include the

MVRTA Merrimack Valley Transit, formerly known as Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, United States, charged with providing public transportation to an area consisting of the cities and town ...

Route 41 to

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

OurBus OurBus Inc. is is a broker for motor carriers of passengers, and arranges for the transportation of passengers. The company offers intercity and commuter bus routes serving cities in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virgini ...

service to New York City, and the Coach Company Foxwoods Line Run bus to

Foxwoods Resort Casino Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more t ...

. The lobby at Gallagher Terminal includes a waiting area, a

Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Donuts LLC, also known as Dunkin' and by the initials DD, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg (1916–2002) in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 195 ...

, and rest rooms. Passengers access the train platform from the lobby via a bridge over the tracks. The platform is accessible with elevators in the lobby and at the train platform.

History

The Charles A. Gallagher Transit Terminal opened in 1983. Previously, this area had held a depot for the

Boston and Lowell Railroad The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine R ...

. To the east, Lowell had also been the location of a former

Lowell and Andover Railroad The Lowell and Andover Railroad was a branch line of the Boston and Maine Railroad and was organized in 1873, after the Boston and Lowell Railroad's monopoly on Boston to Lowell service ended in 1865. The line opened in 1874 from the B&M's mai ...

, built by the

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...

, station on Central and Green Streets known as Central Street Station, which is no longer in use. In 2005, the Robert B. Kennedy Bus Transfer Center opened at the Gallagher Terminal as a new hub for all LRTA bus routes.

Historical services

Into the early 1960s Lowell Union Station was a junction point for Boston and Maine Railroad trains to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and pooled New Haven Railroad and Boston and Maine pooled trains to

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

:''Official Guide of the Railways,'' August 1949, Boston and Maine section, Tables 1, 2, & 'Through Service to Maine' * Boston North Station to

via Essex Falls, Vermont: ''

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

'' and overnight counterpart: ''New Englander'' *Boston to Montreal via Plymouth, New Hampshire and Newport, Vermont: '' Alouette'' and overnight counterpart: ''Red Wing's *New York (

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

) -

Portland Union Station Portland Union Station is a train station in Portland, Oregon, United States, situated near the western shore of the Willamette River in Old Town Chinatown. It serves as an intermediate stop for Amtrak's '' Cascades'' and ''Coast Starlight'' ro ...

, via Worcester, bypassing Boston: ''

State of Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

,'' year-round, overnight train *New York (

Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated Penn Station) is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to several of its grand passenger terminals. Several are still in active use by Amtrak and other transportation services; others have been ...

) - Portland Union Station via Worcester, also bypassing Boston: ''

East Wind An east wind is a wind that originates in the east and blows in a westward direction. This wind is referenced as symbolism in mythology, poetry and literature. In mythology In Greek mythology, Eurus, the east wind, was the only wind not associated ...

,'' summers only

References

External links

MBTA - LowellLowell Regional Transit AuthorityGallagher Terminal on Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowell (Mbta Station) 1983 establishments in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Lowell, Massachusetts Bus stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States opened in 1983 Stations along Boston and Maine Railroad lines Transportation in Lowell, Massachusetts