West Hingham 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

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,284. Hingham is known for its colonial history and location on B ...

. 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 consists of a single side platform serving the line's one track. The 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 between Braintree and Cohasset on January 1, 1849. A station at West Hingham opened by 1867. It was located north of the South Street level crossing. The South Shore Railroad was acquired by 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, ...

in 1877; the Old Colony was in turn acquired by the

New York, New Haven and Hartford 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 ...

in 1893. The

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 ...

abandoned its remaining Old Colony Division lines on June 30, 1959, after the completion of the Southeast Expressway. 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 ...

reopened the Greenbush Line on October 31, 2007, with West Hingham station located south of South Street where room for a parking lot was available. A downtown Hingham station was not possible due to the narrow tunnel constructed to avoid level crossings in Hingham Square, so West Hingham and Nantasket Junction stations both serve Hingham. Solar panels were installed over the parking lot in 2018 – one of the first three of a planned 37 such installations at MBTA parking lots – though activation was delayed by a dispute between the MBTA and the utility over liability.

References

External links

MBTA - West HinghamStation from Google Maps Street View
MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Former Old Colony Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 2007 Buildings and structures in Hingham, Massachusetts 2007 establishments in Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-railstation-stub