Ruggles Lands $30M Upgrade

Construction is expected to begin in 2015 and be completed by the fall of 2017

Within a 15-minute walk of the Ruggles station on the MBTA Orange Line and commuter rail are some of the city’s most dynamic job engines: the Longwood Medical area and its hospitals and research facilities, Northeastern University and the other colleges of the Fenway area, and the emerging redevelopment zone of Lower Roxbury.

But as well located as the station is, it also suffers from a major physical and scheduling-capacity bottleneck that means of the 69 inbound commuter trains that pass through each day, only 29 can actually stop and discharge passengers there. Thousands of people who want to get off at Ruggles and commute to jobs nearby are forced to take the train all the way to Back Bay and double back on the Orange Line.

Friday afternoon, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx came to Ruggles to announce the federal government is awarding the T $20 million towards a major $30 million upgrade of Ruggles for commuter rail. It will revamp and extend the existing platform, and add a new platform on the east side of the easternmost track. Construction is expected to begin in 2015 and be completed by the fall of 2017. By then, using commuter rail to get to the Longwood/Fenway and Lower Roxbury areas should become significantly more convenient and appealing for riders coming in to Boston from south of the city on the Stoughton, Providence, Franklin, and Needham lines.

The formal announcement drew Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Marty Walsh, and U.S. Senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, who all said they expect the upgrade of train service and access should help to drive the creation of thousands more jobs in what is already a booming part of Boston.

MBTA General Manager Dr. Beverly Scott said: “The proximity of the station to Northeastern University and the major health care institutions makes this station a vital transportation hub. The new train platform and other upgrades will improve and increase access to educational opportunities and jobs in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area.”

With videographer Daniel J. Ferrigan
 

Contact Us