History
Yawkey was opened on April 29, 1988, and initially was only used for special service to Fenway Park to and from Boston Red Sox games. It was used for Framingham Line trains as well as special "Fenway Flyer" baseball trains from the Attleboro (now Providence/Stoughton) and Franklin lines; such trains had an annual ridership of 58,000 in 1990. The station became popular enough that the MBCR added regular commuter service, obviating the need for "Fenway Flyer" specials. However, similar special trains continue to serve Foxboro station during football and soccer games at Gillette Stadium.
Regular weekday commuter service to the station began on January 2, 2001, with 4 daily round trips, though weekend service was initially limited to game days. Regular weekend service was added on April 30, 2001. Currently, not all trains stop at the station; most peak-direction trains stop, but most off-peak trains do not. During the Red Sox season, some trains stop at Yawkey only on game days. (These trains currently do not stop due to construction.)
On November 15, 2010, Governor Deval Patrick and other officials broke ground on a major rebuilding of the station, originally expected to be completed in the spring of 2012. The new station will have two full-length high-level platforms that provide level, handicapped-accessible boarding for all passengers; the old platform had only a wooden ramp for accessibility. The two platforms (a side platform between the tracks plus a side platform on the south side of the tracks) will be connected with an overpass, and passengers will no longer have to cross the tracks to access certain outbound trains. Projected stopping service is to increase from 17 to 40 trains per day. The new station, projected to cost $13.5 million, will be powered entirely by solar panels.
The rebuilt station is to be the first component of a larger, mostly private development called Fenway Center. Although the developer, Meredith Corporation, wished to close the station during rebuilding, the MBCR elected to keep it open. Fenway Center, which is to be built on the air rights over the adjacent Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90), will eventually cover much of the station.
The Framingham/Worcester line schedule was changed slightly in April 2012 to allow for temporary single-tracking through the station for construction. Actual station construction activity started in June 2012, and in August one track was cut, reducing the line to one track through the station. The platforms were installed in late November 2012; construction of the elevator shafts began in February 2013.
Read more about this topic: Yawkey (MBTA Station)
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