Oak Grove: The End of the Haymarket North Extension?

The next and last stop on the northern Orange Line is Oak Grove, which happens to be my home station! So, let's get into detail about all that Oak Grove has to offer!

This station opened over a year after the rest of the extension was already built. So, what took so long? According to the 1976 MBTA Annual Report, the station itself was complete in the fall of 1976, but the opening was delayed until the spring of 1977 "pending completion of a study of the impact the station will have on land use and traffic in the area" (pg. 13). Oak Grove officially opened on March 19, 1977.

The design of Oak Grove is kind of different than some of the HNE stations. But, it may not be as different as other MBTA stations built around that time. According to the 1973 MBTA Annual Report, "a contract was awarded for architectural and engineering services to adapt the award-winning North Quincy station design to the Oak Grove Station-Winter Street Bridge Complex on the Haymarket North Extension" (pg. 22). Way to be original, MBTA! I always thought these stations kind of looked alike based on the architecture, but this quote confirms that they sort of copied North Quincy to make Oak Grove. Alright, but at least Oak Grove's a little different though. Oak Grove has a second platform, its entrances are in different places, and still looks original whereas North Quincy has been renovated, so one can't tell the similarities as much anymore.


North Quincy before opening and renovations, 1970.
Source: https://archive.org/stream/annualreportmas1970mass_1#page/n13/mode/2up

Oak Grove station today. Notice any similarities to North Quincy?



Oak Grove is located in northern Malden and is right on the line with Melrose. It is located in a quiet, sort of suburban neighborhood (compared to Boston and the rest of the OL stops), and often times this station is dead outside of rush hour. This is one of the lesser used stations on the northern Orange Line, getting in around 6000 people daily, compared to Malden and Sullivan, which is twice that number.

When the Haymarket North Extension stations were constructed, the T wanted all of them to have parking lots and drop-off/pick-up areas to encourage increased use of rapid transit. They opted for lots instead of garages to save money. North Station and Community College (and later Assembly) were the only stations on the HNE to not have a MBTA owned parking lot or drop-off/pick-up area. MBTA-owned parking for the Orange Line can be found at Forest Hills (small lot, only station on the southern Orange Line to have parking), Sullivan (small lot), Wellington (medium size), Malden Center (small lot), and Oak Grove. This station has a large parking lot that gets full by 7am during the week but has plenty of spaces on weekends. It is clear Oak Grove is primarily a park and ride station, with all those parking spaces, two drop off/pick up areas, and only 4 bus routes serving the station, with all of them continuing on to Malden, using Oak Grove as a supplementary stop. The other primarily park and ride oriented station on the Orange Line is Wellington, with its own parking lot and the Station Landing (privately owned) garage to serve riders.

There are two entrances to Oak Grove's one fare lobby: one from the parking lot and a smaller one off of Washington Street, with escalators (up only) going to the fare lobby. This station has a lot more windows and in the open than most HNE stations. The elevators, which were actually the first elevators ever installed on the T when Oak Grove first opened, serve the parking lot to the lobby (with a locked rear door exiting to the second platform) and the lobby to the platform. They are starting to show their age and need to be rehabbed. The ADA compliance already present since Oak Grove opened is probably the main reason Oak Grove still looks completely original compared to its HNE and North Quincy counterparts, which didn't have elevators when they first opened and were remodeled somewhat when the elevators were put in.

Oak Grove has two platforms, the main one and the secondary side platform. The Haverhill Line passes through the second platform but does not stop. The last recorded use of the second platform being used was during the 2004 DNC when North Station was closed and Haverhill Line service terminated at Oak Grove and passengers switched here for continuing Orange Line service to Boston. I am not sure Oak Grove was considered Zone 1A or Zone 1 for the commuter rail when it was used, but the zone boundary is very close to here. The platform is now chained off, but one can go up to the fence dividing it from the parking lot.

A route map at Mass. Ave saying that the Commuter Rail still stops at Oak Grove and not Malden Center. Guys, the commuter rail stopped coming here a long time ago...

View down the unused second platform.

The second platform looks somewhat similar to the main platform.

Gated off escalator to the second platform.



Entrance to top of gated off escalator.

Bottom of gated off escalator to second track.

Oak Grove's route maps really need to be updated, especially since Assembly now exists, and it's on the way to Boston. On the second platform, this route map hasn't been updated since 2000.


State/Aquarium? I believe Aquarium's been long reopened by now.

Overall, Oak Grove is a pretty good station, except for the restroom, which is not so great. It's gross like every other MBTA bathroom, which is to be expected, but I've seen worse when it comes to MBTA bathrooms (like Alewife). It is a single stall handicapped bathroom, with the usual toilet paper being chained to the railing and a space heater in the wall. This bathroom was installed in 2014 (Oak Grove originally didn't even have a bathroom, they made space for one), and it did not take long for it to become gross.

However, is Oak Grove really the end of the line? According to these pictures, it's not, as the Orange Line supposedly keeps going after Oak Grove...

The current track 2 says Inbound/Outbound, as this was supposed to be the bidirectional express track.

Map of the Oak Grove area. Notice the Orange Line is drawn showing it continuing to go north into Melrose.

This sign now says "Do Not Enter", but for the longest time it said "Orange Line Outbound" because the second platform was to serve the third track going north to Reading.
Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oak_Grove_outbound_platform_entrance.JPG
User: Pi. 1415926535

Truth is, Oak Grove is the real end of the Orange Line, for now. Those signs are there for the one day it may get extended to Reading, but it seems like that extension idea has been sort of forgotten and there are other more important extension projects/proposals on the T's list right now, such as the Green Line extension and the Red-Blue Connector. Oak Grove is a good place to end the Orange Line, and the Haymarket North Extension.

Reading, maybe someday...

Update (2019): Oak Grove's parking rate is $9 Monday-Friday and $3 on weekends. Also, Oak Grove is getting some upgrades in the near future. The upgrades include new elevators (an increase from 1 to 2 from platform to lobby, one new one from lobby to Washington St. and new busway/parking lot elevator in addition to the existing one on the commuter rail platform), new signs, and overall maintenance upgrades to the place. The full details on the project can be found here: https://mbta.com/projects/oak-grove-station-accessibility-improvements. Updates of Oak Grove's upgrades before, during, and after the upgrades have been completed will be posted on this site, so stay tuned! 

Malden Center

In December of 1975, the Orange Line was extended north to Malden Center. This station is a little different in its setup, as it is elevated, so the lobby is set up differently. The third track here is used by the Haverhill Line, which stops here, using the second platform that was set up for the Orange Line. Because of this, not all doors can be used to board commuter rail trains at Malden Center, as the platform length is set up for 6-car Orange Line trains, not longer commuter rail trains. However, this was the first station in the commuter rail system to have full high level platforms, because the platform height was built to support Orange Line trains, which are the same height as commuter rail cars. The Reading (later Haverhill) line used this platform beginning in 1977 through 1979 and from 1985 to today. This station allows for easy transfers between the Haverhill and Orange Lines, although the transfer is redundant, as one can transfer between Haverhill and Orange again at North Station, and from my experience being on the Haverhill Line, most people usually ride the train to North Station and switch there instead, as both stations are in Zone 1A.

The Orange Line platform is a center platform serving both Orange Line tracks, which is separate from the Haverhill Line platform, which is a side platform. Malden Center, located in bustling downtown Malden, is the busiest northern Orange Line station and the largest bus hub of any of the northern Orange Line stations. When Malden Center first opened in December of 1975, a double entry and single exit fare was charged here, since Malden was 5 miles away from Boston. This was also the fare system at Oak Grove when it opened as well. In 1980, after a fare restructure, these stations now only had a single entry fare and no exit fare like the rest of the Orange Line stations. As of 2018, all subway stations have one entrance fare and no exit fare. Although with the new CharlieCard II (aka AFC 2.0) system coming in a few years, there have been talks of bringing exit fares back and calculating fares based on distance, which means one day Malden Center and Oak Grove may have exit fares again, as the distance from Boston to these stations is between 5-6 miles and are the northernmost rapid transit stations on the T.

Malden Center's center and side platforms.

Malden Center was renovated between 2003 and 2005 and was the last Orange Line station to be made accessible. Elevators were added for both the Orange and Haverhill Line platforms. Today, the Orange Line is 100% accessible and the Haverhill Line is accessible except for these stops: North Wilmington, Wakefield, Greenwood, Melrose Cedar Park, and Wyoming Hill.

Next stop: Oak Grove

Wellington

Wellington station was the fourth station to be opened on the HNE, and it opened in September of 1975. At the same time, the Wellington maintenance yard for Orange Line trains opened, replacing the Sullivan Square and Forest Hills yards. This new maintenance facility had the modern tools available to maintain the old 01100 series and the current Orange Line cars in service. Currently, the yard is being expanded and renovated to serve the newest cars on the Orange Line fleet coming this year.

Wellington station nearing completion in 1975.
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/The_T_Arrives_In_Medford.pdf (pg. 3)

Wellington Station and Yard today, viewed from the Station Landing garage.

Wellington is located on the east side of Medford and is Medford's only rapid transit station. Other parts of Medford are served by buses and the Lowell Line at West Medford station.Wellington is another bus hub of the northern Orange Line, but not as large as Sullivan or Malden Center. The station is connected by a skybridge to the Station Landing garage and shopping center, which was built next to the station around 1997. The skybridge used to be a people mover which looked like a horizontal elevator, but was ripped out and replaced with the skybridge around 2006 because the people movers always broke down. The current skybridge sits on the track where the people mover used to be. A video of the former people mover in action can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT3jQkOvBXE.

The station itself has three tracks and two platforms, like most of the original HNE stations. The test track for the Orange Line ends at this station and the Haverhill Line track takes over where the third track would be after Wellington. Surprisingly, the sign for the second platform entrance from the lobby says it's closed, even though it's not.

The "closed" second platform, even though it's open. Oak Grove had the same sign for its second closed platform before it got replaced with "Do Not Enter" a few years back.

Wellington, when it first opened, was the last station on the Orange Line going north to charge the normal subway fare. Malden Center and Oak Grove, and the other stations, if the extension went to Reading, had a different fare setup, which I'll get into in the next station, Malden Center!

Assembly

Since Assembly wasn't part of the original Haymarket North Extension, I will be brief in my writing about this station.

Assembly station opened on September 2, 2014 to serve the Assembly Row Marketplace in Somerville. This station only has one platform instead of two. If there were a need to serve the third track later on, the Haverhill Line tracks that run next to Assembly would need to be realigned.

Assembly station from outside.

The architecture of Assembly can best be described as the 2014 version of the Haymarket North Extension station style, with lots of glass instead of a mass of brutalist concrete.

Next stop: Wellington

Sullivan

The last of the trio of stops opened on April 4, 1975 is Sullivan Square. This station opened to replace the old elevated station of the same name and roughly the same location.

The current Sullivan station sits under I-93 and the Newburyport/Rockport and Haverhill Line tracks run next to the station but do not stop, as there currently is no platform at Sullivan for the commuter rail. A temporary commuter rail platform, however, was constructed in 1984 at Sullivan for then Ipswich/Rockport line passengers to transfer to the Orange Line, as North Station was closed because trains could not enter due to the approach trestles needing to be rebuilt after catching on fire. This temporary platform no longer exists.

Sullivan Square is a major bus hub for the Charlestown/Somerville area, and it seems like people coming from buses account for the bulk of the station entries at Sullivan.

Sullivan has two platforms, both are which in use. The left track is for southbound trains, the center track for northbound trains, and the right track is a test track used for testing the new Orange Line cars coming this year. The test trains currently run between here and Wellington. At the time of this writing, crews are working on reconstructing the test track all the way to Community College. If the extension to Reading ever happened, the current center (northbound) track would have been the bi-directional express track and the right (test track) would have been the northbound track.

Primary platform at Sullivan. Notice how the supports for I-93 run through the station's structure.

Community College

The next stop on the HNE is Community College. This station, along with North Station and Sullivan opened on April 4, 1975, and replaced the City Square and Thompson Square stops on the former Charlestown Elevated, which were located near here. It was also built to serve its namesake, Bunker Hill Community College, built around the same time as the station. This is the first of 5 stations that were built with a second platform and third track for that never-run express service.

Community College station under construction, 1970. Notice the lower/upper decks of I-93 are not complete yet.
Source: https://archive.org/stream/annualreportmas1970mass_1#page/n11/mode/2up
 

Community College today.

Speaking of the second platform, pictured above, it is actually not in use, unlike Sullivan and Wellington. It is rumored that it was in use until sometime in the 1990s. A second elevator shaft was constructed for the second platform should it be reopened when Community College received an elevator and a slight accessibility rehab around 2003. The second platform is getting worn, and I went around to the other side to get a better look at it. The second platform can best be viewed from the fence at the Bunker Hill Community College parking lot.

The unused second platform.

Boarded up exit for the escalator serving the second track.

On the side of the second platform facing BHCC, I found a little surprise...

The spider map!!

I thought they replaced all of these! Well, this is one of, if not the last station in the system that still has the original spider map, unchanged from 1990, still sitting there (the in use and the second platform on the side facing the in use platform have updated maps). So, if you want to see an old MBTA spider map, walk up to the fence in the parking lot of BHCC that separates the parking lot from the tracks.

Next stop: Sullivan