Newburyport station
| Company type | MBTA Commuter Rail station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 1840 |
| Headquarters | Newburyport, Massachusetts , United States |
| Products | Commuter rail services |
Newburyport station functions as an MBTA Commuter Rail stop situated in Newburyport, Massachusetts, positioned between Parker Street and U.S. Route 1 just south of the downtown area. It serves as the final stop on the Newburyport Branch of the Newburyport/Rockport Line and provides over 800 parking spaces distributed across three lots. The station is linked to the town center via the Clipper City Rail Trail and is fully compliant with accessibility standards.
Original station
The Eastern Railroad inaugurated its first Newburyport station in 1840, located downtown near Washington Street. This initial facility was a modest wooden building featuring a two-track trainshed. In March 1854, a larger brick station replaced the original structure slightly to the north. Following a fire that destroyed this 1854 building on March 3, 1892, a more substantial brick edifice with a turret was constructed on the same site.
By 1962, ownership had passed to private hands, and the station had fallen into disrepair, with parking facilities deteriorating and the station clock no longer operational. On January 4, 1965, service on the Boston and Maine Railroad's Eastern Route was reduced from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, curtailing interstate travel. After June 28 of that year, only one round trip daily to Newburyport remained, stopping at .
Newburyport began partially subsidizing rail service starting April 20, 1967; however, Rowley did not participate in subsidies and consequently closed its station. Service ultimately ceased on April 1, 1976, when Newburyport withdrew its financial support; operations were truncated to Ipswich. In December of that year, the MBTA acquired commuter rail assets from B&M, including the Eastern Route extending into New Hampshire. Freight operations persisted until 1984 when the line was formally abandoned.
Current station
After a period of inactivity, the MBTA reconstructed the line and reinstated service to both Newburyport and Rowley on October 26, 1998. The new station features a full-length high-level platform—consistent with MBTA’s standards for new stations without freight traffic—to ensure accessibility. As the terminus point, Newburyport station includes an island platform serving two tracks alongside a four-track layover yard located south of Newburyport Turnpike.
Although initially intended to be situated downtown, local authorities requested relocating the station one mile south to accommodate parking facilities and layover yard construction. The chosen location is somewhat isolated, surrounded by wetlands and industrial buildings; a shuttle bus connecting to downtown was discontinued in 2004.
The $2.1 million renovation incorporated a brick waiting room on the west side of the tracks, which integrated two arches salvaged from the former YMCA building destroyed by fire in 1987. Completed by 1998, this facility along with its small coffee shop opened in February 2002. The coffee shop eventually closed and was succeeded by a Mexican restaurant in August 2016.