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Ruggles station

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Ruggles station is an intermodal transfer station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) rapid transit, bus, and commuter rail services and is located at the intersection of Ruggles and Tremont streets, where the Roxbury, Fenway–Kenmore, and Mission Hill neighborhoods meet. It is surrounded by the campus of Northeastern University. Ruggles is a station stop for the Orange Line subway, as well as the Providence/Stoughton Line, Franklin/Foxboro Line, and Needham Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Thirteen MBTA bus routes stop at Ruggles.

Ruggles
Commuter Rail and Orange Line trains at Ruggles in 2021
General information
LocationRuggles Street at Tremont Street
Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°20′10″N 71°05′22″W / 42.3362°N 71.0895°W / 42.3362; -71.0895
Line(s)Attleboro Line (Northeast Corridor, Southwest Corridor)
Platforms
Tracks
  • 2 (Orange Line)
  • 3 (Northeast Corridor)
ConnectionsBus transport MBTA bus: 8, 15, 19, 22, 23, 28, 43, 44, 45, 47, CT2, CT3
Construction
Bicycle facilities12 spaces
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone1A (Commuter Rail)
History
Opened
  • May 4, 1987 (Orange Line)
  • October 5, 1987 (Commuter Rail)
Passengers
20182,640 daily boardings[1] (Commuter Rail)
FY20199,199 daily boardings[2] (Orange Line)
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Forest Hills
limited service
toward Forge Park/495 or Foxboro
 Franklin/​Foxboro Line
weekdays
 Back Bay
toward South Station
Forest Hills
toward Needham Heights
 Needham Line
Forest Hills
limited service
toward Wickford Junction or Stoughton
 Providence/​Stoughton Line
Roxbury Crossing
toward Forest Hills
 Orange Line Massachusetts Avenue
toward Oak Grove
Proposed services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Hyde Park
toward Battleship Cove or New Bedford
 South Coast Rail
Phase 2 (2030)
 Back Bay
toward South Station
Location
Map

Ruggles station opened in 1987 as part of the Southwest Corridor, replacing Dudley Street Terminal as the main bus transfer station for much of Roxbury and Dorchester. The station originally had a single island platform serving the Northeast Corridor tracks, which meant not all commuter rail trains could stop at the station. Construction of an additional side platform, replacements of four elevators, and reconstruction of the busway took place from 2017 to 2021. A second phase is planned to add additional entrances to the Orange Line and commuter rail platforms.

Station layout

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The station seen from the southeast

The sprawling station is elevated above the Southwest Corridor north of Ruggles Street and west of Columbus Avenue - the former location of the South End Grounds. The main station structure, designed by Stull and Lee, is covered by a rectangular "tubular-framed, high-tech" canopy.[3] The arched concourse crosses at an angle aligned with Forsyth Street, with entrances at both ends. Its open ends were intended to symbolize reconnection between Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, historically divided by the railroad alignment.[4]

A clockwise busway wraps around the station, with separate entrances and exits on Ruggles Street, plus an entrance from Melnea Cass Boulevard at Columbus Avenue. The north (upper) part of the busway is level with the concourse and used for drop-offs; the south (lower) part has multiple lanes and bus berths for boarding. A Northeastern University architecture studio is located in the station structure under the upper busway, next to the Forsyth Street entrance.[5] Ruggles is served by MBTA bus routes 8, 15, 19, 22, 23, 28, 43, 44, 45, 47, CT2, and CT3.[6]

A total of five tracks run through the station: two for the Orange Line and three for commuter rail (and Amtrak, which does not stop). The Orange Line tracks serve a single island platform on the north side of the railroad cut. The northern two of the mainline tracks serve a second island platform, while the southernmost track has a side platform.[7][8] The entrances to the two island platforms are located on the west side of the concourse, under the canopy; entrances to the side platform are from the busway and from a walkway from Columbus Avenue. Five elevators connect the concourse level to the two platforms, the busway, and the Forsyth Street entrance.

Artwork

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Stony Brook Dance in 2021

Two "very different" pieces of public art were installed in the station as part of the Arts on the Line program:[9][10]

  • Stony Brook Dance, by John T. Scott, is an aluminum abstract kinetic sculpture suspended inside the west end of the concourse. Thirty colorful geometric tubes are attached to three stainless steel cables, allowing them to sway in the wind. The work, commissioned in 1986 and completed in 1989, combines imagery of diddley bows and wave physics.[11][12]
  • Geom-a-tree, by Paul Goodnight, Elaine Sayoko Yoneoka, Stephanie Jackson St. Germain, and Emmanuel Genovese, is a ceramic tile and stained glass mural located above the eastern exit from the concourse. Twenty-six feet (7.9 m) wide and 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, it forms a colorful collage of Asian and African-American faces and symbols. The work was installed in 1990–91. Painter Goodnight and ceramics artist Yoneoka met in court while the two were separately pursuing lawsuits regarding illegal destruction of their previous works.[13][14][15]

The western wall of the station was covered with mural by Sivia López Chavez in 2019. The work – part of a Northeastern University art program – depicts a woman blowing bubbles on a brightly colored backdrop.[16]

History

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Ruggles station opened on May 4, 1987, and was built as part of an Orange Line realignment project which relocated the former Washington Street Elevated Orange Line service into the Southwest Corridor. Commuter rail service to the station began on October 5, 1987.[17] Located where there had not previously been a station, Ruggles was built to serve Northeastern University and the Longwood Medical Area, and to replace Dudley Square station as a major bus terminal for the Orange Line.[8]

The busway was originally paved with asphalt, which soon eroded from the stopping and starting of buses. In 1988, the MBTA paid $430,000 to repave it with more-durable concrete.[18] The upper busway was closed for one year ending on February 6, 2006, for a $3.2 million rehabilitation.[19]

The entire Orange Line, including the Orange Line platform at Ruggles station, was closed from August 19 to September 18, 2022, during maintenance work. Commuter Rail and bus service to the station was not affected.[20]

Urban Ring proposal

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Ruggles was a proposed stop on the Urban Ring – a circumferential bus rapid transit (BRT) line designed to connect the existing radial MBTA rail lines to reduce overcrowding in the downtown stations.[21] Under draft plans released in 2008, the Urban Ring would have approached Ruggles from the west on a reserved surface right-of-way on the north side of Ruggles Street. Buses would have used the existing bus loop; the existing side access from Tremont Street would have connected to dedicated bus lanes on Melnea Cass Boulevard.[22] The project was cancelled in 2010.[23]

Renovations

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The deteriorated and closed northern half of the existing commuter rail platform (left) and the under-construction second commuter rail platform in 2019

A number of smaller projects in the Urban Ring corridor have been approved; among them was adding a second commuter rail platform to serve Track 2 at Ruggles, thus allowing all commuter rail trains to stop there. Until 2021, about 30% of inbound commuter rail trains bypassed the station, as reaching the platform required crossing over to Track 1 or Track 3. The MBTA began consideration of a second platform in 1993, just six years after Ruggles opened.[8][24] A preliminary study in 2008 recommended a full-length 800-foot platform located entirely east of the busway bridge.[25]

The MBTA began holding public meetings in 2012. By this time, plans called for the new platform to be located next to the existing platform. It was to be split in two sections connected by a short pedestrian tunnel under the busway bridge; the gap would be short enough to allow all doors on a train to still open onto the platform.[26] In September 2014, the MBTA received a $20 million TIGER grant for the project, which is estimated to cost $30 million in total. Besides the new platform, work would include lighting and security upgrades, elevator improvements, and rehabilitation of the deteriorated northern half of the existing platform, which was blocked off from use.[27]

By March 2016, the project was at 90% design and expected to reach 100% design by mid-2016, when it would be advertised for bidding. Construction was set to begin in late 2016 and last through 2018.[26] In December 2016, the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board approved a $1.6 million expansion of the project scope to include reconstruction of the lower busway, elevator replacements, additional station entrances, an additional busway elevator, and other accessibility improvements.[28] Bidding took place in May and June 2017; on June 26, the Board approved a $19.7 million construction contract (lower than the $22 million projected cost).[29]

A groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which was expected to cost $38.5 million in total, was held on August 22, 2017.[30][31] Construction was then planned to last from 2017 to 2019.[28] Reconstruction of the lower busway began in April 2018.[32] Replacement of the first two of four station elevators (the Orange Line platform elevator and the Forsyth Street elevator) began on November 12, 2019.[33][34] The Orange Line elevator was completed on March 1, 2021, with the commuter rail platform elevator then closing for replacement.[35] The new commuter rail platform opened on April 5, 2021 – in connection with new schedules that had all trains stopping at Ruggles – with the new busway elevator opening the same week.[36][37] The Forsyth Street elevator reopened on May 11, 2021.[38] The Commuter Rail elevator ultimately reopened on December 6, 2021, with the remainder of the project including the rebuilt busway elevator completed later that month.[39][40]

A second phase of the project is planned. The Columbus Avenue entrance will be made accessible, with a covered ramp to the concourse and an improved pathway to the lower busway. A new footbridge will be constructed between the lower busway and the commuter rail island platform; the northeast portion of that platform will be restored (as had been planned in the first phase). A new ramp will connect the Orange Line platform to the northeast side of the concourse, with a new set of faregates added there, and the exit-only stairs from the platform will be rebuilt.[41] Design reached 100% in August 2022; due to inflation and other factors, projected construction costs were $25 million higher than planned.[42] Revised designs were completed in 2023.[43] An additional Orange Line elevator will be designed, but may not be constructed during this phase.[44] Phase II was put out to bid in September 2024 with an estimated cost of $80 million.[45][46]

References

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  1. ^ Central Transportation Planning Staff (2019). "2018 Commuter Rail Counts". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  2. ^ "A Guide to Ridership Data". MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation. June 22, 2020. p. 8.
  3. ^ Shand-Tucci, Douglass (1999). Built in Boston: City and Suburb, 1800-2000. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 319. ISBN 9781558492011 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Bronner, Ethan (November 3, 1986). "T motifs to reflect neighborhoods". Boston Globe. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ McKnight, Jenna (April 6, 2016). "Boston architecture students complain about "unacceptable" studio space". Dezeen.
  6. ^ "2023–24 System Map". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Held, Patrick R. (2010). "Massachusetts Bay Colony Railroad Track Charts" (PDF). Johns Hopkins Association for Computing Machinery. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2013.
  8. ^ a b c Jacobs Edwards and Kelcey (September 11, 2008). Ruggles Station Platform Study (PDF) (Report). MASCO. pp. 13–15.
  9. ^ Paley, Marianne Elizabeth (May 1993). Art in the public realm : integrating audience, place, and process (MCP). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. p. 82. hdl:1721.1/79022.
  10. ^ "On the Orange Line" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2017.
  11. ^ Powell, Richard J. (2005). Circle Dance: The Art of John T. Scott. University Press of Mississippi. p. 31. ISBN 9781578067732 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ "John T. Scott" (PDF). Arthur Roger Gallery. 2014.
  13. ^ Elaine Sayoko Yoneoka. "Ruggles St. Station Orange Line: Metropolitan Boston Transportation Authority commission".
  14. ^ Kantrowitz, Jeffrey (July 4, 1991). "Ruggles mural reflects diverse background of artists". Boston Globe. p. 49 – via Newspapers.com.  
  15. ^ Temin, Christine (October 24, 1990). "ARTcetera '90: action against AIDS". Boston Globe. pp. 77, 81 – via Newspapers.com.  
  16. ^ Callahan, Molly (May 15, 2019). "'When Do Adults Ever Blow Bubbles?'" (Press release). Northeastern University.
  17. ^ Belcher, Jonathan. "Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA district" (PDF). Boston Street Railway Association.
  18. ^ Howe, Peter J. (July 4, 1988). "MBTA renovation to enter blue period". Boston Globe. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.  
  19. ^ "Ruggles Station Busway Re-opens" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. February 6, 2006.
  20. ^ "A Rider's Guide to Planning Ahead: Upcoming Orange & Green Line Service Suspensions" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 2022.
  21. ^ "Urban Ring Phase 2 Fact Sheet" (PDF). January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011.
  22. ^ "The Urban Ring Phase 2: Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report/Statement" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2017.
  23. ^ Mullan, Jeffery B. (January 22, 2010). "Re: Urban Ring Phase 2, EOEEA #12565" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
  24. ^ "MBTA Ruggles Station Commuter Rail Platform Project: Legislative Briefing September 20, 2012" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  25. ^ Jacobs Engineering (11 September 2008). "Ruggles Station Platform Study" (PDF). MASCO Inc. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  26. ^ a b "Ruggles Station Platform Project". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  27. ^ "TIGER 2014 Awards" (PDF). U.S. Department of Transportation. September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  28. ^ a b "FMCB votes to expand design of Ruggles Station Transportation Project" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 19, 2016.
  29. ^ "MBTA Construction Contract No. S31CN02: Ruggles Station Commuter Rail Platform Project" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 26, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 31, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  30. ^ "Baker-Polito Administration, Federal and Local Officials Celebrate Ruggles Station Project Groundbreaking". MassDOT Blog (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. August 22, 2017. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  31. ^ Heyward, Jasmine (August 22, 2017). "Work officially gets underway on Ruggles Station improvement project". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  32. ^ "Lower Busway Construction" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 27, 2018.
  33. ^ "Ruggles Elevator Closures Start in November 2019" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. October 30, 2019.
  34. ^ "Alerts: Access". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. November 29, 2019. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020.
  35. ^ "Alerts: Access". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 3, 2021. Archived from the original on April 7, 2021.
  36. ^ "Ruggles Elevators and Commuter Rail Platform Now Complete" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 7, 2021.
  37. ^ "Ruggles/Back Bay/South Station: Spring 2021 Schedule" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 5, 2021.
  38. ^ Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority [@MBTA] (May 11, 2021). "Over the weekend, crews finished renovating Ruggles Elevator 851 (Lobby to Forsyth St). The now reopened elevator was reconstructed to enhance #TAccess & reliability for riders to easily connect between the Orange Line, bus & @MBTA_CR" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  39. ^ Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority [@MBTA] (December 6, 2021). "This morning, we reopened Ruggles Elevator 849 (Commuter Rail platform to Upper Lobby) for #BuildingABetterT. We reconstructed the elevator to improve #TAccess and safety so riders can easily transfer between @MBTA_CR, Orange Line, buses, and beyond" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  40. ^ "Ruggles Station Improvements 100% Complete" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. December 23, 2021.
  41. ^ Choe, Katie (June 2022). "Ruggles Station Improvements Phase II: Virtual Public Meeting – Design Project Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  42. ^ "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—December 2022" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. December 6, 2022. p. 3.
  43. ^ "System-Wide Accessibility Initiatives—November 2023" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Department of System-Wide Accessibility. November 27, 2023. p. 3.
  44. ^ "Accessibility Initiatives—June 2024" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. June 25, 2024. p. 3.
  45. ^ "Ruggles Station Improvements". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. October 25, 2023. Archived from the original on October 25, 2023.
  46. ^ "Notice to Bidders" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. September 25, 2024.
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