Reading station (MBTA)

Reading station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Reading, Massachusetts. It serves the Haverhill/Reading Line. It is located at Lincoln and High Streets on the western fringe of Reading's central business district. The station's historic depot building was built in 1870 by the Boston and Maine Railroad. The station was the terminus of the line from 1959 until the re-extension to Haverhill station in 1979.

Reading
Reading station in 2014
General information
Location	35 Lincoln Street Reading, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°31′18″N 71°6′27″W
Line(s)	Western Route
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	1
Connections	MBTA bus: 137
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	10 spaces
Accessible	Yes
Architectural style	Stick/Eastlake, Queen Anne
Other information
Fare zone	2
History
Opened	1845
Rebuilt	1870, 1991
Passengers
2018	855 (weekday average boardings)[1]
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station Wakefield toward North Station Haverhill Line North Wilmington toward Haverhill
Former services Preceding station Boston and Maine Railroad Following station Wakefield toward Boston Western Route Reading Highlands toward Portland Boston – Dover until 1967 North Wilmington toward Dover Boston – Haverhill North Wilmington toward Haverhill
Boston and Maine Railroad Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
MPS	Reading MRA
NRHP reference No.	84002509[2]
Added to NRHP	July 19, 1984
Location

Architecture and history

Reading station on an early postcard

The Boston and Maine Railroad Extension from Wilmington Junction to Boston was completed in 1845, with intermediate stops including Reading. A new station building was constructed in 1870.^[3] The depot is located southwest of the tracks, at the junction of Lincoln and Prescott Streets. It is a long rectangular building with Queen Anne styling, with paneled pilasters at the corners and between the bays, and large knee braces that help support the wide overhangs of the hip roof. The north (track-facing) facade has seven bays, alternating windows (4) and doors (3). One of the windows is a projecting bay with a band of narrow and tall windows, whose upper sash has colored lights.^[3]

The station was purchased by the town in 1960, and was briefly used as a museum of railroad history.^[3] The MBTA purchased the Haverhill Line in 1973, intending to replace commuter rail service with extended Orange Line subway service between Oak Grove and Reading.^[4] The new Reading/128 terminus would have been located outside the downtown area just south of Route 128, rather than at the current downtown location.^[5] Ultimately, the extension was not built past Oak Grove due to rising costs, and commuter rail service was kept on the corridor. The station building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.^[2] The town sold the building to private owners in 1985, with preservation restrictions.^[3]

The station was later rebuilt around 1991 with a mini-high platform on the inbound side for accessibility.^[6][7] In June 2022, the MBTA indicated plans to add a turnback track at the station at a cost of $1.5–2 million to allow increased frequency.^[8] In February 2025, the MBTA presented plans for the track. It would extend 4,500 feet (1,400 m) northwest from the station, effectively restoring the double track that formerly existed. Reading short turn trains would lay over on the new track rather than at the single-track station. This would allow all-day service between Boston and Reading to be increased to every half hour.^[9][10]

Rail service on the inner Haverhill Line was suspended from September 9 to November 5, 2023, to accommodate signal work. Substitute bus service was operated between Reading and Oak Grove and between Reading and Anderson/Woburn.^[11]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Reading, Massachusetts