Uphams Corner station


Uphams Corner is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Boston, Massachusetts. It serves the Fairmount Line. It is located on Dudley Street in the Uphams Corner area of the Dorchester neighborhood. It was reopened in 1979 after the line had been closed for 35 years. The station is fully accessible with two full-length high-level platforms and ramps to the street, which were added during a construction project that finished in 2007.

History

Original station

Service on the Fairmount Line began in 1855, although it was frequently out of service until 1867. The service included a stop at Stoughton Street near Uphams Corner; a Cottage Street station was also briefly located a block to the north. The station was renamed Dudley Street in the 1880s after the street was renamed between the railroad and Uphams Corner.
In the 1900s, the station was rebuilt, with buildings on both sides of the tracks connected by a pedestrian tunnel. On June 15, 1924, the station was again renamed as Uphams Corner, possibly to avoid confusion with Dudley Street Terminal. Undercut by streetcars, buses, and the Elevated for decades, service on the line ended in 1944.

MBTA station

The Dorchester Branch was reopened as a bypass on November 3, 1979 during Southwest Corridor construction, including stops at Uphams Corner, Morton Street, and Fairmount. Uphams Corner was originally built at minimal cost, with small low-level platforms and staircases to Dudley Street. Intended to be only in service for several years, the station was not handicapped accessible.
Uphams Corner and Morton Street were dropped effective January 30, 1981 as part of systemwide cuts. Service over the route was intended to be temporary; however, it was popular with residents of the communities the line passed through. When the Southwest Corridor reopened on October 5, 1987, the Fairmount shuttle service was retained, with Uphams Corner and Morton Street reopened.
The station was rebuilt in 2005–2007 as part of the larger Fairmount Line Improvements project, which also included four new stations along the line. A groundbreaking was held on April 14, 2005. The rebuilding included new full-length high-level platforms, ramps to Dudley Street, canopies, and new lighting and signage. The fully accessible station was officially reopened on January 23, 2007.
In the mid-2010s, Uphams Corner station became locally known for high rates of heroin use at the lightly used and largely unpatrolled station.