Savin Hill (MBTA station)

Savin Hill is a rapid transit station on the Ashmont Branch of the MBTA Red Line, located at 121 Savin Hill Avenue adjacent to Sydney Street in Dorchester, Massachusetts. It serves the nearby neighborhood of Savin Hill and adjacent areas in Dorchester. Opened in 1845 as a commuter rail station, Savin Hill was converted to rapid transit in 1927 and rebuilt in 2004–05 for handicapped accessibility.HistoryOld Colony RailroadThe Old Colony Railroad opened from Plymouth to South Boston in November 1845. A station was built at Savin Hill, located just north of the modern location. In December 1872, the Old Colony opened its Shawmut Branch to Milton, which added local service to Savin Hill. Around that time, the station was moved to its modern location just south of Savin Hill Avenue. The new station featured a brick building on the west side of the tracks and a wooden building on the east side (the Old Colony had left-hand running until 1893, so the larger brick building was originally on the inbound side). The station was served only by local trains on the outer tracks, while express trains used the inner tracks.Conversion to rapid transitAfter just 54 years, commuter rail service on the Shawmut Branch ended in September 1926. The Boston Elevated Railway, which had bought the line, began converting it into the Dorchester Extension, a rapid transit extension of the Cambridge-Dorchester Tunnel line. Savin Hill, located on the Old Colony mainline, was rebuilt as a rapid transit station as part of the extension. The commuter rail platforms and station buildings were removed. Savin Hill reopened on November 5, 1927 along with Columbia and Fields Corner as part of the first phase of the extension.