advertisement

---

On Friday, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Massachusetts Department of Transportation Secretary Richard Davey and other state, federal and local officials marked the completion of a reconstructed Ashmont Station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Red Line in Dorchester, Mass.

The $84 million facility was the last of four Dorchester stations to be modernized as part of MBTA’s $158 million Red Line rehabilitation project. In 1999, the state Legislature appropriated $67 million for the station rehabilitation work.

Built in 1928 and modernized in 1976, the station now features two entrances; a new lobby and new platforms to accommodate six-car trains; elevators and escalators; new lighting, communications and security systems; and a reconfigured busway.

One of the city's busiest transportation hubs, the reconstructed station will serve as a state-of-the-art transit facility for commuters, said Patrick in a prepared statement.

Meanwhile, Smiths Fall, Ontario, and VIA Rail Canada Inc. officials officially opened a new station in the city on Friday. Funding for the $750,000 project was provided by the Canadian government’s $923 million VIA Rail appropriation for facility, equipment and infrastructure improvements.

The station, which began serving passengers in early August, is located near downtown. The facility was designed to blend in with the “historic character” of Smiths Falls, VIA Rail officials said in a prepared statement. The station will help the railroad provide “smoother and improved service” on its busy Ottawa-to-Toronto route, they said.