Church Street station (MBTA)

Church Street station is a planned MBTA Commuter Rail station located in north New Bedford, Massachusetts. It is planned to open in 2023 as part of the first phase of the South Coast Rail project. The station will have a single -long side platform on the east side of the single track of the New Bedford Subdivision.
History.
Acushnet station.
The New Bedford and Taunton Railroad opened between its mainsake cities in July 1840, completing a rail route between Boston and New Bedford. Acushnet station, located at Tarkin Hill Road north of downtown New Bedford, served the eponymous town to the east. Service was later consolidated under the New Bedford Railroad (1873), Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroad (1876), Old Colony Railroad (1879), and finally the New Haven Railroad (1893). 
Passenger service on the line continued until September 5, 1958. However, local stops including Acushnet were discontinued well before then, and trains ran nonstop from New Bedford to Taunton. The line continued to be used for freight service by the New Haven and its successors Penn Central and Conrail, then finally as the CSX New Bedford Subdivision.
South Coast Rail.
In September 2008, MassDOT released 18 potential station sites, including a King's Highway station in New Bedford (at the former Acushnet station site). By 2013, plans called for the station to be on the west side of the tracks slightly south of King's Highway, sharing parking with an existing strip mall. In 2017, the project was re-evaluated due to cost issues. The new proposal called for King's Highway station to be part of the first phase.
In 2019, the planned site was moved across the tracks due to drainage and land acquisition issues, with the name changed to North New Bedford for clarity. A footbridge may be constructed to provide access from the west side of the tracks. In 2020, the planned name was changed to Church Street. A former industrial building at 387 Church Street was demolished in 2020 to make room for the station and its parking lot. The MBTA awarded a $403.5 million contract for the Middleborough Secondary and New Bedford Secondary portions of the project, including Church Street station, on August 24, 2020; construction was expected to begin later in 2020 and take 37 months. The line is expected to open in late 2023.