The
Boston and Worcester Railroad opened through Newton in 1834. A station at Riverside, named for its location just east of the railroad's bridge over the
Charles River, opened in the 1850s. The railroad merged into the
Boston and Albany Railroad (B&A) in 1867. In 1886, the B&A completed its
Highland branch, which rejoined the mainline at Riverside. "Newton Circuit" service operated via the mainline and the branch. Highland branch service ended in 1958 for conversion to
a streetcar line. The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority built a new Riverside station with a large commuter parking lot and brick station building in a former gravel pit south of the existing station. Streetcar service began on July 4, 1959. Limited commuter rail service continued to the mainline station until October 28, 1977. Some
Intercity bus services to and from Boston offer limited service to Riverside. This was temporarily suspended in early 2010, but was reinstated that October.
Blue Apple Bus added a Riverside stop to its –Logan Airport service in November 2025. In 2014, the state announced plans Riverside would be the terminus of a proposed
DMU Indigo Line to
South Station, via the former track connection, but the plans were cancelled in 2015. A private group plans to restore the pedestrian underpass at the former mainline station as part of a trail network in the area. The state awarded $100,000 in design funding in 2019. Riverside Yard will be modified in the late 2020s to support new Type 10 LRVs.
Development The MBTA began planning for
transit-oriented development at Riverside by the 1980s. In October 1997, Riverside was identified as a possible site for a parking garage, but this was not pursued. On February 12, 2009, the MBTA authorized an 85-year lease of a portion of the Riverside parking lots for a mixed-use development. As originally planned, the development was to contain of office space, of retail space, and 190 residential units. In late 2019, the city rezoned the site to allow for a larger development. The MBTA approved a revised plan in August 2024. Its first phase would include 545 residential units and a parking garage on the south side of the site. The surface parking lot would be reduced to 530 spaces, with 120 spaces in the garage reserved for MBTA use. A second phase in the early 2030s would add a office/lab building, about 100 residential units, and a second garage. ==References==