Wilmington station (MBTA)

WILMINGTON
Wilmington station in April 2016, viewed from the Route 62 overpass
Location 405 Main Street
Wilmington, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°32′49″N 71°10′29″W / 42.547°N 71.1747°W / 42.547; -71.1747Coordinates: 42°32′49″N 71°10′29″W / 42.547°N 71.1747°W / 42.547; -71.1747
Line(s) Lowell Line
Wildcat Branch
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Connections LRTA: 12
Construction
Parking 191 spaces ($4.00 fee)
7 accessible spaces
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Fare zone 3
History
Opened c. 1844-1850
Rebuilt c. 1890
2003[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2013) 544 (weekday inbound average)[2]
Services
Preceding station   MBTA   Following station
Lowell Line
toward Lowell
Haverhill Line
rush hours only
toward Haverhill

Wilmington is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Wilmington, Massachusetts. It serves the Lowell Line as well as a limited number of trains from the Haverhill Line which run via the Wildcat Branch. It is located near the intersection of Main Street (Routes 38/129) and Church Street (Route 62) in Wilmington's town center. The station is handicapped accessible, with mini-high platforms serving both tracks.

Station layout and history

Interlocking south of Wilmington station in May 2016. This interlocking allows southbound trains from the Wildcat Branch to reach the southbound main, as well as serving as a general purpose crossover.

The platforms are staggered; the southbound platform is entirely to the north of the Route 62 overpass, while over half of the northbound platform is south of the bridge. A pedestrian crossing between the two platforms is located just north of the bridge; until a path from an adjacent apartment complex opened in 2015, this was the only access to the southbound platform.

The station formerly had a single small side platform and no MBTA parking lot. In 1998, the MBTA began planning a $5.2 million renovation which included longer accessible platforms and a 227-space parking lot.[3] The project was completed in 2003.[1]

The Wildcat Branch, used by Amtrak Downeaster trains and some Haverhill Line express trains, connects with the Lowell Line at Wilmington station. The single-track branch splits from the northbound track just north of the platform. Southbound trains coming from the Wildcat Branch cannot reach the southbound platform; instead, they use the northbound platform. An interlocking south of the station allows these trains to switch onto the southbound track.[4]

The original station building, constructed for the Andover and Wilmington Railroad in 1835 or 1836, was moved east on Church Street in the 1890s and is still extant.[5]

Bus connections

Wilmington is the south terminus of the Lowell Regional Transit Authority's Route 12 - Tewksbury via Rte. 38/Wilmington Train Station route. No MBTA Bus routes stop at Wilmington.

References

  1. 1 2 Roy, John H. Jr. (2007). A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses. Branch Line Press. pp. 272–273. ISBN 9780942147087.
  2. ↑ "Ridership and Service Statistics" (PDF) (14 ed.). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Devlin, Sean (July 15, 1998). "MBTA takes over train station project plans" (PDF). Wilmington Town Crier. p. 1.
  4. ↑ Held, Patrick R. (2010). "Massachusetts Bay Colony Railroad Track Charts" (PDF). Johns Hopkins Association for Computing Machinery. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2013.
  5. ↑ Neilson, Larz F. (October 24, 2010). "The oldest depot in town is not next to the tracks". Wilmington Town Crier.
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