West Natick station is a
commuter rail station on the
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...
Framingham/Worcester Line, located off West Central Street (
MA-135) in
Natick, Massachusetts
Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...
. It was opened in 1982 as a
park and ride station.
History
The
Boston and Albany Railroad opened through Natick in September 1834.
In the late 1800s, Walkerville station was briefly open at Speen Street, midway between
Natick Center
Natick Center station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Natick, Massachusetts served by the Framingham/Worcester Line. The station, located below grade in a wide cut adjacent to North Main Street ( Route 27), has two side platforms serving the ...
and the modern station site.
On August 23, 1982, the
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
opened West Natick station to ease demand at Natick and Framingham stations.
The $500,000 station included a 200-space
park and ride lot.
The station should have been built
accessible
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...
(state accessibility laws date from the 1970s, long before the 1990
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...
), but it was not due to a budget shortfall. Accessible mini-high sections were installed around 1993.
In early 2016, the
mini-high accessible platforms were closed because the folding platform edges were deteriorated, risking a dangerous collapse like one that happened at
North Billerica station in 2015.
The MBTA earmarked $4 million to replace them and brought a portable lift to the station to maintain accessibility. The mini-high platforms were demolished in March 2017; new composite platforms opened that November.
The adjacent Boden Lane bridge was closed on October 31, 2019, after it was damaged by brush-clearing equipment. On November 5, MassDOT announced that the bridge would be permanently closed and replaced. The bridge was removed in December 2019; a temporary pedestrian span opened on January 27, 2020. Solar panels over the parking lots were added in 2021.
In June 2021, the MBTA issued a $28 million design contract for a project to add a third track from Weston to Framingham, including reconstruction of the three Wellesley stations and West Natick station. The project was expected to cost around $400 million, of which rebuilding West Natick station would be $37 million, with completion in 2030.
References
External links
MBTA - West Natick
MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
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