West Natick station is a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...

station on the MBTA Commuter Rail

Framingham/Worcester Line The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts through the MetroWest region, serving 17 station stops in Boston, Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Framingham, Ashlan ...

, located off West Central Street ( MA-135) in Natick, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1982 as a

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...

station.

History

The

Boston and Albany Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. Pa ...

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 opened West Natick station to ease demand at Natick and Framingham stations. The $500,000 station included a 200-space

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. ...

(state accessibility laws date from the 1970s, long before the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act), 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 {{Massachusetts-railstation-stub