Malden Center (MBTA station)
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Malden Center station is a
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 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 ...
(MBTA) intermodal transit station in Malden, Massachusetts. Located on an elevated grade above Pleasant Street in downtown Malden, it serves the
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
Orange Line and the MBTA Commuter Rail
Haverhill Line The Haverhill Line (formerly named the Haverhill/Reading Line) is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the cities and towns of Malden, Melrose, Wakefield, Reading, Wilmington, And ...
. The station has one
island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
for the two Orange Line tracks and a single
side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platform ...
for the single commuter rail track. Two busways are used by 13 MBTA bus routes. The Boston and Maine Railroad opened through Malden in 1845. The original station was replaced in 1871, then again by a brick structure in 1892. The station building was sold for private use in 1958, but commuter trains continued to stop until the modern station opened in December 1975. Commuter trains stopped at the modern station from 1977 to 1979, and have stopped since 1985. A renovation in 2003–2005 added two elevators, making the station
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. ...
.


Station layout

Malden Center station is located on an embankment on the west side of downtown Malden. The Orange Line is on the west side of the station, with two tracks and an
island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...
. The Western Route, used by the
Haverhill Line The Haverhill Line (formerly named the Haverhill/Reading Line) is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the cities and towns of Malden, Melrose, Wakefield, Reading, Wilmington, And ...
, has one track and a single
side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platform ...
. The fare lobby is under the center of the platforms, with entrances from both sides of the tracks. A two-lane busway is located on the east side of the station, with a one-lane busway on the west side.


History

The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) opened through Malden in July 1845. The first station was a two-story wooden depot on the east side of the tracks at Pleasant Street; it was replaced by a smaller station on the west side in 1871. In May 1891, the B&M began construction of a new station as part of a grade crossing elimination project. The new station opened in 1892. In 1958, the station building was purchased from the B&M for just $1,000 (). It was renovated for use as a restaurant and banquet hall, which opened by 1962. Malden Center station opened on December 27, 1975, as part of the MBTA's Haymarket North Extension of the Orange Line. Expansion to Malden had been a long-time goal of the
Boston Elevated Railway The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) was a streetcar and rapid transit railroad operated on, above, and below, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Founded in 1894, it eventually acquired the West End Street Rai ...
, and the Everett extension of the
Charlestown Elevated The Charlestown Elevated was a segment of the MBTA Orange Line rapid transit line that ran from the Canal Street Incline in downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Charlestown to a terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. It opened in June 1901 and ...
was originally planned to go past Everett and into Malden and Reading via Main Street. However, residents of Malden were opposed to the
elevated railroad An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...
structure that was planned, and prevented the extension. The 1975 extension was built along the existing Western Route embankment rather than Main Street. The former station platform closed simultaneously with the opening of the Orange Line station. A high-level platform - the first on the MBTA system - was installed along the Reading Line track, but Reading Line trains did not stop. The platform opened for regular service on May 1, 1977, but closed again on September 1, 1979. On January 20, 1984, a fire destroyed the approach trestle to the Charles River Bridge at
North Station North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtrak ...
; Haverhill Line trains were run to . North Station reopened on April 20, 1985; the commuter platform at Oak Grove closed but the platform at Malden was reopened. The switch may have been made due to a request by John A. Brennan Jr., who was then constructing a large development near Malden Center station. Because of its Orange Line connection, Malden Center can serve as a temporary inbound terminus for the Haverhill Line when commuter rail service is disrupted between Malden and Boston's North Station. It served this role in 2016 during reconstruction work on the Woods Memorial Bridge, which carries the
Revere Beach Parkway Revere Beach Parkway is a historic parkway in the suburbs immediately north of Boston, Massachusetts. It begins at Wellington Circle in Medford, where the road leading to the west is Mystic Valley Parkway, and the north–south road is the ...
over the rail lines and the Malden River. Oak Grove station is usually used during weekday disruptions, as it is closer to the double-track section of the line in Melrose.


Renovations

Unlike most MBTA stations,
air rights Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by others. This lega ...
over the station are owned by the city rather than by the MBTA. By 1983, the city planned to built a footbridge to connect the station to nearby developments. In 1989, the MBTA studied a possible accessible footbridge at the station, which would have cost $2.8 million and opened in 1991. The station was not initially accessible, but it was built with provisions for a future elevator. The MBTA began a renovation of the station, then estimated to cost $6 million, in 2003. It was originally to be completed in 2003, but was substantially delayed by changes to building codes. Completed in 2005, the ultimately-$10 million project added a second exit stairwell and two
elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...
s, making the station
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. ...
. In 2002, as part of its public art program, the MBTA added panels with artworks by local schoolchildren at and Malden Center. The station also has two benches in the lobby painted by local arts students. Changes to wayfinding signage, lighting, and other station improvements were completed by May 2021. The entire Orange Line, including Malden Center station, was closed from August 19 to September 18, 2022, during maintenance work. The
Haverhill Line The Haverhill Line (formerly named the Haverhill/Reading Line) is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through the cities and towns of Malden, Melrose, Wakefield, Reading, Wilmington, And ...
continued to stop at Malden Center during that time.


Bus connections

Malden Center is a major bus transfer station, with 13 routes serving the station via its two busways. *: Malden Center station– *: Woodland Road–Wellington station *: Malden Center station– via Winter Hill *: Malden Center station–Sullivan Square station via Ferry Street *: Malden Center station–Sullivan Square station via Newland Street Housing *: Lebanon Loop–Wellington station *: Linden Square–Wellington station *: Melrose Highlands– or Malden Center station *: Redstone Shopping Center–Malden Center station *: Reading Depot–Malden Center station via Lowell Street *: Reading Depot–Malden Center station via North Avenue *: Kennedy Drive or Jack Satter House–Malden Center station *: Saugus Center–Malden Center station


References


External links


MBTA–Malden Center

Commercial Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
{{MBTA Subway Stations Orange Line (MBTA) stations Railway stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Stations along Boston and Maine Railroad lines Railway stations in the United States opened in 1975 MBTA Commuter Rail stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts MBTA subway stations located above ground