MBTA Secures $1 Million Federal Grant for Improvements at North Wilmington Station

Award from the U.S. Department of Transportation will lead to new ADA-compliant boarding area and allow trains to stop outside the motor vehicle grade crossing.

The MBTA announced today that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA), has awarded $1 million to the MBTA for improvements to North Wilmington Station on the Haverhill Commuter Rail Line.

The $1 million grant will be used to relocate and reconstruct the existing Commuter Rail station platform along an area of single track adjacent to Route 62. This improvement will result in a new ADA-compliant boarding area and allow all train coaches to come to a stop outside the motor vehicle grade crossing area. The MBTA and its operating partner for Commuter Rail, Keolis Commuter Services, worked in collaboration on station design and configuration, and to develop and submit the application for this competitive federal grant.

“We’re grateful to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration for selecting our grant proposal to improve safety at this grade crossing and station in Wilmington,” said MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak. “Working together with the Keolis team, we prepared a successful application that will ensure that trains no longer block the motor vehicle grade crossing area during stops, meeting the requests of the Wilmington community.”

The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020, appropriated $50 million in Commuter Authority Rail Safety Improvement (CARSI) Grants Program funding to be awarded by FHWA for highway-railway crossing-related projects, including those that separate or protect grades at crossings; rebuild existing railroad grade crossing structures; relocate highways to eliminate grade crossings; and eliminate hazards posed by blocked grade crossings.