Wilmington station (MBTA)


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 and Church Street in Wilmington's town center. The station is accessible, with mini-high platforms serving both tracks.

Station layout and history

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. The project was completed in 2003 at a total cost of $13 million.
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.
The Boston and Lowell Railroad originally had no intermediate stations, but Wilmington petitioned for a stop as early as 1836. An early station building was constructed either for the Andover and Wilmington Railroad in 1835 or 1836, or for the B&L and B&M a decade later. It was replaced by a small wooden structure around 1887. Both structures are still extant; the earlier structure was moved east on Church Street in the 1890s and reused as a house, while the newer structure houses a business.