Wilmington station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Wilmington, Massachusetts served by the Lowell Line. It is located near the intersection of Main Street (Routes 38/129) and Church Street (Route 62) in Wilmington's town center. The station is accessible, with mini-high platforms serving both tracks.
Station layout and history
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. The newer structure remains next to the tracks; it was converted to a pizza restaurant by 1977.
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.