Wilmington, MBTA In Standoff Over Train Crossing

WILMINGTON, MA -- For most drivers, the minute or two waiting while a train blocks Route 62 near the North Wilmington MBTA station is a minor annoyance. But for first responders, those wasted minutes are a critical concern. Wilmington Fire and Police officials told selectmen this week that despite two years of calling Keolis, which operates the commuter rail for the MBTA, the ongoing problem continues.

"The concern of emergency responders in town is we simply can’t get across the tracks while the train is in the depot,” said Wilmington Police Chief Mike Begonis, according to the WIlmington Apple, which first reported this story. "An average train stop runs between a minute and a minute-and-a half, sometimes up to 2 minutes. That’s a critical concern of ours when there’s a major incident on the other side of that crossing that we need to get to."

On Monday, Wilmington Fire Chief Joe McMahon updated selectmen on efforts to reach a compromise with the MBTA. The MBTA said it is worried if it moves trains out of the roadway, drivers will "jump the gates," created another dangerous situation. "That will always occur unless they make the station bigger," McMahon said. Keolis said "we need to update the station. The platform is too small."

State Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) has added $1 million in the state’s most recent economic bond bill for improvements to the North Wilmington train station.

For more on this story, see the Wilmington Apple. Subscribe to Wilmington Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Photo by Dave Copeland/Patch.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).