MBTA says accessible Wellesley Square train platforms to open Feb. 17
Following the Wellesley Select Board’s approval this week of a bunch of purple signage to help people figure out how to navigate the Wellesley Square train station and its new accessible platforms, the MBTA has announced those platforms will open for service on Monday, Feb. 17.
As we wrote earlier this month, the mini-high platforms on the inbound and outbound sides of the Wellesley Square commuter rail station will make it feasible for more people with disabilities to use the train. The platforms should also come in handy for those with carriages and others.
Some in town have been working toward this goal for more than a decade (we’ve been writing about it since at least 2018). It was announced this past summer that $500,000 in federal accessibility funding secured by Congresswoman Katherine Clark would make completion of the $3M project early this year a reality.
Mini-high platforms allow for level boarding at two cars of the train. Those being installed at Wellesley Square will be connected to the low-level platforms by a ramp. Riders will position themselves on the mini-high platform before the train arrives, and the operator will then provide assistance.
