Alrighty, coming off the heels of a bunch of Green Line stations, we now have an Orange Line station! Wellington? Well, why not?
So, the station is largely linear in nature. You have the busway where all the buses drop people off. There was also a Commuter Rail bustitution when I came here with a friend, so it was more crowded than usual. This ended up hindering my ability to take pictures. However, you have a set of stairs (and I presume an elevator, as it’s an accessible station) going up to a footbridge. Underneath? The Haverhill Line and the northbound Orange Line track. In the mezzanine, a walkway crossing the Orange Line yard can be found, along with CharlieCard machines. There’s also bus schedules for the various bus routes stopping here.
The good: This station is clearly heavily used. It’s no Downtown Crossing or Park St., but it definitely felt crowded. However, if headways were normal with the Orange Line, I’m sure it’d be a slightly better situation. There’s also plenty of bus service, and the station layout is largely straightforward. Oh yeah, apparently a Transit Ambassador was letting people into the Orange Line platform for free, likely as part of the Newburyport/Rockport bustitution. For train nerds, you can also see a whole bunch of Hawker Siddlies from the walkway connecting the station to the parking garage, as this is where the Orange Line maintenance facility is.
The bad: I mean, it’s not a very pedestrian-friendly area. It can also get a bit crowded on the Orange Line platform during rush hour.
Nearby points of interest: I mean, there’s a few hotels and shopping centers – if you’re willing to torture yourself.
Transit connections: Orange Line
MBTA bus (97, 99, 100, 106, 108, 110, 112, 134)
Overall, I like this station, moreso than Heath St. Yes, it’s simple, but simple isn’t bad. It’s also largely a straightforward station to navigate with little in the way of making mistakes (e.g. going to the wrong platform can be fixed by simply rotating yourself 180 degrees). It’s also a decent park & ride, but I’d imagine the long walkway can be a pain if you regularly commute to/from here. Oh yeah, apparently an old Hawker Siddley train bursted into flames a week or so before writing this just south of here, too.
Rating: 6.5/10
