MBTA: Wilmington Crossing System 'Performed As Designed'

WILMINGTON, MA — The MBTA denied Friday that there were any malfunctions at a Wilmington commuter rail crossing, after the town's Board of Selectmen called for action from the agency over what it called "faulty operations."

"The railroad crossing's safety system this morning performed as it was designed to," the agency said in a statement. "At no point today were the gates up while a train was travelling through the crossing."

The Board of Selectmen had released a statement Friday afternoon describing what it called "faulty operations at the north Wilmington commuter rail crossing."

According to the Board of Selectmen's statement, crossing arms came down across Middlesex Avenue and remained in a horizontal position. This "reportedly [required] a representative from Keolis, the company hired by the MBTA to operate the commuter rail, to correct the problem," the selectmen said.

"At 6:44 a.m. this morning as a commuter train was passing over the crossing at Middlesex Avenue the crossing arms failed to activate to extend across Middlesex Avenue in a timely manner that would provide pedestrian or motor vehicle traffic adequate time to respond," the board's statement continued.

According to the MBTA, the safety system's gates were automatically lowered due to "ponding," where snow piles melt and mix with road salt in the space between the tracks. When the system senses something in that space, as it did shortly after midnight, the gates are lowered automatically.

"This is the manner in which crossing systems around the world operate," the agency said. "It is not a failure nor a malfunction of the crossing's safety system."

From that time until mid-morning, all trains stopped about 50 feet before the Middlesex Avenue crossing.

"It's at this location where the train interacts with track circuits that trigger the lowering of the gates, allowing the train to roll through the crossing at a slow rate of speed," the agency said. "By mid-to-late morning, the railroad right-of-way was clear of salt-filled water, and the crossing system and trains returned to standard operation."

In their initial statement, Wilmington officials again called for action from the MBTA, noting that less than a month ago a resident was killed in a rail-on-car crash.

The board does not have statutory authority over the MBTA but has been working with the state legislative delegation "to hold the MBTA accountable to provide safe grade crossings for residents and non-residents passing through our community," the statement read.

The officials have called on the MBTA to take immediate steps to ensure safety devices at rail crossings in town work properly.

"The Board also insisted that the MBTA issue a communication explaining the steps being taken to ensure the safety of the crossings," the selectmen wrote. "The MBTA has failed to issue any such communication and, as has become abundantly clear, failed to take these matters seriously enough to take steps that provide reliable safety equipment at the north Wilmington rail crossing."

Wilmington officials are working with state Sen. Bruce Tarr and state Reps. Ken Gordon and Dave Robertson to schedule a meeting with MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak "to reiterate that their response has been completely lacking and to demand that he makes addressing the safety at the north Wilmington rail crossing and all MBTA crossings in Wilmington priority 1."

Both statements are available here.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.