Wilmington Officials Again Demand Action From MBTA

WILMINGTON, MA — Wilmington officials again called for "solutions" from the MBTA Sunday after what they described as "yet another incident involving rail crossing arms not functioning properly."

Crossing arms extended at Wilmington's Glen Road rail crossing for "a period of time" Friday evening, the town said. A Wilmington police officer was dispatched to the scene and remained present until an MBTA police officer arrived.

The MBTA said the incident was the same as one last month, where it said the system "performed as designed." Both cases were the result of "ponding," where snow melts and the water mixes with salt in the tracks, the agency said.

"Upon sensing something occupying the space between the rails, the safety system's gates were automatically lowered (as designed)," the agency said about the February incident. "This is the manner in which crossing systems around the world operate. It is not a failure nor a malfunction of the crossing's safety system."

Later Friday evening, a representative of the MBTA's commuter rail contractor Keolis restored the grade crossing arms to regular operation.

Wilmington officials including state Senator Bruce Tarr, state Sen. David Robertson, Board of Selectmen Chair Lilia Maselli, Selectman Judy O'Connell and Town Manager Jeffrey Hull held an emergency conference call about the "ongoing failures of safety features at rail crossings in Wilmington."

"It was agreed that the delegation will seek to schedule a discussion with the MBTA General Manager and MBTA staff versed in the technical operation of the crossing gates as soon as possible to obtain a commitment that attention and resources will be directed to resolving these issues," the town said. "It is imperative that the reliability of the crossing gates be restored. The group will also seek a commitment from the MBTA to provide Town officials with regular updates on work taking place to improve safety at the multiple rail crossings in Wilmington."

The town also wants the MBTA to agree to notify town officials any type they are performing work at or near rail crossings in Wilmington.

"There have been multiple explanations offered for the failures at grade crossings, in some instances conflicting with reports from the Town’s own police officers," the town said. "In the end, this cannot continue and the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager in conjunction with Senator Tarr and Representative Robertson will remain focused and vigilant on holding the MBTA accountable. We will do everything in our power to require them to solve the problems."

See also: MBTA Introduces New Measures For Wilmington Commuter Rail Safety

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-3853 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.