Selectmen to Insist on Solutions to Ongoing Rail Crossing Failures
Wilmington Board of Selectmen to Insist on Solutions to Ongoing Rail Crossing Failures
Friday evening, March 4th Town officials were informed of yet another incident involving rail crossing arms not functioning properly earlier in the evening. In this instance the crossing arms were extended at the Glen Road rail crossing for a period of time. Wilmington’s Central Dispatch was contacted and dispatched a police officer to the scene. The officer remained until being relieved by an MBTA police officer. State Representative David Robertson was immediately contacted about this incident. Representative Robertson apprised State Senator Bruce Tarr of the situation and contacted Steven Poftak, MBTA General Manager. Representatives from Keolis, the company contracted by the MBTA to operate the commuter rail system, were on scene and restored proper operation of the grade crossing arms later that evening.
Reportedly the cause for the gate arms remaining in the extended position was due to pooling of water concentrated with road salt around the rail tracks. This circumstance apparently interfered with the electronics that control the gates which led to the gates reverting to a default safety mode of being extended across Glen Road.
Given the seriousness of the ongoing failures of safety features at rail crossings in Wilmington an emergency conference call was arranged for Saturday, March 5 which included Senator Tarr, Representative Robertson, Chair of the Board of Selectmen Lil Maselli and Selectmen Judy O’Connell who also serves as the Town’s representative to the MBTA Advisory Board and Town Manager Jeff Hull.
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. 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 will pursue an agreement that the MBTA will notify representatives from the Police Department or other designated officials when they are performing work of any nature on or along the 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. 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.
Jeff Hull
Wilmington Town Manager
