March Updates: Milton Station Staircase, Mattapan Line Projects

In light of the recent activity at Milton Station, below are updates regarding the MBTA’s work in Milton along the Mattapan Line.

Milton Station Staircase

The MBTA began demolition operations recently at Milton Station to remove the dilapidated Adams St staircase. Unfortunately, there will be no immediate restoration of pedestrian access from Adams St to the station platform. The stairs had been in disrepair and closed for several years and despite advocacy efforts from Milton’s state legislative delegation, the T failed to plan for this situation in 2019 and as a result, the designs nor an action plan for a new access point are ready for implementation. Design work by the T is and has been underway since last year to draw up the future iteration of Milton Station. More details below.

Mattapan Transformation Program

The T has made a commitment to restore the Adams St access point in the future. Over $100M has been committed and programmed for track upgrades and station overhauls for the entire Mattapan Line.

Rep. Driscoll expects the T to follow through on their commitment and will continue to hold them accountable and advocate for new multimodal access to the station that all can use. A new access point for Milton Station could include a new staircase, an elevator, or both. Residents will learn more as the T prepares several design renderings of what Milton Station might look like in the future. All of the stations are slated to be renovated with accessibility features and meet ADA standards.

Trolley Refurbishment Project

At present, there are two refurbished trolleys on the tracks and a third is expected to return to service in fall 2023. Rep. Driscoll will also continue to work with colleagues to ensure the trolley refurbishment project continues to move forward. The MBTA has spent more than $8M of the available $12M thus far. They have committed to refurbishing a total of 8 trolley cars as part of this project. The intent is to utilize the refurbished trolley cars until the Mattapan Line stations are renovated and current Green Line trolleys (Type-9 Trolley Vehicles) are able to be moved over to service the Mattapan Line full-time. At that point the classic trolley cars will be phased out of service.

Next Public Meeting

The next public meeting on Transformation Program and trolley refurbishment project is expected to take place in May 2023. Residents are encouraged to attend and participate.