Southborough…I dunno, it’s Southborough. Not much to say here.

The platform.

Southborough’s platform is a long low-level affair, with bike racks and shelters on both sides (featuring a bit of historical information) and benches and wastebaskets spread around. There are typical 90s-00s mini-high platforms at the western end of the station that offer a few more benches. The outbound platform has this weird abandoned field alongside it – there’s an exit that leads through it out to Southville Road.

Going down the ramp.

A Fairmount Line-style ramp (with a staircase alternative) leads down to River Street from the outbound platform, complete with a bench in the middle of it. The inbound side is only a staircase, while the accessible ramp route is via the parking lot. As for parking, Southborough contains 364 spaces.

A train leaving the station.

Station: Southborough

Ridership: This is the busiest of the infill stations added between Framingham and Worcester in 2000-2002, as well as the fifth-busiest station on the whole Worcester Line – it gets 1,051 inbound passengers per weekday.

Pros: The station is accessible and it has your basic Commuter Rail necessities. Cool.

Cons: Hmmm, there’s an abandoned field with no current purpose right next to this station whose parking lot fills up very early in the morning. It’s in a very undeveloped area that probably won’t see any big new buildings. How about building some more parking? Also, the mini-high platforms are the furthest they could possibly be from the station entrance, and since the ramps are the only way to cross the tracks, passengers could have to walk over half a mile to get to their cars coming home in the evening!

Nearby and Noteworthy: “Fitzgerald’s General Store.” That’s about it.

Final Verdict: 4/10
The station itself is okay, but I can’t get over some of its glaring problems. The walk from the outbound mini-high to the parking lot is borderline ridiculous, and I wish I could’ve properly timed it out when I was there. Also, the fact that the lot fills up really quickly shows the need for more spaces, which could be easily added in that field. Seriously, what the heck else is it doing just sitting there?

Latest MBTA News: Service Updates
Happy Thanksgiving! I have officially started the Downtown Crossing review. NO idea when it’ll be complete, but I’ve started it!