Needham Heights

And here we are at the end of the Needham Line! Is there a big shiny terminus? Well, unfortunately not. There’s just Needham Heights.

The station’s shelter.

Firstly, this station does have official MBTA parking, with 100 spaces. It may not seem like much, but it’s more than enough for this local station. And at least this station has shelter, unlike the last one. Unfortunately, the only shelter is at the very southern end of the platform. And don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine shelter. It’s bland, for sure, but it’s clean and has a bench. There’s only one problem…

So…far…away…

The boarding area is in the Cave of the Winds! Seriously, you have to walk so far from the shelter to get to it. And there’s NOTHING on the platform between the two except for a solitary wastebasket and a sign reminding you to get on the train at the boarding area 50 million miles away. How about a bench? Just one bench! So you can wait for the train near the boarding area? Ever thought of that? Geez, Louise.

A train coming into the station.

Station: Needham Heights

Ridership: This is the busiest Needham Line station, with 1,104 riders per weekday. In fact, it’s the 14th busiest Commuter Rail station on the system! The majority of those passengers either walk here or are dropped off, because the parking lot can only hold a tenth of that ridership…

Pros: Well, it’s busy. And it has parking and a shelter. So…that’s nice.

Cons: Oh, you know, just the fact that the walk from the waiting area to the boarding area is insanely long! You could just walk back to Boston in the time it takes to get to that stupid boarding area! Well, okay, maybe not, but it’s still a long walk.

Nearby and Noteworthy: Yeah, there are definitely some businesses nearby, but nothing seems to be especially noteworthy.

Final Verdict: 4/10
Am I being harsh? Maybe I’m being harsh. I mean, this is a pretty barebones station to begin with – all it has is the shelter and the boarding area. So maybe the MBTA could make it less barebones by PUTTING A BENCH BETWEEN THE TWO. No, no, I’m not being harsh at all.

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