I live in Framingham, and I’ve gone through Framingham station many times, for red sox games and other events. But, I’ve never reviewed it, but was recently inspired because of some changes that they made.

First off, the inbound side is nice. It is fully accessible, with a shelter covering all of the mini high platform. There is also another shelter closer to the Deluxe Depot Diner, which is a restaurant opened in an old station building.

On the outbound side, there is the same nice situation with the mini high, however the second shelter is all the way towards the crossing on Concord Street. This is because that shelter was utilized along with the old station building. Also, there used to be a fully accessible Banana Lot right there, but it was closed and a new, bigger parking lot was added for commuters on the outbound side.

As for the footbridge, the stairs were redone not too long ago. The stairs are nice and clean (for now), although the flat section wasn’t changed. I’m almost positive that the elevators still have that awful smell, however. There are also nice bike racks and drop off lanes for commuters who use alternate forms of transportation.

Of course, people forget that the Amtrak Lake Shore Limited stops here too. Amtrak runs a once daily route to Chicago that has a station stop here, but ridership on that has never compared to the massive amounts of ridership that the MBTA gets. The MBTA added more conductors and an extra car on Worcester line trains to reduce crowding.

Station: Framingham

Pros: It’s accessible, helps accommodate bikers, has solid shelters, a nice new outbound parking lot, a newly renovated bridge, and bunches of ridership!

Cons: I just wish the rest of the platform was as nice as the mini highs. People still board there too, especially during the morning rush. Some spots in the sidewalks are cracked, and if there was another way of crossing to go along with the footbridge, that would be nice too.

Final Verdict: 8/10
This is a very solid station that does its job well. While it’s clear that the MBTA had a good thought with the remodeled bridge and new parking lot, more can be done. They can increase the lighting in the mini highs, repave the sidewalks, and maybe add another bike rack. But those are small issues. All in all, this is a great station.