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Mishawum station is an indefinitely-closed MBTA Commuter Rail Lowell Line station located in the north part of Woburn, Massachusetts just north of the Route 128/I-95 beltway. The station has two serving the line's two tracks. Mishawum is a limited-service flag stop intended for reverse commuting to the adjacent office park, with no weekend service. With just 32 boardings on an average weekday in 2018, Mishawum was one of the least busy stations on the commuter rail system.
The Boston and Lowell Railroad opened in 1835, with a North Woburn station opened by midcentury. It was renamed Mishawum around 1885 when the Woburn Loop opened with its own North Woburn station. Served by only a handful of daily trains during the 20th century, the station closed around 1950. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which took over Boston commuter rail service in the 1960s, opened a park and ride station at Mishawum in 1984. A 1989–1991 renovation made the station accessible, and Logan Express bus service began in 1992. It was replaced by Anderson Regional Transportation Center in 2001 and service was reduced to three daily round trips; the station has not been accessible since around 2007. An adjacent office building opened as transit-oriented development around 2010, but a planned apartment complex was not built. The station has been closed since December 14, 2020, when reduced schedules were introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most local trains were rerouted over the new Woburn Loop. (1985). 9780685412947, Boston Street Railway Association. ISBN 9780685412947 Mishawum station was a flag stop served by just three northbound and five southbound trains by 1917. It was served by one northbound and three southbound trains in 1929; by that time, only a small wooden shelter was available for passengers. Service to Mishawum was further reduced to one trip in each direction by 1946, and the station was abandoned entirely by 1952.
By that time, a new station to serve Woburn was under development. In July 1978, the MBTA purchased an industrial site on the south side of Mishawum Road for a reported $560,000 for use as a park and ride station. Contamination from improperly dumped industrial waste was an issue at many sites in Woburn; 187 55-gallon drums of polyurethane resin were discovered at the station site during construction in 1979. The station appeared under several names on systems maps prior to opening: "Mishawum Park" in 1978, and "Mishawum Park-128" in 1980.
Mishawum station ultimately opened on September 24, 1984 – the first new station on the system since West Natick station, which opened in 1982. A 250-space parking lot on the west side of the station served Woburn residents and drivers from the Route 128/I-95 and I-93 expressways. By June 1985, the MBTA planned to add 500 additional spaces; this was soon scaled down to 250 additional spaces. The station was not originally accessible. With the pending passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the MBTA announced a $1.1 million renovation of the station on September 29, 1989. The project, which included mini-high platforms for accessibility and the 250-space parking lot expansion, was completed on May 17, 1991.
On November 16, 1992, Peter Pan Bus Lines began operating Logan Express bus service from Mishawum to Logan Airport via I-93 under contract to Massport, following the success of similar services running from Braintree and Shopper's World in Framingham. A waiting room and expanded parking lot were soon built for Logan Express passengers. The route was taken over by Paul Revere Transportation in November 1995. In September 1998, the MBTA introduced route 355 MBTA bus service, with two daily round trips between Mishawum and downtown Boston.
The MBTA originally intended to close Mishawum after Anderson RTC opened. However, Anderson RTC is further from the commercial and residential center of Woburn, and local officials and business owners desired to retain the stop. After pressure from local politicians, the MBTA agreed to keep Mishawum open as a limited-service reverse commute stop for workers who live in Boston. A bill in the state legislature to study reestablishing Mishawum as a full-time stop died in committee in 2002 and 2003.
During the 2004 Democratic National Convention held at the Fleet Center, commuter rail service was not operated into North Station due to security concerns about North Station's location under the arena. Lowell Line service operated only to , with bus service operated from several stations to downtown Boston The parking area at Mishawum was reopened for one week, with express buses (numbered as the normally unused route 53) running directly to South Station.
The Council approved a 210-apartment building and a 50,000 square foot office building with a below-ground garage in January 2007. Although local opinion favored a smaller residential building, 210 units was considered the minimum number to bring restoration of Mishawum as a full-time station into consideration. Environmental approval was granted two months later.
Construction of the office building also included a large ramp structure leading to the inbound platform to replace the old ramp. The office building, garage, and ramp were completed around 2010, but the apartment complex was delayed and ultimately never built. However, the outbound stairs and the south ends of the platform were never renovated and are closed off. The mini-high platform edges that were removed around 2007 to repair another station were not replaced, making the station no longer accessible. Bus route 355 was discontinued in July 2012 as part of general service cutbacks due to the MBTA's financial state, leaving Mishawum with no remaining bus connections. The abandoned Logan Express building was demolished in 2014 for the construction of a Dave and Busters, which opened in 2015.
With just 32 boardings on an average weekday in 2018, Mishawum is one of the least busy stations on the commuter rail system. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, weekday service to Mishawum consisted of three outbound trains during the morning rush hour and three inbound trains during the evening rush hour, with no weekend service. This was the same level of service the station had since 2001. Temporary reduced schedules based on existing Saturday schedules were in effect from March 16 to June 23, 2020. These schedules did not include Mishawum and five other limited-service stations not normally served on Saturdays. Temporary reduced schedules again went into effect on December 14, 2020, with Mishawum and four other stations not served.
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