Malden Center station is located on an embankment on the west side of downtown Malden. The Orange Line is on the west side of the station, with two tracks and an island platform. The Western Route, used by the Haverhill Line, has one track and a single side platform. The fare lobby is under the center of the platforms, with entrances from both sides of the tracks. A two-lane busway is located on the east side of the station, with a one-lane busway on the west side.
History
The Boston and Maine Railroad opened through Malden in July 1845. The first station was a two-story wooden depot on the east side of the tracks at Pleasant Street; it was replaced by a smaller station on the west side in 1871. In May 1891, the B&M began construction of a new station as part of a grade crossing elimination project. The new station opened in 1892. A new Malden station opened on December 27, 1975, as part of the MBTA's Haymarket North Extension of the Orange Line. Expansion to Malden had been a long-time goal of the Boston Elevated Railway, and the Everett extension of the Charlestown Elevated was originally planned to go past Everett and into Malden and Reading via Main Street. However, residents of Malden were opposed to the elevated railroad structure that was planned, and prevented the extension. The 1975 extension was built along the existing Haverhill Line embankment and was considered less disruptive than a separate, fully elevated railroad would have been. The former station closed simultaneously with the opening of the Orange Line station; the station building is now a restaurant. A high-level platform - the first on the MBTA system - was installed along the Reading Line track, but Reading Line trains did not stop. The platform opened for regular service on May 1, 1977. It was again closed on September 1, 1979 due to low usage. On January 20, 1984, a fire destroyed the approach trestle to the Charles River Bridge at North Station; Haverhill Line trains were run to Oak Grove. North Station reopened on April 20, 1985; the commuter platform at Oak Grove closed but the platform at Malden was reopened. The switch may have been made due to a request by John A. Brennan Jr., who was then constructing a large development near Malden Center station. The station was built with provisions for a future elevator. In 1989, the MBTA studied a possible accessible footbridge at the station, which would have cost $2.8 million and opened in 1991. The MBTA began a renovation of the station, then estimated to cost $6 million, in 2003. It was originally to be completed in 2003, but was substantially delayed by changes to building codes. Completed in 2005, the ultimately-$10 million project added a second exit stairwell and two elevators, making the station accessible. Because of its Orange Line connection, Malden Center can serve as a temporary inbound terminus for the Haverhill Line when commuter rail service is disrupted between Malden and Boston's North Station. It served this role in 2016 during reconstruction work on the Woods Memorial Bridge, which carries the Revere Beach Parkway over the rail lines and the Malden River. Oak Grove station is usually used during weekday disruptions, as it is closer to the double-track section of the line in Melrose.
Bus connections
Malden Center is a major bus transfer station, with 13 routes serving the station via its two busways.
