All Aboard at Salem State

By:  Noah Edmunds

For the last few years the City of Salem has contemplated adding a second commuter rail stop. Finally, this plan is being set into action with the train platform constructed right across the street from the Salem State Campus. Salem is the second busiest MBTA stop out of 145 statewide, second only to North Station in Boston, while the neighboring city of Beverly has five stops. It is about time that Salem added this stop, and what better place then Salem State University’s campus.

With a campus population of roughly ten thousand graduate and undergraduate students, 80% of which commute to the school, this new addition to the campus area is much needed. Adding onto an already present railway track, the cost of adding this stop is estimated to fall in the range of 20-25 million dollars, which President John Keenan is optimistic about. He thinks the funding will have to be partially from the school and partially from city organizations such as North Shore Medical Center, as well as the Driscoll Administration. However, Keenan is confident that it can be done.

Keenan says the time frame for the start of the project is roughly six months to a year and a half from the fall of 2018 to gain funding, and the full length of the project should be roughly 3-5 years from start to finish. While this project will most likely not be finished for the majority of current students to see before they graduate, Keenan is happy with the time frame.

“I don’t see a downside, whenever you’re looking at a project and you’re looking at the pros and cons, I don’t really see a con in this at all. The station is also great for local development, by providing affordable housing for people and a place where they can get readily available public transportation.”

Keenan, a native of Salem and former State Representative for a decade, knows what it takes to get a project like this started as well as what it takes to make progress in a timely manner. While it is only the beginning of Keenan’s second year at the helm here at Salem State, he is charging full speed ahead with the changes he wants to see. “No” is not a part of John Keenan’s vocabulary when it comes to moving the university forward.

Keenan says that adding to the already impressive enrollment rate is one of the top reasons that this station is such a priority for him and for the school. He claims that the campus is, and always will be, a commuter campus. Another big factor is affordability for students, as this train station would give more access to the campus for students that cannot afford a vehicle or other transportation. With the current Salem MBTA stop sitting almost two miles away from campus, it can make the walk to class tough, especially during New England’s winters.

While most current students won’t stay to see the finished station before they graduate, many agree that having the commuter rail stop on campus would be a big help in their transportation as many students come from surrounding communities.

With all of the work that is being done around campus in the last year since Keenan took the reigns, this is but another milestone he hopes to reach in his tenure as president.