Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail (South Coast Rail)

Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

BussesAin'tTrains said:
Sure, but make it part of a local RTA.
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Well, that would require SRTA encroaching on GATRA territory or vice versa. It's much easier said than done. There are stipulations in both agency's contracts that specifically prohibit that sort of thing. It's probably much easier for the MBTA to run the service than it is to get SRTA and GATRA to work together.
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

New Haven CT is also becoming quite the train hub for access to NYC for places that don't quite rate single-seat rides.

If cities as big as Springfield and Hartford, and all of the CT River Valley can "make do" with trains that require a change at New Haven, maybe that's a better "economic access" point for FR & NB (via PVD).

Commuter Rail makes sense as far as Taunton. If you're actually commuting to work, you want frequent service and moderate travel times, for which Taunton is ideal. {EDIT but even at that, I'd rather put any "Taunton $" into double tracking more of the Middleboro line and giving it lots of frequency, and adding tracks to the NEC, if necessary, to support higher frequencies at Mansfield and Attleboro}

Meanwhile the exurban "super commuter" / "working from my beach house" kind of traveler (who goes to the "big city" once a week for "face time" / consulting) would make a lot of sense as a NHV-PVD-South Coast Amtrak market. And trains can do a good job out-competing I-95 in this market--and it involves upgrading an existing mostly-MassDOT-owned (mixed with CSX) lines of the Attleboro Secondary.

There's just never a moment where you say the winner from a mobility/dollar is a single tracked, low-frequency, service through a contentious NIMBY-and-wetland area.

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Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

Jean Fox, MassDOT’s South Coast Rail project manager, responded positively to Bennett, a member of a group that contends the Hockomock Swamp would be damaged by the rail line and who has vowed there will be environmental lawsuits if it goes forward.

“We’re forging ahead,” Fox said. “There is nothing saying to us right now, ‘Put on your brakes and stop.’ We’ve got our funding in place and we’re advancing with design.

“Right now, we haven’t been given any other direction and we’re moving ahead,” she later added.

Fox said a gauge of the feasibility of rail expansions could come in late March, when initial recommendations are expected from the MBTA advisory panel recently appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker.
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http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20150301/NEWS/150309943/-1/RSS777
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

Alright, how long until the casino lobby starts pitching for South Coast rail.

New Bedford reaches deal with developer of Foxwoods casino

BOSTON (AP) — Developers vying for Massachusetts’ final resort casino license have been granted another reprieve.

The state Gaming Commission Thursday gave developers in New Bedford and Somerset until May 4 to secure financial commitments and other requirements. The deadline had been Monday of this week.

The 3-2 vote came after New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell and developers of a proposed $650 million waterfront casino announced an 11th hour deal on a host community agreement.

The deal with New York-based KG Urban Enterprises calls for a $4.5 million upfront payment to the city, followed by $12.5 million in annual payments once the casino opens.
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http://wpri.com/2015/03/19/new-bedford-reaches-deal-with-developer-of-foxwoods-casino/
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

Arlington said:
Unfortunately, the good is the enemy of $2b.
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This. Total route length is about 80 km, and cost is now up to $2.3 billion, about $30 million per km. This means that the MBTA is spending about the same amount of money on a slow diesel line that most European countries would spend on greenfield 300 km/h double-track high-speed rail.
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

Alon said:
This. Total route length is about 80 km, and cost is now up to $2.3 billion, about $30 million per km. This means that the MBTA is spending about the same amount of money on a slow diesel line that most European countries would spend on greenfield 300 km/h double-track high-speed rail.
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Welcome, Alon. Your perspective on value-for-money (and lots of other stuff) are a great contribution here.
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

MBTA commuter rail work smooths out bump on Dean Street

TAUNTON — By the time vehicular traffic returns to Dean Street before the end of the weekend, a familiar and annoying railroad-track bump near Arlington Street will be gone.

It’s anyone’s guess when MBTA commuter rail finally will connect Boston’s South Station to Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford.

But as elusive as that ambitious project seems, it already is proving beneficial to drivers heading in and out of the city via Dean Street and Route 44.
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This is one of the five grade crossing reconstructions being undertaken for the SCR fright track to be considered state-of-good-repair:

Grade Crossing Construction

The Grade Crossing Construction project will upgrade five crossings along the future South Coast Rail corridor. The locations span three communities – Freetown, Taunton and New Bedford.
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Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

bigeman312 said:
MBTA commuter rail work smooths out bump on Dean Street



This is one of the five grade crossing reconstructions being undertaken for the SCR fright track to be considered state-of-good-repair:

Grade Crossing Construction
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I hope that the bone-headed Deval / Dukakis-ian idea of the New Bedford / Fall River Line is put on hold for the next few decades

If somebody can make a good case for any expansion in that direction:
  • build a big parking lot in Taunton near to Rt-24 with a nice place for buses and a weather-protected waiting space
  • fix up the link to Attleboro and have from Fall River and New Bedford to park
  • then let it mature for a decade or so and see if the demand is there to go further
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

^ with you on this one Westie...
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

whighlander said:
I hope that the bone-headed Deval / Dukakis-ian idea of the New Bedford / Fall River Line is put on hold for the next few decades
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While I'm certain Dukakis probably would have supported it, had it come up during his term, the planning began in earnest during his successor's term and further supported by Gov. Weld's successor, Governor Cellucci and then by his successor, Lt. Gov. Swift, and then by her successor, Gov. Romney, and then on to Gov. Patrick.
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

Roxxma said:
While I'm certain Dukakis probably would have supported it, had it come up during his term, the planning began in earnest during his successor's term and further supported by Gov. Weld's successor, Governor Cellucci and then by his successor, Lt. Gov. Swift, and then by her successor, Gov. Romney, and then on to Gov. Patrick.
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Roxxma -- the reference to M. Stanley D was of course a gratuitous excess

However -- it doesn't really matter whether the MDuk was involved or not -- the idea of building a multi $B train to carry about 2 bus loads of people per day -- was and remains Pure Duk in terms of its egregious abuse of the public treasure

Analogous to his support as the Amtrak Tzar-wanna-be to have the public pay for the huge losses incurred by the trains carrying the itinerant troubadours and Jack Kerouac pretenders across the empty western stretches
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

CSTH said:
^ with you on this one Westie...
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CSTH -- Thanks for the support -- we need to make sure that reality intrudes into these discussions from time to time
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

whighlander said:
CSTH -- Thanks for the support -- we need to make sure that reality intrudes into these discussions from time to time
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Are you just dense or deliberately playing the "I'm not touching you" game. Of all the threads, you post that line here that you are the voice of reason. The thread that multiple posters have chimed how much as waste of money and how much we would celebrate to see SCR die, you chime in this thread - that basically you and and everyone here are in agreement - but you imply the opposite.

The condescension annoys, but when you're condescending in the one thread you might not run into a ton of opposition, it's infuriating.
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

ant8904 said:
Are you just dense or deliberately playing the "I'm not touching you" game. Of all the threads, you post that line here that you are the voice of reason. The thread that multiple posters have chimed how much as waste of money and how much we would celebrate to see SCR die, you chime in this thread - that basically you and and everyone here are in agreement - but you imply the opposite.

The condescension annoys, but when you're condescending in the one thread you might not run into a ton of opposition, it's infuriating.
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This X infinity
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

Now back to the slobbering love affair with all thing's EMU/DMU, GLXcess and
Urbane Rings

D
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

Now back to the slobbering love affair with all thing's EMU/DMU, GLXcess
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Yeah, what's up with everyone being so into the most cost effective upgrades we could make to the T? What a bunch of idiots!
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

underground said:
Yeah, what's up with everyone being so into the most cost effective upgrades we could make to the T? What a bunch of idiots!
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Supplementing moderately-patronized bus routes with a $2b light rail line?
 
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