Question - Have any efforts been made to plan for an extension of South Coast Rail from Fall River to Newport, RI and safeguard the ROW that such an extension would require? I was able to find
an article explaining why the project would be a good idea, but the only official plan it cited was from the 90s. Obviously, the most expensive hurdle would be replacing the bridge. Hopefully, a federal grant could help with that. The station in Newport could get pricey if they go too fancy with it, but ideally you'd just keep it to a platform with some shelters. The rest of the project seems like it would be very straightforward track replacement. Maybe you'd need some crossing gates too.
Newport is comparable to Cape Cod as a summer destination. If the Cape Flyer is anything to go by, such a project would be a huge success. And unlike the Cape, Newport is a decently-sized city in its own right with a compact and walkable core. Year-round intercity service to Boston could therefore be compared to the Downeaster as well, which is one of Amtrak's most successful expansions of the past 20-30 years.
The tracks also end right at Newport's main bus station and one block away from the Block Island ferry dock, so the intermodal connections would be great. Finally, if Rhode Island passed something like IRAP, it could also support the reactivation of freight service to industries on Aquidneck Island.
All in all, seems like a mega-win if the bridge can be figured out!
On the political/policy side, I can see an argument that MA needs to finish SCR Phase II before anything can happen due to otherwise-uncompetitive trip times, but I think there is also an argument that a committment from RI to work on a Newport extension could come first and be part of the argument for actually doing Phase II - it would add riders and bring down the per-rider cost of the project. Planning for the bridge in particular can't come soon enough given my hunch that the timeline on that would be at least 5+ years.