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

I couldn't find this on here - but from what I read on this - Middleborough/Lakeville will remain open for seasonal CapeFLYER service - is this still the case? I suppose it's a win win to keep this if the ridership is there from M/L on the slow trudge to Hyannis...

Something I think I look forward to most with the SCR - I know there's been a lot of dislike - but I'm extracting a positive - is the close walking connection to ferry services to Nantucket and MV. This would be a more reliable and efficient one-seat ride to the Islands from Boston than CapeFLYER, and avoiding traffic car or bus will hit.

Amongst this line's issues, such as going thru ML Line, kind of a needless Freetown station, the long trip, cost for commuters, the $10 round-trip to NB to explore and maybe even transfer to a ferry is a big PRO!
 
AndrewOnTheMBTA said:
the $10 round-trip to NB to explore and maybe even transfer to a ferry is a big PRO!
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I really think Jon Mitchell would be stupid not to start some tourism advertising in Boston once the SCR service begins. Images of the Whaling Museum, Cisco/the Black Whale, hiking on trails in the area, that fancy hotel downtown.

Obviously it'll be a stretch to a lot of people, but I could see New Bedford becoming a local destination in 15/20 years.
 
thepixelnation said:
I really think Jon Mitchell would be stupid not to start some tourism advertising in Boston once the SCR service begins. Images of the Whaling Museum, Cisco/the Black Whale, hiking on trails in the area, that fancy hotel downtown.

Obviously it'll be a stretch to a lot of people, but I could see New Bedford becoming a local destination in 15/20 years.
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One of my favorite things over the years has been taking people to New Bedford for the first time. Lots of people think of the "gateway cities" as rundown old mill towns. There's certainly some of that in New Bedford, but the downtown area, waterfront, and Rodney French area look nothing like what the stereotype is. My now-wife (who is from VT) spent weeks on Zillow looking at houses in/around the downtown area after we went together for the first time. A coworker had her art displayed in a gallery downtown, and we organized a work outing to go see it and follow up with dinner/drinks. Everyone loved it and talked about having to go back. I've even heard conversations on the ferry about how surprised they were by the city.

But the image fades quickly once you get outside of the downtown area or away from the water. The city needs to change that.

But I agree - there's an opportunity to capitalize on the rail connection. It's one of a handful of places where I think that $10 weekend pass can be put to good use for people traveling from Boston. Lots to see/do a short distance from the train.
 
Lrfox said:
But the image fades quickly once you get outside of the downtown area or away from the water. The city needs to change that.
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And there are so many things to do away from downtown/the water! The best Portuguese/Cape Verdean food you'll ever have, some of the kindest and most genuine Bay Staters, a lot of hidden gems.

I just can't recommend people to walk there in good faith.
 
#bancars said:
newbedfordlight.org

MBTA is testing safety of South Coast Rail — here’s why it takes so long - The New Bedford Light

The basic infrastructure of the project has been complete for months — tracks are laid, stations are built. But trains can’t carry passengers until an extensive series of safety tests are complete.
newbedfordlight.org newbedfordlight.org
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Good article. So basically covering all the bases when it comes to safety. I read an article a couple months ago that the outreach has been to the extent of running the trains for a year just to get it into peoples' heads that a train is running through their neigborhood! I bet the thinking is for every one person who knows about the project, either for or against, there are probably 100 people that are oblivious that this new rail line is constructed!
 
For those looking forward to phase II for South Coast Rail, you might want to ignore the rest of this post.

Rep. William M. Straus, co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation, is retiring following completion of his current term. He was/still is a strong advocate for the construction of SCR phase I. Fair use quotes from The New Bedford Light August 27th:

"...Straus credited former Gov. Charlie Baker for his leadership on South Coast Rail. For years, officials had been weighing and studying two routes: a more direct path connecting to the Stoughton line that cut through the environmentally-protected Hockomock Swamp, or a slower and cheaper path that connected to the Middleborough line.

"In 2017, Baker greenlit the Middleborough route as “Phase I” of the project — the route now scheduled to open next year. The MBTA’s plan includes construction of the Stoughton route as “Phase II” in the 2030s, which could cut New Bedford-to-Boston travel times from Phase I’s 90 minutes to about 79 minutes.

"But Straus called Phase II a “fantasy.” That’s because the environmental permits it will need to cut through the Hockomock Swamp require the state to consider alternatives. An existing route via Middleborough would check that box, Straus said, making it unlikely the state will be able to obtain the permits."
 
newbedfordlight.org

What’s that big arch over Rt. 18? - The New Bedford Light

The arch is part of a new bridge connecting Purchase Street to the unopened MBTA station. It’s designed to support thin cables that hold up the walkway. But the design also adds some visual drama that turns the bridge into a local landmark, said the bridge’s architect.
newbedfordlight.org newbedfordlight.org
 
fallriverreporter.com

MBTA provides new details on Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton South Coast Rail Service

The following details were released by the MBTA regarding SouthCoast Rail service in Fall River and New Bedford: “Initially, 26 trips were expected to be part of revenue service daily for the Fall River and New Bedford lines. The team has since increased total weekday trips between South Station...
fallriverreporter.com
Initially, 26 trips were expected to be part of revenue service daily for the Fall River and New Bedford lines. The team has since increased total weekday trips between South Station and East Taunton to 32. This includes 15 trips on the Fall River line (increased from 13) and 17 trips on the New Bedford Line (increased from 13). There will be a total of 26 trips between South Station and East Taunton on the weekends. The project team expects 70 minutes between trains on weekdays and 120 minutes between trains on the weekends.

Late night service will be offered to South Coast Rail stations with the last train leaving Boston just before midnight. In addition to direct service, there will also be shuttles operating between each terminus point and East Taunton Station. This allows for even more frequent service, which is consistent with the All Day Service model across the rest of the Commuter Rail network.
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Sounds to me like Middleboro - South Station will then be seeing 35min headways on weekdays and 60min headways on weekends
 
Koopzilla24 said:
Sounds to me like Middleboro - South Station will then be seeing 35min headways on weekdays and 60min headways on weekends
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The trunk through Brockton seem to be getting Fairmount Line frequencies, which is quite surprising. I was only expecting the split branches to only get 13 weekday trips and 8 weekend trips (26 weekday and 16 weekend trips in the trunk) at most, which is what our worst commuter rail lines see today (only Stoughton and Foxboro are worse).

Fairmount Line has 34 trips on weekdays and 26 trips on weekends, with an average headway of 37 minutes weekdays and 49 minutes on weekends.
 
themissinglink said:
fallriverreporter.com

MBTA provides new details on Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton South Coast Rail Service

The following details were released by the MBTA regarding SouthCoast Rail service in Fall River and New Bedford: “Initially, 26 trips were expected to be part of revenue service daily for the Fall River and New Bedford lines. The team has since increased total weekday trips between South Station...
fallriverreporter.com
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Where are these additional trains coming from? Are they squeezing even more out of the Quincy track, or are Greenbush/Kingston just getting absolutely shafted?
 
TheRatmeister said:
Where are these additional trains coming from? Are they squeezing even more out of the Quincy track, or are Greenbush/Kingston just getting absolutely shafted?
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Or a third in-between option, are the late night trains that terminate at Braintree and a new focus on raising line speeds on the Red Line a sign of things to come?
 
TheRatmeister said:
Where are these additional trains coming from? Are they squeezing even more out of the Quincy track, or are Greenbush/Kingston just getting absolutely shafted?
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In 2019, 3 Greenbush trains, 4 Kingston trains, and 3 Middleborough trains all arrived at South Station between 7:15am and 9:35am. Only 4 trains departed South Station in the outbound direction in the same timeframe.

That's 14 trains on the OC mainline between 7:15 am and 9:35 am during the 2019 AM peak.

As of Summer 2024, there are only 4 inbound or outbound Greenbush trains, 4 in or out Kingston trains, and 4 Middleborough trains heading inbound or outbound from South Station between 7:15 am and 9:35 am.

That's a total of 12 trains in both directions on the OC mainline in 140 minutes, 2 fewer trains than in 2019.
 
themissinglink said:
fallriverreporter.com

MBTA provides new details on Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton South Coast Rail Service

The following details were released by the MBTA regarding SouthCoast Rail service in Fall River and New Bedford: “Initially, 26 trips were expected to be part of revenue service daily for the Fall River and New Bedford lines. The team has since increased total weekday trips between South Station...
fallriverreporter.com
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To clarify: Are the East Taunton short-turns operating all day or just during late night hours? The fact that both ideas (late night and East Taunton) are mashed together in the second paragraph doesn't help with the clarity.
 
Teban54 said:
To clarify: Are the East Taunton short-turns operating all day or just during late night hours? The fact that both ideas (late night and East Taunton) are mashed together in the second paragraph doesn't help with the clarity.
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It reads to me like the East Taunton short turns are going to be midday in the off peak direction like how the Fitchburg short turns at Littleton every other hour. The "This allows for even more frequent service, which is consistent with the All Day Service model across the rest of the Commuter Rail network," line is what suggests that to me. Maybe that's how the increase from 26->32 trips through Middleboro is achieved. If they're still 13/13 direct to the Termini but 2/4 additional shuttles from East Taunton
 
Delvin4519 said:
In 2019, 3 Greenbush trains, 4 Kingston trains, and 3 Middleborough trains all arrived at South Station between 7:15am and 9:35am. Only 4 trains departed South Station in the outbound direction in the same timeframe.

That's 14 trains on the OC mainline between 7:15 am and 9:35 am during the 2019 AM peak.

As of Summer 2024, there are only 4 inbound or outbound Greenbush trains, 4 in or out Kingston trains, and 4 Middleborough trains heading inbound or outbound from South Station between 7:15 am and 9:35 am.

That's a total of 12 trains in both directions on the OC mainline in 140 minutes, 2 fewer trains than in 2019.
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But if Middleborough service doubles, which I think is a reasonable assumption since currently there are 14 daily round trips and the number given for SCR was 32 in total, then that would suggest at least 4 new trains on the OC mainline during the peak, 2 more than 2019. So I'll ask again, where are the extra trains coming from? Is the OC mainline going to be busier, or will Kingston not have any outbound trains until 9:30 and Greenbush no outbound trains between 6:25 and 9:12? (Or some other equally drastic cut)
 
I believe the numbers they are giving are for both directions - so it's really just 14 round trips going to 16.
 
The EGE said:
I believe the numbers they are giving are for both directions - so it's really just 14 round trips going to 16.
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The press release states "The project team expects 70 minutes between trains on weekdays."

Assuming that relates to the terminals and not just East Taunton which would be really weird, 8 round trips on each branch is not enough to cover that. In fact it's about half of what's needed.
 
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