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

stick n move said:
Man thats weird. I can read the whole article, but if I click on the picture gallery it says I need a subscription. That sux cuz it has 18 pictures and theres been hardly any pics of this project going around.
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I am able to view the photos. You are not missing much as they look to be mostly older construction / progress shots over the last year.
 
I recently posted of a 30 day non-revenue simulated schedule to get the FRA sign off on the South Coast Rail project . That may be shortened to a much shorter time period.
 
dartmouth.theweektoday.com

The South Coast Rail will soon pull into the station

The ongoing South Coast Rail project, which was designed to reconnect the South Coast with Boston for the first time since the late 1950s, is on track to open sometime in the spring. The project, which began six years ago, includes a total of six...
dartmouth.theweektoday.com dartmouth.theweektoday.com
At the meeting Thursday evening, Fox said that while a start date for the new service hasn’t been decided, it will likely be discussed at a meeting on Monday, Feb. 10, as well as a discussion regarding a definitive schedule.

She added that service will “definitely” begin sometime in the spring.

“We are absolutely at the finish line,” she said.
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www.southcoasttoday.com

Trains are rolling into New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton. South Coast Rail start date set.

After decades of false promises, Sen. Mark Montigny confirms trains will start rolling into New Bedford, Fall River and Taunton starting in March.
www.southcoasttoday.com
South Coast Rail commuter service will begin on March 24, with a one-way ticket to Boston costing $12.25.

State Sen. Mark Montigny, D-New Bedford, said in a press release he was informed by MBTA officials today of the long-awaited start date for passenger service linking New Bedford, Fall River and Taunton to Boston via passenger rail for the first time since the late 1950s.
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I was looking through the 1995 proposal for SCR, with one of the alternatives being a short extension from Stoughton to North Easton (which would probably be Easton Village, under current plans). How feasible would this be as a new “Phase 2”, pushing the full build to “Phase 3”? Seems to me it would be better since they get service without having to worry as much about environmental concerns, and could be built without electrification (I’m assuming).
 
CheapLeak said:
I was looking through the 1995 proposal for SCR, with one of the alternatives being a short extension from Stoughton to North Easton (which would probably be Easton Village, under current plans). How feasible would this be as a new “Phase 2”, pushing the full build to “Phase 3”? Seems to me it would be better since they get service without having to worry as much about environmental concerns, and could be built without electrification (I’m assuming).
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Probably not very feasible, as the Easton ridership wasn't that high in the 2003 FEIR. North Easton was projected at 460 daily boardings, and Easton Village was only 150 daily boardings. This is compared to 917 daily boardings at Stoughton and 470 daily boardings at Canton Center in the 2018 counts. Plus there'd still be no layover yard if you went as far as Easton, so there'd be frequent deadheading runs from Readville to shift-change service for those not-a-lot of passengers. Given that Easton was generally hostile to the extension, I don't think this is something you can feasibly mount unless you can complete the whole connection to active track in Taunton.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Probably not very feasible, as the Easton ridership wasn't that high in the 2003 FEIR. North Easton was projected at 460 daily boardings, and Easton Village was only 150 daily boardings. This is compared to 917 daily boardings at Stoughton and 470 daily boardings at Canton Center in the 2018 counts. Plus there'd still be no layover yard if you went as far as Easton, so there'd be frequent deadheading runs from Readville to shift-change service for those not-a-lot of passengers. Given that Easton was generally hostile to the extension, I don't think this is something you can feasibly mount unless you can complete the whole connection to active track in Taunton.
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I’m surprised that Canton gets less than 500 people boarding.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
CJ does 1115 daily boardings.
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Including a not-insignificant number of sprinters--at least 2-to-3 a week, I estimate--who you'll see doing their best Usain Bolt impression (but in full work attire, with briefcase/satchel), frantically trying to surmount the station's pedestrian overpass in order to get onto the northbound side of the tracks and onto the train before the conductor signals departure... it's like watching a Tom Cruise action movie being filmed, I suppose. Some day, I'm going to start propositioning fellow passengers with odds on whether the sprinter makes it or not!
 
There was a so-called "FRA" Extra out of South Station this morning to New Bedford and return. Followed #011 to Middleboro. Made stops at Middleboro (new station), East
Taunton, Church Street/New Bedford and New Bedford. 1061 was leading along with a new Rotem Control Car. At least one of the MBTA OCS coaches (529) was in the consist.
Guess this was a final inspection/blessing trip for the FRA.
 
themissinglink said:
www.heraldnews.com

MBTA: Unique 'shuttle service' coming to Fall River and New Bedford. How will it work?

The MBTA said when South Coast Rail starts, Fall River and New Bedford commuters will have an extra 'shuttle service.' What is it, and how's it work?
www.heraldnews.com
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If the shuttles need a whole 10 minutes of buffer to time a connection, what exactly does that say about anticipated schedule adherence of SCR trains on the Old Colony? Egad. Name one first-world transit country that needs 10 whole minutes of fudge factor to do a simple cross-platform transfer.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
If the shuttles need a whole 10 minutes of buffer to time a connection, what exactly does that say about anticipated schedule adherence of SCR trains on the Old Colony? Egad. Name one first-world transit country that needs 10 whole minutes of fudge factor to do a simple cross-platform transfer.
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Does the system have timed, cross-platform transfers anywhere else? I'm not aware of any, and this is on top of just starting up basic service. The 10 minute buffer is too long, but there's no reason to believe that won't shorten once there's a better understanding of exactly how long the trips take in practice. Frankly, I'd rather the T err on the side of caution at the start of service and prove to the public that these transfers can be relied upon. If the transfers are consistently missed at the start of service, it could, at worst, prevent any future use of timed transfers throughout the system. At best, it would be just viewed as just another sign that the T can't be trusted to deliver on their promises.

I'll agree that a first-world transit agency should be better equipped to spin up a reliable cross-platform transfer with only a few minutes of buffer. But the T hasn't operated like a first-world transit agency in decades, if not generations. I'll take these baby steps over the status quo, which has been to not even try measures like this.
 
BeansTheCat said:
Does the system have timed, cross-platform transfers anywhere else?
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There are at least two. Two Providence Line trains stop at Forest Hills in the late evening for a transfer to a Forest Hills to Needham service. I'm not sure how long a buffer there is, and they are much closer to South Station. It may or may not be a comparable ops situation, but it does mean the MBTA has at least some experience with this.
 
BeansTheCat said:
Does the system have timed, cross-platform transfers anywhere else?
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It’s not truly cross-platform but the Franklin line has a timed transfer to the Providence at Readville to get to Back Bay/Ruggles on the weekends, and that is as short as 7 mins (and even requires some walking to get down to the Providence platform). So they definitely could get it shorter, but I agree that they’re probably being cautious for the new service - hopefully the next schedule will tighten that up.
 
Photo of the pedestrian bridge from this article:
www.nytimes.com

A Guide to Living in New Bedford, Mass.

The Whaling City, home to a diverse food scene, will soon have a new rail connection to Boston.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
newbedford.png
 
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