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

Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

Arlington said:
Mystical/NIMBY objections to two tracks through wetlands (even though we know that Nature's problem with the rail is mostly based on length, not width, there is a acres-lost fetish) & political preference to take the same track-miles (plus more) and be able to draw a purple line all the way to the coasts for the map-optics
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Arlington: South Coast Rail is deader than the proverbial door nail

Charlie may not quite be the reincarnation of "Cap the Knife Weinberger" -- but he's not exactly exhilarated at the prospect of spending $500k per person user of the SCR -- the equivalent of a couple of Peter Pan Buses per day

On the other hand for a lot less -- Foxboro / Gillette offers the prospects of non-game day access to essentially unlimited CR parking

That's much more likely
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

South Coast Rail project chugs ahead, but uncertainty lingers

The South Coast Rail project is edging forward with new construction and design activity amid fresh concerns about whether the $2.3 billion plan will get the long-term funding it needs.

This April, contractors are set to begin a new round of improvements to area freight rail routes that will also help prepare them for future commuter rail service. The work involves building five new grade crossings and replacing four bridges, and it follows the state’s award of a 10-year, $220 million contract to an engineering consultant team last July to oversee the rail project, which would return passenger trains to the South Coast for the first time since 1958.

The consulting team’s target is to bring the project to the level of 15 percent design by June 30, according to Jean Fox, project manager of South Coast Rail for the state Department of Transportation.

In other activity, workers along the route have been making test borings since last fall, and the Department of Transportation has begun a series of community meetings.
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/re...nty-lingers/ADkLMUjx4Tpiz5SunquDPL/story.html
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

If any project is to get slow-walked as a sacrificial lamb to the "no expansion" crowd it should be this one. Cut it back to Taunton and call it a day. Revisit FR/NB after reform.
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

^Agreed, at this point... please just move on... give them an express bus and leave it alone.
Question is can the funds actually be diverted to other projects \ upgrades..
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

BussesAin'tTrains said:
If any project is to get slow-walked as a sacrificial lamb to the "no expansion" crowd it should be this one. Cut it back to Taunton and call it a day. Revisit FR/NB after reform.
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That's what I was thinking. But can they still throw NB and FR a bone by giving them shuttles to the Taunton station? Then, would there be a process they have to go through to get the money repurposed towards other MBTA projects?
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

bolehboleh said:
That's what I was thinking. But can they still throw NB and FR a bone by giving them shuttles to the Taunton station?
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Sure, but make it part of a local RTA.
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

I understand that most of the cost of building (not operating) the project is simply getting to Taunton. The tracks to NB and FR are currently in-use freight tracks.
 
Re: Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail

Back a few years ago when I was working on SCR I thought Taunton would make a much better terminus. With the recent delays and cancellations, who would want to rely on a train with poor headways taking you hours away from your house to get to work? I'm all for greater opportunities for Fall River and New Bedford, but why does that mean shuttling people miles and miles away to Boston?

The Stoughton branch is a stub. Just two stops off the mainline. Taunton is a mid-size City close enough to Boston that commuting makes sense. I feel like it would help balance the Stoughton and Providence lines.
 
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

I have long been a proponent of this project though the current plan is not my ideal. But I don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Unfortunately I think the current attention being given to the MBTA this winter over it's mismanagement and financial troubles will put the brakes on this project as it is currently being pursued.
 
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
 
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