In the CIP meeting yesterday, it was mentioned that the total cost estimated for Newburyport electrification is over 800 million. The 10 million substation is all they could afford at this time. This must mean they are planning for EMUs.
No details right now, but I'd advise patience. It is currently described as "a project to complete 100% systemwide PS&E for MBTA’s PADIS (Public Address and Digital Info System) toward the replacement of all 500+ overhead orange dot-matrix LED screens in 96 stations, plus accompanying PA audio," which is scheduled for advertisement this month.
It doesn’t cost 33 million to design that. That is the professional service contract.
Correct, but what I was trying to say is that it'll take a while, and we have no clue if that design includes LCD screens - the design doesn't exist yet, and the T is some distance away from actually installing anything; Design-bid-build just takes time.
At about $15m per mile that's not completely unreasonable at least. Still more than double the NEC electrification costs though. Also, I would argue this is a good, arguably textbook place to do battery electrification, stringing catenary up to Beverly then running on battery to the branches. That would cut down the actual catenary costs by around two-thirds. At least then the higher cost per mile doesn't matter as much. (Although obviously rolling stock costs would increase somewhat.)
If the goal is :30 service on the branches, that's plenty much TPH to amortize the electrification costs. A substation nearish to the junction is enough to power both branches end-to-end, so you'd only need 2 subs (an inner one to power the terminal district and inside-128, and an outer one to cover Beverly-north). They were going to have to build multiple subs anyway under the BEMU plan because of the Revere-Somerville wires gap, so those costs are almost exactly the same. The rest is the tradeoff for more one-time OCS capital cost vs. less every-time vehicle procurement cost. I don't think the discrepancy ends up a large enough sum to not go for it.
It depends on the rolling stock costs, but it's actually probably not. Removing the cost of charging stations and the need to have trains wait at terminals for charging makes a huge impact for costs. Using that $15m per mile number, and assuming a future where we want 15 minute service on both branches, even with absurd Caltrain BEMU costs BEMUs work out cheaper at a distance of 11 miles. Both branches are longer than that, at around 17-18 miles. If we want to evaluate a future where there's continued service to Portsmouth or even Maine, yeah full electrification to Newburyport and beyond would probably make sense. But in terms of remotely possible transit projects, I'd rank that pretty far down the list.
Plus the tariffs tonight as well. Should we worried about the MBTA going broke for FY26 and then have more service cuts?,fit(1200,675),quality(65))
Republican Amendment Shifts Spending Bill Money From MBTA To Local Roads | WBZ NewsRadio 1030
The amendment would allocate $50 million to help communities work on their roadways. For more stories like this, ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio.wbznewsradio.iheart.com
Uhhhhhhh there are 25 GOP reps in the 160-seat MA House. This is a messaging bill.Republican Amendment Shifts Spending Bill Money From MBTA To Local Roads | WBZ NewsRadio 1030
The amendment would allocate $50 million to help communities work on their roadways. For more stories like this, ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio.
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I really just don’t get these politicians from podunk towns complaining about all the money going to the T. Don’t they understand that 99% of the money they get from the state for everything in their tiny town budgets comes from the economic engine that is Boston? Like fuck off, towns.Republican Amendment Shifts Spending Bill Money From MBTA To Local Roads | WBZ NewsRadio 1030
The amendment would allocate $50 million to help communities work on their roadways. For more stories like this, ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on #iHeartRadio.
Specific to chapter 90, I kinda get it - small towns are fairly reliant on that money to complete ever more expensive local road works, one of the most visible things a town DPW ever does. It historically has been annually level funded at 200M statewide since 2012. In 2025, it just doesn't go as far as it used to.
The politicians likely know, but they count on the ignorance of their uninformed constituents to allow them to take the easy route of blaming their problems on liberal, coastal elites, who were born elsewhere. It can be an effective technique if your goal is simply to be re-elected.
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