Has anyone heard any recent news on the possibility of there being a commuter train coming to Manchester? I know it has become a real political tool in local/state elections.
Study was released this Fall. Anybody's guess what's going to come of it given NH politics' wild mood swings, but right now momentum is highest it's ever been. What remains to be seen is whether they swing the full build to Manchester or the minimal build that just pokes to the state line as a City of Nashua 'go-it-alone' effort. Ball's entirely with the state on that one.
- City of Nashua has already purchased the Crown St. property for the downtown station, which it wants to develop into a multi-modal transit center. Will be built across from the freight yard on a turnout with full-high platform.
- They are still scouting properties in South Nashua near the state line. Original preferred site from several years ago was the demolished industrial property at the Spit Brook Rd. dead-end. Pheasant Lane Mall was initially reluctant to have it near their property, but since then has warmed up considerably to the idea...so other sites may be opening up downwind from Spit Brook. NHDOT and MassDOT are collaborating on completing the missing southbound leg of Exit 36, tied to the Exit 1 frontage road; don't know if construction fully funded, but it's final-designed. That may inform which of the 2 exits has the station entrance at the end. They want large parking capacity and a bus depot since this is the major catchment for the highway and area retail, and keeps the traffic away from the downtown walkup station. Full-high platform on turnout preferable because this stop will draw big crowds, but that depends on final site selection and how closely the site pinches along the river.
- Airport and downtown Manchester are the only other stops planned. Think Airport's going west of the river right underneath the connector road overpass where there's lots of parking room available. #2 site would be I-293 Exit 2, but that's much more constrained so definite non-preferred. Either way, takes a shuttle bus to get down the street because it doesn't get *quite* close enough to do a one-stop T.F. Green-like superstation.
- If I had to bet, Town of Merrimack is going to be screaming for an infill to plug the long gap between Nashua and the airport. They were initially omitted for the 1980 launch of Concord commuter rail...but made such an impassioned plea they got an infill stop barebones-paved and added within weeks. Chances are history repeats itself with them inserting selves into planning process or securing an I.O.U. for infill at first opportunity.
- Layover yard would be Manchester freight yard if it goes there, Nashua freight yard if either South Nashua or Downtown gets done on the minimal build. Nashua's a somewhat busy yard with onsite security and plenty of unused space to carve out. Manchester is virtually deserted with massive amounts of space, but would be more expensive to equip.
As for why they aren't doing Concord now: signal system ends in Manchester, track past Manchester is truly awful 10 MPH. They need to sit and digest Phase I first, because Manchester-Concord with just 2 stops in Hooksett + Concord will cost at least as much as state line to Manchester with 3 stops given how extensive the track rebuild has to be on the north end.
Since this so far is just NHDOT's study, there's been no reciprocal planning action from the T yet on what their infill stops would be.
- North Chelmsford was studied previously and would almost certainly go on the board if Nashua does. Walking distance to Vinal Square, behind 2 auto junkyards on Butterfield and Sleeper Streets. Adequate room for full-high + a passing track. Advantages of a somewhat dense square and existing LRTA buses serving the square. Chelmsford residents already slam the Lowell garage, so would be an immediate above-average performer as a station. Probably somewhere between Wilmington and West Medford on daily boardings. For revenue purposes I can't see them passing it up.
- UMass-Lowell may push hard for an infill at its pre-existing overpass. Might be tall order initially because lots of reconfiguration of the freight tracks needed before they can build it; needs a 2-track turnout + island platform with 2 freight passing tracks because of the big congestion on this stretch. However, that track work doesn't have to be done to full completion in order to get to Nashua in the first place. So UMass may need to wait a couple years longer for follow-on work. They can speed things up if the school chucks in a generous funding chunk.
- No need for a Tyngsboro stop. Sparsely populated where the ex-B&M stop used to be underneath the Tyngsboro Bridge, and increased LRTA service gets them to N. Chelmsford/Vinal Square or state line in a few minutes flat. I guess if demand exceeds all expectations they *could* be an infill candidate a dozen-plus years down the road, but I doubt it.
Construction costs in MA are very reasonable for a cash-strapped T. Some of it is offset by necessary freight upgrades that get paid out of the MassDOT mothership's coffers and a more diverse and readily available pot of Fed grants. Most of the cost is going to be NHDOT's bag, which is why maximum-to-Manchester or minimum-to-South Nashua is the dilemma. For the T:
- Track is Class 3, 60 MPH passenger between Lowell station and Nashua Yard. A very rough-riding 60 MPH, though, so a thorough resurfacing is badly needed. They'll want to make it >70 MPH consistent with the rest of the Wilmington-north Lowell Line.
- Signal system from Wilmington to Manchester is a 1979 install, up to modern spec and compatible with the northside's pending PTC installation. Probably needs some SGR work replacing end-of-life components, but overall much better shape than the more limited and rapidly failing south-of-Wilmington signals.
- If it's Manchester, all 6 miles of single-track territory from N. Chelmsford Jct. to the border will need to be doubled-up. If it's just Nashua, single with passing sidings and empty track berth graded for easy later drop-in is fully adequate.
- Only 1 public grade crossing in MA: Welleman Ave., Chelmsford. A few private crossings: Wotton St., Chelmsford (possible closure candidate); 2 gravel private driveways along 3A in Chelmsford; River Rd., Tyngsboro (driveway to cluster of houses), 1 farm tractor crossing, Tyngsboro. Should keep grade crossing renewal costs minimal.
- Freight junction around Lowell station is due to be thoroughly reconfigured to eliminate freight-on-passenger schedule conflicts. Designed, but waiting for other bigger freight-related projects statewide to finish up. Work will prepare dispatch for sending passenger trains past the Lowell platforms without running into an immediate freight traffic jam.
- The 3 miles of freight mainline from Lowell station west to North Chelmsford Junction will get a lot of work done on overhead and undergrade bridges + track rehab in approx. 5-7 years when they start improving clearances through downtown Lowell for double-stack heavyweight freights to Portland. Has to wait until the Priority #1 clearance project on the Patriot Corridor to Ayer completes in 3+ years; after that Ayer-Haverhill is MassDOT's next-highest ROI statewide freight priority. This will put sizeable down payment on track rehab and clear away 1/3 of the work to the border on mostly non-MBTA money. Most of the T expenses would be isolated to the 6 miles from N. Chelmsford Jct. to state line, and any station construction therein. Having an answer from NHDOT sooner on probability of passenger extension also helps their case a lot for the feds on getting freight grants to jump-start this work.
- Substantial increases in Lowell service available if they get to NH. Lowell is the only line on the system except for tiny Stoughton that doesn't have any layover yard. Very limited storage, and they have to waste a lot of empty trips back to Boston. You could easily even out the mid-afternoon headways to half-hourly with this; Lowell is one of the few lines that'll generate good demand on an off-peak. Layover-related service increases should result in substantial ridership increases at all the existing stops, so the extension pays back more handsomely in farebox recovery than nearly all others.
Basically, it's a light enough hit to the T's budget with enough low-hanging upside that if NHDOT is a-go they would probably greenlight it despite their debt situation. Will still be a few years because NHDOT is far from settled, but it's a project they can move quicker on than most others. If they played it right and got the freight money to pick up some of the tab, this could be done for a cut-rate $60-$85M depending on whether they have to add Massachusetts capacity for Manchester or just South Nashua.
