MBTA Commuter Rail (Operations, Keolis, & Short Term)

themissinglink said:
Seeing as how the Framingham/Worcester line triple track project between Weston and Framingham is slated to start construction in a few years, what is the likelihood of a future "phase 2" where the segment from Framingham to Worcester is triple tracked?
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It's not a super high priority on traffic management because that line segment isn't under nearly as much schedule stress as the middle third, but you'd have to tri-track at least through the intermediate stations if you ever wanted to have level-boarding platforms there. Too much high-and-wide freight traffic in/out of Framingham, so full-on passing solutions are a must. Thankfully the four of them are pre-built such that minor modifications (e.g. moving a platform back) can allow a center track to be dropped and the platforms raised, but since they're all ADA-compliant as-is the enhanced accessibility is a much lower-priority item than getting the system backlog of non-accessible stations tamed. It's a further future thing, but it's not far-fetched that the B&A layer cake of services will eventually get thick enough to force the issue.

Shorter-term they can probably do some good extending the tri-track project just a smidge to be inclusive of the Framingham platforms. Drop another track in the wye infield, turn the current outbound platform into an island, then raise all the platforms (high-and-wides can/do wye around to avoid the platforms, and the east wye has a spatial provision to be double-tracked in case Fitchburg Secondary CR implants another platform there on the turnout). Bust back down to double-track west of the yard. Everything including all future Amtrak stops @ Framingham, so it would do a lot for future traffic management to have it tripled with 3 platform tracks.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
However, it would be *fairly* weak on ridership because of the lack of any buses and spotty sidewalk coverage in the walkshed.
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I used to commute via N Billerica years ago and my impression was that most of the ridership was from people driving and parking at the station or being dropped off by car, and was not a particularly walkable area (though at least one bus did stop there). I have no data but sense that the $300+ monthly pass cost once you get that far out eliminates most people who heavily depend on walking or buses to get around. Not sure if the T collects data for how people arrive at the station?
 
aycaramba said:
I used to commute via N Billerica years ago and my impression was that most of the ridership was from people driving and parking at the station or being dropped off by car, and was not a particularly walkable area (though at least one bus did stop there). I have no data but sense that the $300+ monthly pass cost once you get that far out eliminates most people who heavily depend on walking or buses to get around. Not sure if the T collects data for how people arrive at the station?
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My wife used to commute in from North Billerica and would park there because it was fairly easy to access from 495. Eventually, due to scheduling and the lots filling up, she switched over to Anderson RTC.

But to your point, most of that ridership was people driving in with very little local pedestrian traffic.
 
themissinglink said:
How likely/feasible is an infill stop on the Fairmount Line at Grove Hall?
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One was considered there when they were studying the upgrades, so plenty easy. I don't remember exactly why they ruled against it, other than perhaps there was siting disagreement.

I would think, however, that the neighborhood is sick to death by now of this transit corridor being talked about as a future thing and just wants to see the trains being run at the advertised frequencies first. So it's probably not one you're ever going to be adding until full-on EMU'd :15 local Urban Rail frequencies at fully integrated subway-like fare are well-established through the existing stations. Then they'll talk.
 
Why are they going to Rochester, MA?

Also, will the Southcoast rail line be electrified?
 
mass88 said:
Why are they going to Rochester, MA?
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The T has a satellite maintenance facility out there for vendor outsource work. That's where they'll get initial shake-down static testing before they start doing any road tests, since Rotem field techs can easily set up camp to assist with the initial testing. Rochester is also conveniently near CSX Middleboro freight yard, so that'll inform the freight routing CSX takes from Baltimore to here.
 
F-Line is correct. The facility is jokingly referred to by local railfans as "Area 52". Located just south of the SEMASS Energy Plant in Rochester. They do warranty and acceptance testing. All returning F40's coming back from rebuild to go here first. In fact, the 1058 just arrived this morning in Middleboro off CSX. There was been ongoing warranty work with the HSP46's, Kawasaki's, etc. There is a slow locomotive overhaul program here too. Mainly the GP40MC's. The second unit is almost done. Area 52 also expanded a wee bit by adding two more tracks. The location is the former Harris Rebar site.
 
[Insert joke about "a schedule for ants"]

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In all seriousness, I know that ridership is lower still because of covid, but... it's still a two-month bustitution with (checks notes) less than two business days of notice. Part of me is always going to have a soft spot for the T, but it can be so hard sometimes.

On the upside, at least there are a few major projects that will be knocked out by this. Unfortunately, I don't think any will result in a visible improvement in the rider experience (except for the Gloucester Drawbridge); I wish the government would give more consideration to public sentiment. It's not unreasonable to expect the trains to, as Steve Jobs would say, "just work" -- if that isn't going to be the case, then it would be nice if there were some sort of "consolation". Alas.

Planned improvements include:
  • the replacement of the Commercial Street Bridge in Lynn;
  • the installation of Automatic Train Control signal upgrades as part of the Positive Train Control project along the entire line;
  • signal upgrades at North Station;
  • the re-opening of the Gloucester Drawbridge with a return to train service on May 23;
  • and additional track, rail, culvert, and improvement projects taking advantage of the available track outages.
 
In state government it is not unusual to get a slug of money that has to be spent by June 30, the end of the fiscal year. It is entirely possible that the T/Keolis found out about this pretty recently. Some other project likely had a schedule slip and their finance people probably said "what do you have that is shovel ready and you can finish by the end of the fiscal?".
 
Semass said:
In state government it is not unusual to get a slug of money that has to be spent by June 30, the end of the fiscal year. It is entirely possible that the T/Keolis found out about this pretty recently. Some other project likely had a schedule slip and their finance people probably said "what do you have that is shovel ready and you can finish by the end of the fiscal?".
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They also have a year-end deadline to get cab signals operational on the remaining northside lines, as they were given a 2-year grace period in the federal PTC mandate to finish up and 2022 is Year 2. The Rockport Branch is the most disruptive of the installs, because the legacy signal system is so ancient it has to be cleanroomed rather than upgraded in-place.
 
This is probably why the Blue Line work from Airport to Aquarium suddenly got indefinitely delayed. The T is telling people to use the Blue, Orange and Haverhill Lines as substitutes.
 
JeffDowntown said:
This is probably why the Blue Line work from Airport to Aquarium suddenly got indefinitely delayed. The T is telling people to use the Blue, Orange and Haverhill Lines as substitutes.
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Blue line is certainly a substitute for Lynn and Swampscott. The rest of the line less so, definitely two months of pain if you're commuting from Beverly or Salem (the bus will take twice as long).

Will point out that Salem is the busiest station on the commuter rail outside of Boston/Cambridge in Massachusetts while Beverly is the 2nd busiest.
 
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tysmith95 said:
Blue line is certainly a substitute for Lynn and Swampscott. The rest of the line less so, definitely two months of pain if you're commuting from Beverly or Salem (the bus will take twice as long).

Will point out that Salem is the busiest station on the commuter rail outside of Boston/Cambridge in Massachusetts while Beverly is the 2nd busiest.
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I agree that the T substitution suggestion was pretty lame, given the breadth of coverage of the Newburyport and Rockport lines.
 
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