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

If Forge Park/495 ever gets reconstructed for full length high level platforms someday in the future, would the station likely retain its current one track, two platform setup? Or would Forge Park ever need a two track, two platform setup? (particularly in the case of a future extension to Milford, the additional station track would be in lieu of passing sidings)
 
If Forge Park/495 ever gets reconstructed for full length high level platforms someday in the future, would the station likely retain its current one track, two platform setup? Or would Forge Park ever need a two track, two platform setup? (particularly in the case of a future extension to Milford, the additional station track would be in lieu of passing sidings)
No idea, because the completed Milford extension study never ended up being published. So we have no idea what track layout the branch would've had, and where the passing sidings would've gone.

As is, it's unlikely that FP would need 2 tracks if :30 Regional Rail came to the Franklin Line, being the terminal stop. Probably wouldn't need it on all--only some--of the Milford and/or Woonsocket extension stops either. Franklin/Dean is a much easier mod for a second platform since it used to have one back in the day, and probably as far as contiguous double-track would ever go. Past there it would be a mixture of single w/passing sidings.
 
No idea, because the completed Milford extension study never ended up being published. So we have no idea what track layout the branch would've had, and where the passing sidings would've gone.

As is, it's unlikely that FP would need 2 tracks if :30 Regional Rail came to the Franklin Line, being the terminal stop. Probably wouldn't need it on all--only some--of the Milford and/or Woonsocket extension stops either. Franklin/Dean is a much easier mod for a second platform since it used to have one back in the day, and probably as far as contiguous double-track would ever go. Past there it would be a mixture of single w/passing sidings.

Good news: it was recently scanned. The extension would have been all single track, with a 2,000 foot passing siding on the mainline (or 6.5 miles of double track if express service was desired). No modification to Forge Park station was discussed.
 
Good news: it was recently scanned. The extension would have been all single track, with a 2,000 foot passing siding on the mainline (or 6.5 miles of double track if express service was desired). No modification to Forge Park station was discussed.

Thank you for the link!

Wasn't there another study completed around 2009/2010? I thought that was the one F-Line was referring to, but I could very well be wrong.
 
Thank you for the link!

Wasn't there another study completed around 2009/2010? I thought that was the one F-Line was referring to, but I could very well be wrong.
Yeah...about a decade ago. That was the one that was supposed to benchmark Milford vs. Hopedale termini. It was supposedly completed, but was never published.


EDIT: it was an MPO study for 2011.
 
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Apologies if this has already been posted somewhere else, but I couldn't find it.

Last week, the MA State Senate passed amendments to Senate Bill 2819, which "requires the MBTA to begin the process of electrifying the Commuter Rail network". The amendments were authored by Senator Brendan Crighton, who, when trying to find if this had already been posted, I found has also previously pushed for a feasibility study for BLX to Lynn.

TransitMatters press release about it here.
 
Apologies if this has already been posted somewhere else, but I couldn't find it.

Last week, the MA State Senate passed amendments to Senate Bill 2819, which "requires the MBTA to begin the process of electrifying the Commuter Rail network". The amendments were authored by Senator Brendan Crighton, who, when trying to find if this had already been posted, I found has also previously pushed for a feasibility study for BLX to Lynn.

TransitMatters press release about it here.
Alon Levy wrote about it on the 12th, so it got some traction in the transpo blogosphere before the vote. Although at that time Levy was taking Sen. Will Brownsberger to-task for foot-dragging. Amusingly, Brownsberger himself showed up in the comments section of that piece.
 
If the MBTA was serious about electrification, realistically how long would it take for them to run electric service on the Providence Line?

Aside from acquiring rolling stock (which obviously takes a long time) what else is left to do before Providence can go electric? Is it just the passing sidings at stations which lack wires? Or does the OCS need more intensive and expensive upgrades?
 
If the MBTA was serious about electrification, realistically how long would it take for them to run electric service on the Providence Line?

Aside from acquiring rolling stock (which obviously takes a long time) what else is left to do before Providence can go electric? Is it just the passing sidings at stations which lack wires? Or does the OCS need more intensive and expensive upgrades?
Sharon substation was only built with enough capacity to handle Amtrak's power loads, so that would have to be expanded commensurate with T service levels on Providence, Fairmount, and in the terminal district. As you can see from the Google Satellite view, the sub's space is nearly empty so is pre-designed for generous expansion. They'd also have to wire up Pawtucket layover. And one of the platform tracks at Attleboro Station may still be unwired (though I think there's already an ongoing item for backfilling that one simply for sake of Amtrak track-switching flex). That's requirements just for the base Providence schedule. If they want the T.F. Green + Wickford Jct. runs to be electrified as well, there's additional construction work (such as a freight gauntlet on the T.F. Green platform track so the P&W autoracks can clear 'between' wires) that would have to be programmed RIDOT's way.

It's accomplishable in about the same 5 years it would take for procurement of new EMU's if they coordinate things diligently. These aren't huge construction projects, but they do take a fair amount of coordination between T and Amtrak since it's an AMTK-owned power system. It would have to be a fairly regimented process to get done...rolling stock procurement and CIP items for the electrification hardware work. Which also probably entails getting Fairmount wadded into the package, and roping in the ongoing design work for a Readville vehicle maint facility so their EMU servicing facility is part of the package (since Amtrak is not going to be in any mood for sharing precious Southampton Yard space with T electrics).
 
Three midday round trips on the Worcester Line are being temporarily cut effective May 2 to allow for Natick Center and Worcester construction. The new schedule essentially puts the line on 2-hour headways from 9am to 4pm.

It's very frustrating to look at the schedule and see how much faster it could be. Why are inbound trains scheduled for 10 minutes from Ashland to Framingham, a distance of just 3.7 miles, when outbound trains are scheduled for 6 minutes? Why is there 7 minutes of padding between Grafton and Worcester for outbound trains?
 
It's very frustrating to look at the schedule and see how much faster it could be. Why are inbound trains scheduled for 10 minutes from Ashland to Framingham, a distance of just 3.7 miles, when outbound trains are scheduled for 6 minutes? Why is there 7 minutes of padding between Grafton and Worcester for outbound trains?

I've felt the same way about travel times on the Worcester Line for a long time. I've always wondered why the MBTA doesn't pursue speed improvements, they would be beneficial to both the Framingham/Worcester Line and the Lake Shore Limited. I know some improvements between Boston and Worcester have been proposed in some of the East-West rail alternatives, but I feel like it would be worthwhile for at least modest speed improvements sooner rather than later.
 
I've felt the same way about travel times on the Worcester Line for a long time. I've always wondered why the MBTA doesn't pursue speed improvements, they would be beneficial to both the Framingham/Worcester Line and the Lake Shore Limited. I know some improvements between Boston and Worcester have been proposed in some of the East-West rail alternatives, but I feel like it would be worthwhile for at least modest speed improvements sooner rather than later.

The Worcester third track project from I-95 to Framingham will include a decent amount of speed improvements, some sections designed for 90 mph- not sure if anything is planned for beyond Framingham though.
 
The Worcester third track project from I-95 to Framingham will include a decent amount of speed improvements, some sections designed for 90 mph- not sure if anything is planned for beyond Framingham though.
There are no plans to raise the speed limit of any part of the Worcester Line to 90 MPH. That requires a large expenditure for uprating the track maintenance class from Class 4 (79 MPH) to Class 5 (90 MPH), with all associated costs for updating the signal system. It wouldn't make nearly enough difference to nearly enough trains in an area as relatively small as the Wellesley-Framingham stretch to end up paying off, so it's not being planned right now.

There may be some curve mods with the tri-tracking that *might* help enable future uprates of track class that an East-West full-build project can choose to pay for, but that's it. The speedups practically possible for commuter rail are largely the stuff EGE describes: a trimming of padding fat from better dispatching and better station dwells with full-high platforms, rather than anything track physical plant -related.
 
It's very frustrating to look at the schedule and see how much faster it could be. Why are inbound trains scheduled for 10 minutes from Ashland to Framingham, a distance of just 3.7 miles, when outbound trains are scheduled for 6 minutes? Why is there 7 minutes of padding between Grafton and Worcester for outbound trains?

OTP (was) pretty bad on the Worcester Line... you kind of need the padding to not make it not look as bad.
 
New commuter rail schedules released, with notable updates:
Only other things I saw in a quick review were adjustments to inbound midday Lowell departure times ( :12 > :15 ), a one-minute travel time reduction on inbound (but not outbound) Haverhill trains, adjustment to one morning outbound Greenbush train, and the return of two mid-day Littleton short-turns.
 
Return of Heart-to-Hub, with intermediate stop at Framingham, departing Worcester at 6:30am and arriving at South Station shortly after 7:30am, and departing South Station in the afternoon shortly before 5pm -- not a perfect schedule, but definitely not bad at all

That's actually really good. Stopping at Framingham works too because it would soak up the local ridership and give people a reason to go there versus trying their luck with West Natick's parking lot. Does mean they aren't expecting peak demand to seriously return any time soon though to justify going back to 2019.
 
Even the other Worcester - South Station trains in the morning shaved off a little bit of time, didn’t they? 1h 23m now instead of 1h 35m before?
 
  • Bicycles now allowed aboard all Fairmount Line trains
  • Very strange that those two round trips are cut back to Littleton - perhaps it's to accommodate freight slots?
  • Only midday Foxboro service is being added - no peak service! Very odd.
 

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