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

ceo said:
Don't they already double-berth the trains? I recall reading somewhere, probably here, that they moved the block boundary to the middle of the platform so they could do that.
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They do, but they expect longer trains from each origin point for the WC so it gets harder. I could see real-deal max length 9-packs being used from Boston for the event. The dwell times are definitely icky with up to half the cars on each train overspilling the ends of the platform. The passing track at the station is new-construction for the expansion of regular Commuter Rail service to F'boro, so they're looking to take advantage of that infrastructure that wasn't there when the current platform was built (I'm guessing CSX doesn't carry many high-and-wides to Attleboro and doesn't mind crawling at restricted speed on a temporary basis).

I hope Kraft is paying for nearly all of this, because Foxboro is already a 725 ft. long platform with fully up-to-spec ADA mini-high. It doesn't fall within the T's Top 50 systemwide accessibility needs.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
I hope Kraft is paying for nearly all of this, because Foxboro is already a 725 ft. long platform with fully up-to-spec ADA mini-high. It doesn't fall within the T's Top 50 systemwide accessibility needs.
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The article indicates they want to build full-high platforms to handle the increased passenger volume more efficiently.
 
ceo said:
The article indicates they want to build full-high platforms to handle the increased passenger volume more efficiently.
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More coverage from @StreetsblogMASS here.

This quote is of note:
Gesner's presentation said that the T typically carries about 7 percent of the audience to a sold-out Gillette Stadium event – roughly 4,500 attendees – in two 10-car trains.
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Given the event trains almost always sell out at $20 a ticket I think they could do a lot better than 7 percent with better service even for standard events. Hopefully the permanent full high allows that.
 
The feasibility study for a potential infill station at Osgood Landing in North Andover on the Haverhill line that was performed by Jacobs Engineering on behalf of the North Andover Planning Department is on the Select Board agenda for their upcoming meeting:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15kKnlzlbBPUskPMl-MttRdfqTW-hDSKX/view

Related: The MBTA bridge replacement project for the Western Main line over South Elm St., just north of the Braford Station in Haverhill, began its shutdown period last night with the demolition of the existing bridge and moving in of the new bridge scheduled to take place between Friday night and Sunday morning.

I'll try to post pictures.
 
North Shore said:
The feasibility study for a potential infill station at Osgood Landing in North Andover on the Haverhill line that was performed by Jacobs Engineering on behalf of the North Andover Planning Department is on the Select Board agenda for their upcoming meeting:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15kKnlzlbBPUskPMl-MttRdfqTW-hDSKX/view

Related: The MBTA bridge replacement project for the Western Main line over South Elm St., just north of the Braford Station in Haverhill, began its shutdown period last night with the demolition of the existing bridge and moving in of the new bridge scheduled to take place between Friday night and Sunday morning.

I'll try to post pictures.
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$55M at 40% contingency. And they're projecting more riders than any other Haverhill Line stop for greenfield TOD.

Yeah...I'm gonna say all those numbers don't wash.
 
Ward Hill makes much more sense as an infill stop; North Andover would be too close to Lawrence Station.
 
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themissinglink said:
Ward Hill makes much more sense as an infill stop; North Andover would be too close to Lawrence Station.
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The proposed station site is roughly halfway between the actual towns of North Andover and Ward Hill, and halfway between existing Bradford and Lawrence stations. I would prefer simply naming it "Osgood Landing" instead of either of the two municipalities.

F-Line to Dudley said:
$55M at 40% contingency. And they're projecting more riders than any other Haverhill Line stop for greenfield TOD.

Yeah...I'm gonna say all those numbers don't wash.
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Note that the ridership figures are the sum of boardings and alightings. Comparison to the 2018 data that they mentioned:
Boardings + Alightings (2018)Diverted to Osgood Landing
Haverhill598160
Bradford375? (not listed)
Lawrence911260
Andover73920
Osgood Landing814 total
(334 from TOD)		480 diverted from other stations
To expect 334 riders from TOD, almost entirely from "North Andover MBTA Communities Zoning", they must be betting on these 58 acres being really successful for multi-family housing:

1748658890491.png


Also, the study expect ~30% of riders from Lawrence to divert to Osgood Landing:
  • According to the 2015-17 passenger survey, 20% of riders at Lawrence walk to the station, and the other 80% come from some vehicles (729 riders based on 2018 data). (The 2015-17 survey has the total ridership at 666, which is a large discrepancy from either one-way or two-way riderships in 2018.)
  • So the study suggests that 36% of riders who are driving to Lawrence would be diverted to Osgood Landing.
  • Osgood Landing can't compare to Lawrence for riders from the west/northwest (e.g. NH I-93). From the northeast, Haverhill is shorter in distance, and Google Maps agrees that it's faster (even after accounting for the drive Osgood Landing staying on the subway longer).
  • The drivers who would find Osgood Landing more convenient than Lawrence seems to be those from due east: Georgetown, West Boxford, etc. I'm skeptical that they account for a huge portion of Lawrence's riders.
 
Teban54 said:
The proposed station site is roughly halfway between the actual towns of North Andover and Ward Hill, and halfway between existing Bradford and Lawrence stations. I would prefer simply naming it "Osgood Landing" instead of either of the two municipalities.
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Ward Hill is actually another proposed station location about a mile and a half outbound from Osgood Landing, at the Industrial Ave. exit off 495. I actually think that one would fare a little better than Osgood Landing, being near some existing not speculative TOD at the industrial park, a bit more residential density, and the 495 exit one up from the MA 213 interchange where it would tap some more useful park-and-ride traffic from a wider spread of the region and at wider relief for Lawrence garage. Osgood Landing would have to hit a grand-slam on all counts to pay for itself. Ward Hill can hit a triple and do just fine.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Ward Hill is actually another proposed station location about a mile and a half outbound from Osgood Landing, at the Industrial Ave. exit off 495. I actually think that one would fare a little better than Osgood Landing, being near some existing not speculative TOD at the industrial park, a bit more residential density, and the 495 exit one up from the MA 213 interchange where it would tap some more useful park-and-ride traffic from a wider spread of the region and at wider relief for Lawrence garage. Osgood Landing would have to hit a grand-slam on all counts to pay for itself. Ward Hill can hit a triple and do just fine.
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Full disclosure: I live just under a mile from Osgood Landing.

That said, Bradford Station is not much more of a drive, really and have ample parking (even more so once Haverhill reopens). But the Haverhill line schedule doesn't work for me when I want to go one or get out of town. Osgood Landing is also the spot where the MVRTA Boston shuttle bus used to pick up/ drop off passengers. It could work - but...

Once of the reasons this location was picked for the MBTA Communities Zoning overlay was that it had already been zoned for large scale residential development, but the parcel has yet to make economic sense to develop. The Town of North Andover hedged its bets slightly knowing that any development was years away which helped sell it to voters.
 
The stairs/ramps/elevator and the half of both inbound and outbound platforms closest to the Quill rotary at Winchester Center opened yesterday. The other half of the station had opened last year.
 
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