MBTA Construction Projects

[F-Line to Dudley]

Re: T construction news

Wachusett Station opens on Friday:

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/breakingnews/ci_30405213/west-fitchburg-commuter.com

Google Maps just added it as a destination, right on cue.

Here's a pic of the test train from a few days ago, to get an idea of what the finished station looks like:

The layover yard is 1.5 miles further up the station track turnout in the industrial park on a former sand pit, so trains will appear/disappear from out of view to the west.

Very high in elevation out here in Westminster. From what early spotters have said there's spectacular views of the surrounding countryside from atop this hill. And also, the driveway is hella steep and should be a real adventure in winter weather. But the location can't be beat: a literal 1500 ft. from the MA 31 exit on Route 2. Once the Gardner shuttle buses are in full force it'll be an extremely quick and convenient trip to the station from downtown. Schedule only has it as an 8-minute trip past Fitchburg, and that's despite some lingering speed restrictions from closeout track work. Once the closeout's done and the schedule goes full that'll probably shrink a little, and the end-to-end schedule from North Station will make shorter overall time than the Fitchburg schedule of 18 months ago before the speed limit increase went into full effect across the line.


Now will have to see what Wachusett Mountain's plans are for shuttle bus connections during ski season, and whether the bike/ski car is going to be running more often. The regular wintertime weekend ski trains just got a whole lot more convenient and better-patronized with this extension. They're only 6 miles down Route 31 from this stop, half the distance of the previous shuttles had to travel from Fitchburg station.

 

[The EGE]

Re: T construction news

Wachusett station opened on schedule this morning. Four of us hardy souls rode the 6:30am outbound from Boston; about 20 politicians and other folks got on at Fitchburg.





It will be very cold and windy up on that hillside come winter. Fortunately, most people can stay in their cars and then walk right onto a train.

 

[lapradetom]

Re: T construction news

Google Maps just added it as a destination, right on cue.

Here's a pic of the test train from a few days ago, to get an idea of what the finished station looks like:

The layover yard is 1.5 miles further up the station track turnout in the industrial park on a former sand pit, so trains will appear/disappear from out of view to the west.

Very high in elevation out here in Westminster. From what early spotters have said there's spectacular views of the surrounding countryside from atop this hill. And also, the driveway is hella steep and should be a real adventure in winter weather. But the location can't be beat: a literal 1500 ft. from the MA 31 exit on Route 2. Once the Gardner shuttle buses are in full force it'll be an extremely quick and convenient trip to the station from downtown. Schedule only has it as an 8-minute trip past Fitchburg, and that's despite some lingering speed restrictions from closeout track work. Once the closeout's done and the schedule goes full that'll probably shrink a little, and the end-to-end schedule from North Station will make shorter overall time than the Fitchburg schedule of 18 months ago before the speed limit increase went into full effect across the line.


Now will have to see what Wachusett Mountain's plans are for shuttle bus connections during ski season, and whether the bike/ski car is going to be running more often. The regular wintertime weekend ski trains just got a whole lot more convenient and better-patronized with this extension. They're only 6 miles down Route 31 from this stop, half the distance of the previous shuttles had to travel from Fitchburg station.

^Additionally, the new Great Wolf Lodge Water Park/Resort is on the opposite corner of the interchange, very nearby there. One could theoretically take the train in from Boston and then walk from the new Wachusett Station across Route 2 to Great Wolf Lodge. (though it would be a chilly walk in winter) Great Wolf Lodge probably also has a shuttle that would come do pick-ups at the new train station.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Re: T construction news

^Additionally, the new Great Wolf Lodge Water Park/Resort is on the opposite corner of the interchange, very nearby there. One could theoretically take the train in from Boston and then walk from the new Wachusett Station across Route 2 to Great Wolf Lodge. (though it would be a chilly walk in winter) Great Wolf Lodge probably also has a shuttle that would come do pick-ups at the new train station.

Plans for expansion of the adjacent industrial park, too. The chemical company adjacent to the station parking lot is getting a rail siding installed on the station turnout a few feet after the platform so they can expand (has to be on the turnout because the mainline has such a big grade difference below...probably will be tanker cars A-OK for slipping past a full-high platform). Caraustar Paperboard abutting the north end of the station through the trees got its long-disused siding restored so it can expand production. City of Fitchburg and Town of Westminster want to zone for more infill density of similar ilk in that currently diffuse industrial area to stimulate more reverse-commute action in walking distance of the station where the trains + the shuttles from downtown Gardner serve up a good hiring market. Fitchburg Line is already targeted for ratcheted-up reverse-commute frequencies over time because of the growth of the Devens tech market in shuttle distance of Ayer & Shirley, and growing employment in Fitchburg-proper as companies start gobbling up relatively inexpensive commercial-zoned real estate in town.

Been a herky-jerky planning process for the industrial park, with a lot of disputes because both Fitchburg and Westminster have a stake in it but are polar-opposite municipalities. Who knows if they'll execute on the infill density or if it'll fizz out into something net-plus but not real satisfactory. But this is hardly a parking sink out in the hinterlands; they do very much want to make Wachusett a development anchor for a wide walking + shuttle radius all around.


Also...Montchusett Regional Vocational Technical School's huge campus is right up the street on 2A, served by a MART bus route. Opens up all kinds of career ed. opportunities for commuter students. Career/tech's a hugely growing secondary education sector, so that campus is going to get a lot more applicants with the new transit node down the street.

 

[jass]

Re: T construction news

I guess having more than 3 feet of shelter really breaks the bank

 

[datadyne007]

Re: T construction news

I guess having more than 3 feet of shelter really breaks the bank

Shelters are always one of the first VE items.

 

[The EGE]

Re: T construction news

Shelter's not so big an issue here since Wachusett is almost certainly always going to be a park-and-ride terminal. Reliability is going to be fairly high since it's the terminal and right near the layover yard, and commuters can stay in their cars till right before train time anyway.

 

[West]

Re: T construction news

Shelters are always one of the first VE items.

Yup, but I'd presume that's partially because it's one of the easiest subsequent add-ins. Might not happen for a long time, I realize, but it'd be easy if funding ever got better.

I've been boarding the Green Line D branch at Newton Highlands for sixteen years, the cover from weather is laughably modest, even with the wee little heated room they added a few years ago (and which gets way overcrowded on cold days). It ain't killing me to stand in the cold or to huddle under the small unheated shelters when it rains (or under umbrella when those small spaces get too jammed).

Would I like it to be improved? Sure. Given the list of overall MBTA priorities and current funding levels, though, I really ought to expect to keep on dealing with what I've got (which I can do without complaint). Building good new infill* stations is a much higher priority. This Wachusett station looks like it fits the description of "good new infill station", so I'm happy to see it ahead of my improved shelter.

And so their shelter also got VE'd out, and they ended up with what looks pretty similar in scale to my stop? I admit to some disappointment at seeing them cheapen it down, but I must also admit to a certain "Welcome to the club!!" internal reaction. I can assure them it won't kill them. If they had gotten a really big comfortable heated station, I'm pretty sure my reaction would run along the lines of "hey, how about youse take a number and move to the back of the line?"

*OK, as the end of a line, maybe infill is not the right word....

 

[Arlington]

Re: T construction news

Covering stairs & ramps, though, is a two-fer:
- reduces slip-fall risks
- gives people a place to wait.

Meaning that leaving these uncovered is a double loss.

 

[bakgwailo]

Re: T construction news

Covering stairs & ramps, though, is a two-fer:
- reduces slip-fall risks
- gives people a place to wait.

Meaning that leaving these uncovered is a double loss.

Helps with snow removal, too.

 

[West]

Re: T construction news

All true and good arguments. Is there an argument why this station should get that before other stations that have gone without for decades?

Oops, there's that resentment about line-cutting that I was hinting at.

But seriously, I'd be ok if this station had gotten a better treatment on shelter. But lots of other riders (not just on Green Line but certainly some of my neighbors too) would wail and moan like it was the end of days.

As the T plays catch up on so much that ought to have been done sooner, these sorts of VE will happen. Damn shame, but at least the entire station didn't get eliminated.

See West rationalize. Rationalize, West, rationalize.

 

[jass]

Re: T construction news

All true and good arguments. Is there an argument why this station should get that before other stations that have gone without for decades?

Oops, there's that resentment about line-cutting that I was hinting at.
.

Its cheaper to build it when the entire project is under construction than to add later.

But really, who is going to be shoveling that enormously long wheelchair ramp every time it snows?

And if someone isnt doing it, whos ready to get sued?

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Re: T construction news

All true and good arguments. Is there an argument why this station should get that before other stations that have gone without for decades?

Oops, there's that resentment about line-cutting that I was hinting at.

But seriously, I'd be ok if this station had gotten a better treatment on shelter. But lots of other riders (not just on Green Line but certainly some of my neighbors too) would wail and moan like it was the end of days.

As the T plays catch up on so much that ought to have been done sooner, these sorts of VE will happen. Damn shame, but at least the entire station didn't get eliminated.

See West rationalize. Rationalize, West, rationalize.

The bigger upside for Wachusett is the full-size layover yard for schedule increases. East Fitchburg was too damn small and nestled inside a very busy freight yard. You'd never see more trips on that line without Wachusett and that sand pit site that served up NIMBY-free room for a nice, big, future-expandable layover. For that reason the layover and station have to be considered as a package, not in isolation. That makes it a whole lot easier to rationalize.

They overshot budget because the first contractor went out of business causing a long construction outage, and from some complications thrown up by the hillside. Sunk cost that was sunk 2 years ago before this current contractor came on. They did get a pretty ample-size fed grant that paid for a lot of the layover and also the SGR renewal of all the bridges between Fitchburg and Wachusett for heavier-weight freights. So at least there is a direct return-on-investment in farebox recovery at all existing stops when the schedule gets a lot more convenient, and freight revenue to be had by closing one of the SGR holes en route to the big intermodal yard in Ayer.

 

[West]

Re: T construction news

Its cheaper to build it when the entire project is under construction than to add later.

Obviously, I don't argue otherwise. If they'd have built it, I'd have gotten over my resentment in about five seconds, max. Not everyone else would, but too bad for them.

But really, who is going to be shoveling that enormously long wheelchair ramp every time it snows?

They will probably contract out the cleaning and snow removal, like they do at so many other exposed stations. Newton Highlands station also has very long wheelchair ramps, the private firm hired there does a fairly decent job, depending on how heavy the snow is. And also do realize that even if that shelter were extended the full length of the ramp, wind-blown snow would still get in there and have to be cleared. It'd be obviously better, but not so much as to remove all snow-removal duties. Plus, there's also the parking areas, sidewalks to and from parking areas: can't cover it all (I agree that the wheelchair slope would've been the best thing to cover).

And if someone isnt doing it, whos ready to get sued?

Well, the MBTA obviously. I'm sure they're dealing with several slip and fall suits at all times as a matter of operational course. And nobody's perfect at snow removal, so even where they have someone doing it, there can still be a slip and fall (even under a shelter from windblown snow / sleet).

So sure, there's a very good argument for getting it all done up front, but that doesn't negate all slip and fall liability nor does it negate all snow removal duty.

 

[West]

Re: T construction news

The bigger upside for Wachusett is the full-size layover yard for schedule increases. East Fitchburg was too damn small and nestled inside a very busy freight yard. You'd never see more trips on that line without Wachusett and that sand pit site that served up NIMBY-free room for a nice, big, future-expandable layover. For that reason the layover and station have to be considered as a package, not in isolation. That makes it a whole lot easier to rationalize.

This sort of systemic improvement (the much-improved layover) is exactly the sort of upgrade I am always going to be hugely in favor of, and when a new station comes into the package, even better. If there's some bad luck along the way with contractors folding and so on, and as a result some platform shelters face the VE cut, the loss of shelter is a shame but the project overall is still absolutely a big win overall.

I admit freely that I'd feel differently if I were wheelchair-bound and reliant on that station year-round (saying this without knowing conditions at the old station, which were maybe even worse).

 

[sm89]

Re: T construction news

I'm sure it was mentioned somewhere in the 48 pages of this thread, but the layover yard was one of the main purposes of this project. Is someone able to summarize the benefits that the Fitchburg Line will experience? More frequent trains? Earlier trains? What did they list in the expansion study/report?

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Re: T construction news

MART, not the MBTA, is in charge of snow removal, parking fees, and parking lot maintenance at Wachusett: http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/lines/stations/?stopId=26822.

Ditto Fitchburg and North Leominster. Same is true on the Lowell Line and LRTA for Lowell and North Billerica stations. Some of the bigger Regional Transit Authorities who run bus nodes out of these stations have it in their MBTA district agreements to do the local management at those stops.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Re: T construction news

I'm sure it was mentioned somewhere in the 48 pages of this thread, but the layover yard was one of the main purposes of this project. Is someone able to summarize the benefits that the Fitchburg Line will experience? More frequent trains? Earlier trains? What did they list in the expansion study/report?

All of the above. More trains, a more flexible schedule, and lower operating costs because of less need to run low-revenue trains at odd times of the far off-peak to get the next morning's sets in-position. Fitchburg is also a target for a lot of future reverse-commute growth because of the growing job market at Devens and Fitchburg-proper, so the layover will let them mix shorter reverse-direction sets in with longer peak-direction sets.

Layover capacity is a big deal for setting the feasible boundaries of the schedule, its frequencies and flexibility, and farebox recovery by eliminating empty or nearly empty equipment-transfer runs. This presentation from the T shows the problem of lines with inadequate layover storage: http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/Documents/Focus40/Focus40CommuterRail.pdf#page=45

"Low revenue" and "Non-revenue" miles for staging rush-hour trains are dollars pissed away every single day. Pre-Wachusett (which is why Fitchburg was intentionally omitted from this slide) the only northside line with an adequate-sized layover was Newburyport...because it was built only 18 years ago. All of the others stink, with Lowell and Haverhill being the system's two worst by far (Lowell having no layover whatsoever, and Haverhill being crammed into tiny inadequate Bradford). In addition to wasting daily money on low/no-revenue miles, it overstresses Boston Engine Terminal in Somerville because too many extra trainsets have to be stored there and then run low/no-revenue miles to get in position.

It's a much bigger deal than it ever gets credit for. The sand pit in Westminster just happened to fit like a glove in the Wachusett package, so they went for it. Their tiny tracks in the East Fitchburg freight yard were a pain in the ass to maneuver from, unexpandable, and quickly getting choked by exploding freight volumes in the yard. It was going to become a detriment to service after awhile. For Lowell, lack of any plausible room near Lowell means the Nashua extension has to go on the table to fix that cost bleed. But others just need the layover with no new station considerations. Worcester's schedule is capped because the small yard in the Union Station parking lot is too small already and needs one 2 to 2-1/2 times the size to absorb schedule increases...or the schedules never increase. They need to go fishing for scarce land within 1-2 miles of Union Station on the various diverging CSX and P&W lines. Haverhill is the other one; Bradford is too cramped, and it's an environmental justice priority to get the trains away from the abutting residences because EPA has hit them repeat times over the last 20 years for diesel emissions. Plaistow station's been canceled by NH, but one of the Alternatives for the Plaistow layover stradded the state line...yard in Massachusetts, driveway in New Hampshire. If they had money to buy that parcel they could scrape up that recycled piece and redesign so the access driveway is a grade crossing to Hilldale Ave. firmly on the MA side of the state line.

Unfortunately, with exception of the big Lowell-Nashua shotgun marriage, all of these critical ops-cost and schedule-flexibility pieces of infrastructure are thoroughly in the "unsexy improvements" category. No amount of talk of schedule increases ever gets anyone enthused about paying for non-revenue facilities. So we don't get them unless there's a Wachusett or Plaistow attached. That's a problem because most of the lines that have festering sores with their layover capacity don't have or need any steel-and-concrete-and-running miles extensions...but they badly need schedule increases/flexibility and a better farebox recovery.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: T construction news

They have a project to install direct elevators from the southbound Orange Line to the north and southbound Red Line platforms.

http://www.mbta.com/business_center/bidding_solicitations/awarded_contracts/?cnumber=A90CN06

This project has begun. Fencing is up in the Shopping Concourse.

 

[tysmith95]

Re: T construction news

Can someone hire F-Line to be president of the MBTA.