www.mbta.com
Yes, that’s a freight track on the left (P&W to Worcester, and could be commuter service one day)
To my eye, the render appears to show a space intentionally left open on the right for a future additional track. Even the pedestrian overpass looks like it could span an extra track.
The P&W "FRIP" track is problematic for passenger service. It can't be electrified because it's already been undercut to the max for taking autorack traffic. It's a high-and-wide route, so to top off the island for that track they'd have to install a gauntlet. It's currently unsignalized and under control of the P&W dispatcher as part of their mainline, so isn't even under Amtrak traffic control (the tie-in to the mainline NEC isn't until Atwells Interlocking south of Providence Station, so it parallels for a long distance without interacting). All told it would take a lot of expensive work to make that track passenger-bearing.
Wasn’t there a recently failed proposal from a private operator for passenger traffic on the P&W? Did they have a plan to deal with these issues or was it just ignored. I know the proposal was shady at best, but I can’t imagine any investor believing they could fund the installation of signals on their own.
This might be more than a headhouse rebuild, but Quincy Center still needs it badly. The area has seen a ton of increased density in the last decade but the station entrance facing the busway is truly terrible -- it's a decapitated parking garage with an empty storefront -- and the busway is worse than it was before the construction.
Back Bay's rehab is contingent on the Boston Properties development there, the Back Bay/South End Gateway Project. It is tied to the project approval.
