Regional Rail (RUR) & North-South Rail Link (NSRL)

Re: North-South Rail Link

Digital_Islandboy said:
There's a lot under ground there.

You have the Physical basement of South Station and the Federal Reserve Bank which connects to the station. Then below that you have the Silver line level. Then the Red Line level further down, and further down you have I-93 highway and the I-90 Third Harbor Tunnel.
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Yes, which is why conceptually the idea has been to put the station needed for N-S Link "below Fort Point Channel so as to avoid interference with adjacent buildings": http://www.northsouthraillink.org/construction

Yes it would be potentially a waste of money (versus relocating the post office to expand the number of platforms) if the rest of N-S link is never built, but they should be studying the option as part of South Station Expansion. If it is in the same ballpark, say a couple hundred million, then it should be the obvious choice.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Where exactly is the yard space near Anderson RTC?
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Arlington said:
The acres of surface parking, for starters.
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Thanks. I wasn't sure if the idea was to have a layover yard right next to the station where the parking lot is or to build it some place farther up the line.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Beyond the surface lots, I am not sure how the nearby land is owned or why (else) we see no TOD at Woburn.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Arlington said:
Beyond the surface lots, I am not sure how the nearby land is owned or why (else) we see no TOD at Woburn.
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Not sexy enough I imagine. It'd be a decent spot although transit access to Cambridge doesn't look all that great (enough that I think they'd drive), and it'd be nice you could continue on to South Station...
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Arlington said:
Beyond the surface lots, I am not sure how the nearby land is owned or why (else) we see no TOD at Woburn.
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See that movie A Civil Affair with John Travolta. That is the site.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Today I Learned: from Wikipedia
On January 28, 1987, W.R. Grace was indicted by a grand jury of lying to the EPA about its usage and disposal of toxic waste.[2] Anderson Regional Transportation Center was later built on the site and named in memory of James R. "Jimmy" Anderson (1968–1981), whose mother Anne was the main plaintiff.
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I knew that Anderson Transit Center was named for a boy who died of cancer, but I didn't know that he was THE Anderson (of Anderson v Cryovac) (the basis for A Civil Action)

Net conclusion: lots of brownfield land available near Woburn for both diesel and electric trains. No yards today because it is not a natural terminus, but it'd become a natural end of Acela by virtue of space availability.

Again, not that there aren't good places further out, and not that there isn't demand in Haverhill, but Haverhill feels a lot like, say, Alexandria Virginia: if you've already got a good place to change engines and berth the fleet (DC or Woburn) and demand is tapering off, it never quite pays to electrify or Acela-fy.
 
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Re: North-South Rail Link

Boston Globe May 24, 2017
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...ns/3yvPlIlTDS54b635XuUoRN/story.html#comments

Plans to redevelop Widett Circle could collide with need to park trains

"Food wholesalers with an ambitious vision for what could be Boston’s next hot neighborhood may be on a collision course with state transportation officials who are eyeing their land as a crucial parking spot (emphasis mine) for trains near South Station.

In the wake of the city’s defunct Olympics bid, wholesalers at Widett Circle, a sprawling industrial area between the South End and South Boston, are considering a big move. That would mean putting their 19 acres of land on the market. The idea of redeveloping the area has been hailed by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, prompting him to put it on the short list of places he’d like to see transformed into a vibrant neighborhood.

But the state Department of Transportation recently singled out the Widett land as a “critical” layover area for commuter rail trains in the agency’s plans to expand nearby South Station......." (continues, but I will respect their paywall not to copy the entire article)
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Hmmmmmmmm........what, oh WHAT, could help solve this problem............

Oh, sure - - forfeit the possibility to develop 19 acres of prime location land in Widett Circle because they need a train parking lot for the SS expansion that will also require moving the USP Office, and will cost $1.6-2.0 billion already??????

Why not just spend the $3 billion for the NSRL, save valuable downtown space for URBAN use - - not train parking lots, and gain 19 acres of tax revenue for the next 100 years?

For fux sakes people, get on with it!!!!!!!! The tax revenue, etc. from Widett Circle could help pay the differences in the costs between the SS expansion and the NSRL.
 
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Re: North-South Rail Link

shmessy said:
Boston Globe May 24, 2017
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...ns/3yvPlIlTDS54b635XuUoRN/story.html#comments

But the state Department of Transportation recently singled out the Widett land as a “critical” layover area for commuter rail trains in the agency’s plans to expand nearby South Station......." (continues, but I will respect their paywall not to copy the entire article)
-------------------

Oh, sure - - forfeit the possibility to develop 19 acres of prime location land in Widett Circle because they need a train parking lot for the SS expansion that will also require moving the USP Office, and will cost $1.6-2.0 billion already??????

Why not just spend the $3 billion for the NSRL, save valuable downtown space for URBAN use - - not train parking lots, and gain 19 acres of tax revenue for the next 100 years?

For fux sakes people, get on with it!!!!!!!! The tax revenue, etc. from Widett Circle could help pay the differences in the costs between the SS expansion and the NSRL.
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There was a presentation over at the BSA Space this past Thursday. Gov. Dukakis, Andy Monat from TransitMatters and Brad Bellows RA were presenting about the tunnel as part of a new committee at the BSA called Infra/Tecture. It really was quite informative in what the tunnel will provide in terms of consolidating the rail network, put a little more emphasis on portal location (which has a very large effect on Widett), and took a couple small jabs at the MassDOT's new study. I'll try to summarize in quick bullet points.

-- The tunnel working group sees the new FS as a compromise, some things got in, some were left out. The biggest complaint that they have is the FS is only focusing on the Urban core impact. By that I mean they are only looking at how the tunnel will effect Boston proper. They did not want to go out and study how it impacts the 140+ effected communities, because it would be "too complicated". The firm doing the FS should be released shortly.
-- Big emphasis put on how many non-revenue trains per day the system must do in order to provide service (roughly 130 non-revenue trains per day equaling roughly 88 million lost per year)
-- Explored the resiliency of our rolling stock. Some of the old locomotives had a record of breaking down every 3K miles, vs some of the multi-mode trains in Europe which have a record of 450K miles. Also the way the trains are built (to survive impact with a cargo train) was addressed
-- Portals, specifically the southern portals were talked about because a small shift in the dorchester line portal could create a continuous 103 acres of widett circle. Also the service facility in somerville would end up being relocated away from the northern portal (potentially even up outside the core)

Lastly, something that really shocked me was a fact about the Leipzig tunnel. It supposed services more trains per day on a 2-track tunnel, then our entire system does in one day. Speaks volumes to what a 2-track or even 4-track tunnel would do for our region.

Sorry for rehashing any topics that have been discussed.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Next step:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/n...wards-1-5m-contract-to-study-north-south.html

The state has awarded a $1.5 million contract to Cambridge-based Arup USA Inc. to study a proposal to build a rail link between North and South stations.

The study, due to be completed by the spring of 2018, is being commissioned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Office of Transportation Planning. The goal is to study the costs as well as benefits of the so-called North South Rail Link project to “determine whether further technical and financial analysis is warranted,” according to Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It follows a draft environmental impact report on the project undertaken in 1995 that was suspended in 2003 under then Gov. Mitt Romney.
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Per their web site, the UK headquarters branch of Arup previously was involved with the Chunnel and more recently the London Underground extension (no details on which of the various extensions they're referring to). They have a Boston office with a less obvious tie-in to rail tunnel work, but they obviously can draw on the UK side, so it looks like a good choice of firm at a first glance. (The Arup web site does not show a Cambridge office; my google search returned "Engineering Firm in Cambridge" but with 60 State St Boston as address; maybe they just relocated?)
 
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Re: North-South Rail Link

West said:
Next step:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/n...wards-1-5m-contract-to-study-north-south.html



Per their web site, the UK headquarters branch of Arup previously was involved with the Chunnel and more recently the London Underground extension (no details on which of the various extensions they're referring to). They have a Boston office with a less obvious tie-in to rail tunnel work, but they obviously can draw on the UK side, so it looks like a good choice of firm at a first glance. (The Arup web site does not show a Cambridge office; my google search returned "Engineering Firm in Cambridge" but with 60 State St Boston as address; maybe they just relocated?)
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Arup's recent London experience is the Crossrail Project. Pretty germane! They are something of "the authority" on complex urban tunneling.
 
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Re: North-South Rail Link

JeffDowntown said:
Arup's recent London experience is the Crossrail Project. Pretty germane! They are something of "the authority" on complex urban tunneling.
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That's good to hear.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

JeffDowntown said:
Arup's recent London experience is the Crossrail Project. Pretty germane! They are something of "the authority" on complex urban tunneling.
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Another example of the kind of complex transportation projects Arup gets call in for is the Hong Kong -- Zhuhai -- Macau Bridge-Tunnel in China, across the Pearl River Delta. Just opened this week. Longest water crossing bridge tunnel system in the world.

Arup was responsible for the design and the safety engineering (seismic and typhoon resistance).
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

West said:
Next step:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/n...wards-1-5m-contract-to-study-north-south.html



Per their web site, the UK headquarters branch of Arup previously was involved with the Chunnel and more recently the London Underground extension (no details on which of the various extensions they're referring to). They have a Boston office with a less obvious tie-in to rail tunnel work, but they obviously can draw on the UK side, so it looks like a good choice of firm at a first glance. (The Arup web site does not show a Cambridge office; my google search returned "Engineering Firm in Cambridge" but with 60 State St Boston as address; maybe they just relocated?)
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They relocated from Central Square to Downtown last year.
Much like Cosentini and CDM before them. Gotta love them cheap rents downtown.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

SeamusMcFly said:
They relocated from Central Square to Downtown last year.
Much like Cosentini and CDM before them. Gotta love them cheap rents downtown.
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As somebody working for a technology start-up downtown, it amazes me how much cheaper it is than Kendall. For us, with people coming from everywhere around Boston the public transport access would make us put a premium for downtown, but instead we get a discount! Awesome! :)
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Received an email on this meeting today:



NORTH/SOUTH RAIL LINK
TOWN HALL
Monday, July 31st - 7:00pm
Salem City Hall Annex, 3rd Floor
120 Washington Street, Salem, MA

FREE EVENT - RSVP HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/north-south-rail-link-salem-town-hall-tickets-36432660067


A Panel Discussion and Q&A Moderated by
Governor Michael Dukakis

Hosted By:
The Office of Congressman Seth Moulton &
Mayor Kim Driscoll


Panelists:
Mayor Kim Driscoll
Eileen Duff, Governor’s Council
John Kyper, Sierra Club MA
Tom Girsch, NARP


SPONSORED BY:

Office of Mayor Kim Driscoll
Salem District Office of Rep. Seth Moulton
National Association of Railroad Passengers
Massachusetts AFL-CIO
Sierra Club Massachusetts
Salem State University
Salem Main Streets
The Salem Partnership
Salem Chamber of Commerce
North Shore Chamber of Commerce
 
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