South Station Tower | South Station Air Rights | Downtown

Equilibria said:
That's... um... not how that works.

NSRL (a) doesn't have the capacity to through run all trains and (b) won't be accessible from all commuter rail lines to begin with.
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4 track build



Picture of full build with greenway/aquarium route. The one being studied is the congress st alignment 2 track tunnel, with room to expand to full build at 4. This is an example of the tunnels for 4 track.

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North Station says tracks can be removed and redeveloped, there is the possibility for drastically less platforms at South Station or ideally none as well

 
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*I was just pointing out that it is one of the possibilities that could happen at South Station, although more complex with a 3rd portal and taken out of the current proposals at the moment. Its still in the cards for North Station though as it can be done with both the 2 and 4 track proposals.

So as far as the current 2 and 4 track options, the Middleborough, Plymouth and the rest of the lines that run parallel the red line ROW would indeed still go to South Station. The 2 portals for the Southern/SouthWest routes from Worcester and Fairmount/Franklin/Needham etc though, as of the most recent 4 track proposal, is still in the cards with the 4 track build. I was just stating that at a full 4 track build and with the 3rd portal for the Plymouth/Middleborough lines, they could then do without platforms at South Station. With the current proposals for the 2/4 track they could not. They state that it will be built with future expansion capability though.
 
Even with four tracks there won't be capacity for every train to run through especially with the 15 minute headways being proposed for most lines by Transit Matters and the MBTA's own future planning documents. Also not all Amtrak trains will run through there just is not enough space for a four track tunnel to handle the number of trains being planned especially on the South Side. There will still need to be some platforms at the surface level South Station and therefore the switches need to be reconfigured to allow for trains to quickly and easily travel through the station's interlocking.

Also assuming 2 trains per hour for the old colony lines, 4 for the fairmount, 4 for Providence/stoughton, 4 for the franklin line, and 4 for framingham/worcester that is 18 trains per hour which would mean a train every 3 minutes 33 seconds in the tunnel without including any Amtrak trains that might be trying to use the link as well. I don't think with the increase in service Amtrak is aiming for that it is possible to meet that demand with just the four track tunnel and no surface terminals. Plus it would be ridiculous to remove infrastructure for transit that we already have like we did in the 50s and 60s only to have to rebuild it later for a much higher cost when there is demand for even more train service in future.
 
Ugh. And to think I actually thought there was some update on South Station TOWER. Not fantasy train talk.
 
The BPDA approved an extension of the deadline to October. With Salesforce potentially leasing it, be on the lookout for movement at an FMCB or MassDOT meeting.
 
FitchburgLine said:
The BPDA approved an extension of the deadline to October. With Salesforce potentially leasing it, be on the lookout for movement at an FMCB or MassDOT meeting.
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Is this new information, or did I miss an update somewhere along the way? If it's Salesforce, that's huge.
 
FitchburgLine said:
Unconfirmed rumor by Bisnow here: https://www.bisnow.com/boston/news/...-expected-to-launch-south-station-tower-98197
but they've been reliable in the past
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The linked article says: “The current deadline is April 30.”

“The developer needs an agreement with three transportation agencies before it can proceed with construction. When a deal is reached among the various agencies, the developer is expected to quickly get to work on the downtown skyscraper.”

“Real estate chatter regarding the South Station tower has heated up in recent weeks, and Pelli Clarke Pelli recently revised the South Station tower section of its website to indicate a 2020 construction start date.”
 
dotdude78 said:
Ugh. And to think I actually thought there was some update on South Station TOWER. Not fantasy train talk.
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+1 There was absolutely no reason to revive this 2 weeks after the last post.

FitchburgLine said:
The BPDA approved an extension of the deadline to October.
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Source? Another extension needed? A 2020 start date? Is this thing ever going to happen?
 
DZH22 said:
+1 There was absolutely no reason to revive this 2 weeks after the last post.



Source? Another extension needed? A 2020 start date? Is this thing ever going to happen?
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As we were discussing a couple of weeks ago, the deadline and extensions are related to discussions between the developer, the MBTA, and Amtrak over impacts to operations. They have been going on for years. The sense that has been given to the MassDOT board in 2019 is that they will be wrapped up by the end of April.

This is not and has never been "playing out the string." There was a concrete task here, and they have completed it.
 
> Source?

Ditto. I've had April 30th circled on my calendar since the last extension 6 months ago; I haven't seen anything about a NEW extension being given. (And I'm deeply hoping that you're wrong, only for the obvious reason that it means there's still hope that there will be an announcement in the next 18 days that no further extensions will be needed).
 
Regardless they said 2020 start date for construction, so as long as it stays on schedule for breaking ground, thats all that matters.
 
The extension was passed by the BPDA yesterday. I can’t link because on mobile but it’s in the agenda.
 
does anyone know.....

1. is South Station Tower ever getting built?
2. if so, when will it actually break ground?
 
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