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Boston North-South Rail Link


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#11 Sloan

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Posted 03 March 2017 - 07:23 PM

From NARP March 3, 2017

 

 

The idea of a 3-mile “North-South” rail tunnel that would link North and South stations for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is gaining momentum. State transportation officials began soliciting bids for the tunnel, which would create a fully connected rail route between Washington, D.C. and Maine. The study will help provide transit officials with a technical and financial analysis for the project, and if further review is required. The study is expected to cost $2 million and take up to eight months to complete.

The project was first proposed several years ago, but cost estimates were too high for the state to support. The tunnel was previously projected at $8 billion, but supporters say that advances in construction technology would lower the cost to between $2 billion and $3 billion.

I know this topic has appeared previously, but multiple searches did not reveal a thread, so I started a new one.  Sloan



#12 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 March 2017 - 10:20 PM

Sloan, I merged the post into this thread, as it is in the Miscellaneous Travel Items forum due to its pertinence to both Amtrak and MBTA.



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#13 Sloan

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Posted 26 July 2017 - 04:15 PM

 

 

MassDOT selects Arup to lead NSRL feasibility study

 

Global design and consulting firm Arup has been chosen to lead the feasibility reassessment of the North-South Rail Link (NSRL) project, a proposed new rail connection between two central Boston commuter hubs.

http://www.rtands.co...tml?channel=286



#14 CNJRoss

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Posted 21 June 2018 - 02:35 PM

Progressive Railroading, 6/21/18:

MBTA North South commuter-rail project could cost up to $22 billion

 

 

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) proposed North South commuter-rail project could cost $12.3 billion to $21.5 billion, according to an ongoing feasibility study.

The project calls for building 2.8-mile-long tunnels to connect Boston's North and South stations. The cost estimates cover tunnel construction, new or additional locomotives or coaches, improvements to support higher service levels and risk contingencies, MBTA officials said in a press release.

 

Continue here.



#15 CNJRoss

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Posted 21 June 2018 - 02:37 PM

MBTA news release:

 
FMCB Receives Preview of North South Rail Link Feasibility Reassessment Draft

 

Posted on June 18, 2018

 

 

Today the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) received a preview of the general findings of the North South Rail Link (NSRL) Feasibility Reassessment, which included findings in the areas of infrastructure, ridership, costs, and potential benefits. The draft NSRL Feasibility Reassessment report is still pending.

 

In 2016, the Baker-Polito Administration committed to conducting a reassessment of the feasibility of the NSRL, which was first analyzed in the late-1990s/early 2000s through an environmental review process. Work in this regard began on July 1, 2017, by global design and consulting firm Arup, who conducted this analysis with a project scope that included identifying changes in demographics and technology since the last concept in 2003; identifying a viable alignment; estimating project costs; summarizing benefits in ridership, changes in vehicle miles travelled, air quality improvements, and development opportunities in the project corridor; and including frequent coordination with the NSRL Working Group. This project scope was designed to understand the high-level costs and benefits of NSRL relative to not pursuing the NSRL (“No Build”) or expanding South Station.

 

The feasibility of the NSRL from the perspective of infrastructure was found to depend largely on tunnel and station depths. Station depths of 115 and 195 feet—deeper than the Red Line's Porter Square Station, the MBTA's current deepest station—would be required.

 

Additionally, construction of the Back Bay portal would prevent any trains from accessing South Station from the west and most from accessing it from the south (other than the Fairmount and Old Colony Lines) during the roughly 2-year construction phase of the portal. This means the termination of Worcester Line service west of Back Bay and the potential rerouting of Amtrak Northeast Corridor, Franklin Line, and Providence Line service via the Fairmount Line for 2 years.

 

All NSRL station platforms would also be underground and would maintain current connections into today’s South Station headhouse (Red and Silver Lines) and North Station subway (Green and Orange Lines). All northside service was also assumed to run through the NSRL tunnel, meaning that surface-level tracks and platforms would not be required for revenue service.

 

The reassessment study also explored the concept of shifting the Commuter Rail portion of North Station south by 4 blocks, preserving the Green/Orange Line connection (though at Haymarket Station), and creating a new direct connection to the Blue Line at State Station (obviating the need for a costly third station as envisioned in the 1995-2003 analysis).

 

Ridership projections were made for 4 different service alternatives agreed to with the NSRL Working Group. These included:

  • NSRL Regular Service (2-track), which maximized service during the peak and hourly off-peak service (estimated ridership of 195,000)
  • NSRL All-Day Peak Service (2-track) with maximum service throughout the service day (estimated ridership of 225,000)
  • NSRL All-Day Peak Service (4-track) with maximum service throughout the service day (estimated ridership of 250,000)
  • South Station Expansion All-Day Peak Service (not including the NSRL) with maximum service throughout the service day (estimated ridership of 195,000)

 

The estimated ridership of the “No Build” option is 150,000. Unlike typical ridership modeling, all service plans assumed no constraints on station parking.

 

The assessment also considered costs associated with NSRL. Total costs, including all costs associated with the tunnel construction, new or additional locomotives or coaches, upstream improvements needed to support increased service levels, and risk contingencies, range from $12.3 billion to $14.4 billion for the 2-track alignments and $21.5 billion for the 4-track alignment.

 

All project costs were escalated to the presumed midpoint of the construction year (2028). Arup estimated the cost of SSX in 2018 dollars as $1.75 billion (when only looking at similar project elements as the MassDOT SSX process), which is within 5 percent of the estimates conducted by VJ Associates (for the SSX project) and Keville (from an independent MBTA cost estimate). The same cost estimate, assuming rolling stock to support aggressive service levels and associated upstream improvements, for SSX were projected at $4.7 billion (2028 dollars). The project assumed the electrification of just the tunnel to the first station on each line, which was agreed to within the project scope, so as not to burden the NSRL cost with full electrification. This results in the procurement of dual-mode locomotives to replace much of the existing fleet.

 

Also noteworthy is that NSRL tunnel costs were in line with cost estimates that were done as part of the 1995-2003 work when estimated to 2028. Additionally, prior assumptions about operating cost savings resulting from reduced deadheading due to through-running trains and better access to BET were not supported by Arup’s analysis, which found that current MBTA operations include such a small share of non-revenue miles (3 percent of total miles) that the opportunities for savings were relatively small and overwhelmed by the increase in operating costs to support the more aggressive service levels modeled.

 

Potential benefits of NSRL include increased capacity by 25 percent (in terms of the number of commuter rail seats that arrive in Downtown Boston during the peak period). NSRL could also allow for a larger and less complicated development opportunity at South Station, eliminates the need for a close-in layover at Widett Circle, and could create the potential for redevelopment at the site of today’s surface tacks and platforms behind TD Garden. Environmental benefits were mixed – while all alternatives resulted in reductions in vehicle miles travelled and automobile emissions, the use of dual-mode locomotives combined with the significant increase in service resulted in little or no air quality benefit.

 

Next steps regarding the NSRL reassessment include the presentation of these findings at a public meeting to be held on June 21 at 5:30 PM in Boston at 10 Park Plaza. Following this public meeting, the draft NSRL Feasibility Reassessment will be released in early July 2018 with a public comment period in July and August. The final NSRL Feasibility Reassessment Report will be released in early fall 2018 with ongoing examination of electrification and alternative service models through the MBTA’s Rail Vision Study.

 

 



#16 KevinKorell

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Posted 15 October 2018 - 03:36 PM

CommonWealth Magazine, 10/14/18:

 


State’s rail link study full of flaws

 

 

 

METRO BOSTON’S disconnected commuter rail network is a problem. Without a direct connection between the networks feeding South Station and North Station, travelling between opposite sides of the city and region usually means foregoing rail and travelling by car over congested highways. This access barrier makes it harder for people to get to jobs, or to live and work in the places they desire.

 

 

Story



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#17 CNJRoss

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Posted 22 November 2018 - 09:45 AM

The Boston Globe, 11/16/18:

Michael Dukakis rode around in a rusty Hudson to drum up support for the North-South Rail Link

 

17dukakis.jpg

Dan McNichol
Former Governor Michael Dukakis stands in front of a 1949 Hudson he rode around in Friday in support of a North-South Rail Link.
 

 

Former governor Michael Dukakis is usually spotted around town picking up trash.

 

But this week, he was driving in it.

 

The king of the turkey carcass and fierce advocate of public transportation took the back seat in a dinged-up and rusted 1949 Hudson on Friday, traveling around the state in a symbolic gesture to drum up support for the construction of the North-South Rail Link.

 

“We’ve had an interesting day,” Dukakis said in a telephone interview, while making a pit stop on his way to Lowell. “It’s in remarkably good shape, I’ve got to tell you, for a vehicle that was made in 1949.”

 

SNIP

 

But earlier this year, officials estimated the tunneling project could cost $12 billion, and possibly much more. In a debate during his reelection campaign, Governor Charlie Baker said he wasn’t convinced the rail link would be the best way to improve regional transportation.

 

Dukakis and other rail link supporters have argued that the state’s estimate is flawed, however.

 

Dukakis, who served three terms as Massachusetts governor and was the 1988 Democratic nominee for president, said he hoped the road trip would send a message to lawmakers that building the North-South Rail Link could help ease congestion on the roadways and improve the lives of commuters who rely on public transit to get around.

 






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