NY Times article on Massachusetts rail plans

[afigg]

The New York Times has an article on the proposed passenger rail plans & tax increases proposed by Gov. Patrick in MA which also expands on other state plans: Massachusetts Plan Starts Small for Big Upgrade to Rail System. While the discussion of the MA plans is mainly focused on MBTA/commuter routes: Cape Cod, South Coast Rail, extending the Danbury line to Pittsfield, it mentions South Station, Amtrak, NH, Downeaster, service between Portland ME to NYP (yes, that is mentioned)., VA, etc.

While Gov. Patrick is not likely to get all his proposed projects funded because of the tax increases to pay for them, looks like there will be some tax and revenue increases to pay for some of them. Hipefully the nlsnd Route and South Station expansion projects will be funded.

 

[TimePeace]

Not a serious criticism... I know papers use file photos that are not always totally accurate, but still serve to illustrate the article's idea. I don't know my locomotives like many forum members do... but tell me, doesn't the Downeaster use locomotives that have a kind of lower front end section, kind of like a truck hood, with a windshield set back, rather than the one pictured?

 

[AG1]

The other end of the train has what you described, a former F40 engine that has been converted to a cab car/baggage(cabbage) car by removing the engine .

 

[Anderson]

Also, equipment shuffles happen. At least they didn't use Superliners...

I'm trying to figure out...did Patrick's plan actually include potential funding for the new HSR plan?

 

[lo2e]

service between Portland ME to NYP (yes, that is mentioned)

YES!!!! Free us from Amtrak Isolation!

 

[afigg]

Also, equipment shuffles happen. At least they didn't use Superliners...
I'm trying to figure out...did Patrick's plan actually include potential funding for the new HSR plan?

No, Gov. Patrick's proposal does not include the Amtrak Next-Gen NEC HSR conceptual proposal. The article is a wide ranging one that briefly mentions a lot of other passenger plans/proposal. Looking up the January viewgraph pitch ( ~4 MB PDF) for the expanded transportation funding, the rail part mostly involves MBTA and the T (Green Line extension, new rolling stock, dealing with the debt load crisis, etc). The Amtrak related projects are $850 million for South Station expansion and $362 million for the Inland Route.

With the Democrats having taken control of the NH Governorship and House, the political terrain in NH looks to be far more friendly for passenger rail service in NH. It may just be MBTA commuter service extension into NH, but if NH is on board, then all the new England states would become supporters of passenger rail service improvements and expansion. That should make for, over the next 10-15 years, a series of service improvements and restorations across New England - Inland Route Regionals, BOS-SPG service, NHV-SPG corridor, NEC CT upgrades, Boston - Concord, Downeaster to Augusta, Ethan Allen to Burlington, Vermonter to Montreal, Boston to Montreal.

Edit; yes, also a daily Brunswick ME to NYP train.

 

[CHamilton]

South Coast Rail funding debate could get interesting

For the first time since Gov. Deval Patrick committed to South Coast Rail during his first year in office an actual method of payment is chugging along toward the station.

Included in the transportation bond bill currently on Beacon Hill is more than $2 billion to fund the project that would connect the southeastern Massachusetts cities of Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton to Boston, but there still remain hurdles to turning the bill into reality.

The next step in that process began last week with the naming of a six-member legislative committee tasked with hashing out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. A look at the makeup of that committee shows a fight in regard to rail money could be coming.

 

[neroden]

Wow. I just realized that he's proposing both Pittsfield-NYC and Springfield-Worcester. What's next, Springfield-Pittsfield? Soon this'll look like an actual statewide transportation network!

Well, good for New England...

 

[Joeker]

Bring back the "State of Maine" train. This train, at one time, operated as an overnight train carrying coaches and sleepers between Grand Central terminal on the New Haven RR tracks to New London then north on a NH branch (now P&W) to Worcester and then on the Boston & Maine RR tracks thru Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill and on to Portland, ME. Connection were made in Portland to the Maine Central to Bangor and points north with a thru sleeper from NY going on in summers to Ellsworth and Bar Harbor to bring the moneyed crowd to their summer homes. During the early years and up to the 1950's a sleeper was also carried to Northern New Hampshire (Concord ) via Lowell.

The State o Maine train died in 1960. The ICC had allowed the B&M and NH and MEC to end service however the Massachusetts state ICC ordered the B&M to keep its portion running, so basically a single or double RDC ran nightly between Worcester and Haverhill for about a year until the railroad could prove there was no revenue or passengers on that lonely overnight train.

 

[afigg]

Wow. I just realized that he's proposing both Pittsfield-NYC and Springfield-Worcester. What's next, Springfield-Pittsfield? Soon this'll look like an actual statewide transportation network!

Well, good for New England...

There is funding in the recent MA bond bill for Pittsfield-NYC, SPG-WOR, and Cape Cod service track improvements. I suspect that Pittsfield-NYC plans will go on hold once Gov. Patrick leaves office as CT would have to commit funds for it and CTDOT has New Haven line bridge replacements and completion of NHV-SPG corridor upgrades to pay for. I'm not saying that we won't someday see restoration of rail service north of Danbury to Pittsfield, but there are other higher priority projects for both MA and CT at present. Such as SPG to WOR track upgrades for SPG-BOS local service and Inland Route Regionals.

Since this thread is about MA rail plans, there is a Mass DOT website now up for the Northern New England Intercity Rail Initiative which is currently conducting a Tier I NEPA study for NHV-SPG-Montreal and BOS-SPG corridors. There is a link on the webpage to a January public presentation on the start of the study. MassDOT, VT, CTDOT appear to be jointly involved in the study which is supposed to be completed in September, 2015.

 

[CHamilton]

Massachusetts DOT schedules public hearings on South Coast Rail bridge replacements

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will host two public hearings this week to review the 25 percent-completed designs for four bridge replacements along the future South Coast Rail route. The hearings will be held Wednesday in Fall River and Thursday in New Bedford.

The bridge replacements will provide "fast and tangible benefits" to help expand freight-rail service along the route and support future passenger-rail service. The Golf Club Road, President Avenue and Brownell Street bridges in Fall River and Wamsutta bridge in New Bedford will be removed and replaced.