Southcoast Rail

There is a lot of work happening on the New Bedford Main through Freetown and Lakeville. Culvert and drainage work mostly but a lot of the track has been shifted and put back in place with the roadbed improved (new ballast, ROW widening for access, brush clearing). Real progress is finally visible. If nothing else, Mass Coastal is going to have smooth running.

So this is underway: https://www.providencejournal.com/news/ ... ndbreaking

Kind of dumb that "phase 2" won't be done until 2030, but if it helps to move the ball forwards in terms of electrifying the CR, I can get excited.

Well, I've seen that this route is funded, but somehow I'm still not believing it's gonna
get built. There have been so many obstacles for so long (I mean, I helped do the original
vibration analysis 17 years ago) that I still can't believe anything is going to happen
with this. I'm guessing they'll get a ways along and run out of money and then have to
fight for more, in which case it might get halted again or delayed. I'll believe it when
I see it built.

I have no doubt Phase 1 will be built...Phase 2 to me looks like a long shot...

MickD wrote: ↑Thu Jul 25, 2019 12:35 pm I have no doubt Phase 1 will be built...Phase 2 to me looks like a long shot...

I agree. Phase One will likely happen, although I’m sure it will take longer than planned, and this will be used as a political pacifier for NB and FR, and we will likely never see Phase Two.

And there won't be any capacity or money left to extend CR to the cape. And no money for other needed projects.

Or we might end up with plenty of Money.

Gov. Baker Seeks $18 Billion Boost to MBTA

[quote=BandA post_id=1515083 time=1564103296 user_id=186045]
And there won't be any capacity or money left to extend CR to the cape. And no money for other needed projects.
[/quote]..
I personally don't think CR to The Cape is warranted,as
in that I don't believe,at Very best the demographic could justify more than 3 or 4
weekday, and 1 or 2 Saturday trains in each direction,and these towns,other than Bourne, will not
pay in to the pool to bring it here..Sandwich won't and I doubt
Barnstable would..I would guess the best the state will do
down this way is CR to Buzzards Bay,which is very doable
Whereas I think the NB/FR service, when people get acclimated to it,
will do better than some folks may think...

It was previously discussed, I think in the Cape Flyer thread, that year-round CR to Buzzards Bay would be a good idea, and seasonal 7-day a week service capeside to Bourne, and adding another station in Yarmouth or Barnstable. And maybe service during bridge repair season. Further, the track to the cape is all in place & only needs to be upgraded capeside for higher speeds & perhaps signals. The Cape Flyer has gathered some real world passenger data, where Southcoast only has studies, and that maybe Cape Cod service would be more in demand than Fall River / New Bedford.

Article in 5/12/20 Boston.com (no pay wall!):

Headline: "$159M contract awarded for 2 new South Coast Rail project commuter rail stations and other work"

Sub-head: "The entirety of Phase 1 of the South Coast Rail project is planned to wrap up in fall 2023"

“This contract award means two brand new, accessible stations built in Freetown and Fall River, a brand new layover facility with six storage tracks, and key infrastructure work on rail bridges, grade crossings, and a dozen miles of track,” MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said in a statement. “We’re excited to complete this work, establishing Commuter Rail passenger service to Southeastern Mass. and bringing a one-seat ride from Taunton, Fall River, and New Bedford to Boston in late 2023.”

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/ ... t-contract

Yeah, Phase 1 is clearly gonna get done. After all these years, they'll finally get something. But it's still
hard to say how many people will ride it. It was a long ways to South Station originally, and the dog leg adds even more mileage to it. When you look at the actual ridership on the Greenbush line, it was well short of what was forecast. I'm having doubts about how well this is gonna turn out.

The stations will include parking — 107 spaces in Freetown and 220 in Fall River

I assume the station in New Bedford will be busier, but seriously, for a $Billion or so they are not expecting a lot of passengers.

Here's the 26-page South Coast Rail Update presentation from yesterday's FMCB meeting:
https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/file ... update.pdf

Lots to chew on.

Very interesting, thanks for posting the update. So ~1300 spaces at the new stations, but the replacement Middleborough station only has 500 spaces vs. 769 or 853 spaces for the existing station (according to wikipedia). My first impression: It seems cheap compared to GLX!!! I'm guessing that phase 2 will be built 50 to 70 years from now. $8.5M for a pedestrian bridge? When will Worcester, a much busier line, get a 6-track layover yard comparable to Fall River? Notice that the Fall River station platform is only 730 feet instead of 800, probably due to space.

What happens to the old Middleborough station? Will extension to Buzzards Bay w/summer Cape service be possible with the Southeast Expressway / Red Line choke point? Would Cape Flyer or Buzzards Bay service use the old Middleborough station?

BandA wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2020 1:29 am What happens to the old Middleborough station? Will extension to Buzzards Bay w/summer Cape service be possible with the Southeast Expressway / Red Line choke point? Would Cape Flyer or Buzzards Bay service use the old Middleborough station?

It will become a curious relic like the Falmouth Shrine to the Bicycle.