Potential MBTA Southern NH Service

If a station in Manchester were privately funded, Manchester would likely see stopping train service, just as how the Downeaster makes its only station stops in NH thanks to private funding. The station itself would likely not be the high level MBTA 800 foot standard platform.

A NH station has to comply with federal ADA requirements, not MA ADA requirements.

... a house in a NH town bordering the Connecticut River. The house was valued at half of what my Boston-area house was valued, but the property tax was twice what I'm paying. ...

How do the attributes (number of bedrooms, square footage, lot size, also miles to schools, grocery stores, etc.) compare for the two houses?

BandA wrote: ↑Fri Dec 31, 2021 10:28 pm A NH station has to comply with federal ADA requirements, not MA ADA requirements.

Very true, but the MBTA could insist on meeting their standards (which are different than MA ADA requirements) if they are going to provide the service.

Unlikely that the MBTA would enforce MA station rules extraterritorialy. And there is the small matter of getting CSX to agree to allow MBTA to run service, although MassDOT+NHDOT could probably twist their arm. They could say, "either allow MBTA or we will hire Amtrak and block any freight improvement grants in MA or NH". Although I prefer the solution of hiring a low-cost provider & just running a "Granite State Shuttle" Manchester, MHT/Bedford, Nashua, "South Nashua" and Lowell, timed to match the Commuter Rail schedule.

MBTA has right of first refusal to run passenger service on the line, given to them as part of the 1976 sale agreement for the MA properties they bought from the B&M. So Pan Am/CSX has little say since they are inheriting the very same deed. And again I would like to point out that "MBTA" and "MA" station rules are not the same thing. The platforms built on the Knowledge Corridor, for example, do not meet MBTA standards yet are within the same state. The platforms RI has built for MBTA use are to MBTA standard - not sure if this is just a mutual agreement or the MBTA made it critical to providing the service. They are not really "extraterritorial" if they are part of the MBTA network - they effectively become MBTA territory in terms of service. Not entirely unreasonable for the MBTA to put some requirements on things so they are compatible with their existing equipment/operations.

As for private service, you have to get the MBTA's approval within the state since they own all the way to the MA/NH border and Lowell is their station. A "low-cost provider" can't do it cheaper, faster or more reliably than the MBTA can either the way you've laid it out. MBTA can leverage existing equipment and crews, scaling up slightly for the extra mileage from Lowell to Manchester. And a service with a transfer needs to allow time for that transfer, and will it be guaranteed or does the MBTA leave on schedule? If you're delayed up on the Northern somewhere, you miss your connection - or you're just on an MBTA train that took a delay.

Any new MBTA Station should get brand new full length high level platforms if possible and that includes the proposed route to Manchester, NH. I know that there is a proposal that Amtrak may look into operating the service as part of the connect plan but I think MBTA should look into considering it. It's just an extension of the route from Lowell, MA.

I too think that the MBTA should run the route up to Manchester, which would be a 30 mile extension up from Lowell, If Amtrak runs the service they would probably run it all the way to Concord, which sounds better at first but would come at the cost of having a lower Intercity Rail frequency rather than a more frequent Commuter Rail frequency, also about the platforms, Amtrak would probably settle for more basic platforms along the route, similar to the ones found on the Downeaster today, the MBTA would probably prefer their standard 800 foot high level platform, but I have no evidence to prove this.

If Amtrak runs it, it ought to go all the way to White River Junction.

That would be nice, but I believe the right of way no longer exists unfortunately.

Ain't going to White River Junction, but how about Lincoln?

Not sure, in any case, even if there is an existing ROW to White River Junction or Lincoln, Amtrak has no interest in running any service beyond Concord, as shown in the ConnectUS map

The line to Lincoln is still active; most is under lease to the Plymouth & Lincoln (aka Hobo RR and Winnipesaukee Scenic RR) and New England Southern.

The ROW from Concord to White River Junction is mostly intact, but is now a rail trail.

The line to Lincoln is still active

It's active and probably has more traffic sources and destinations with Tilton/Franklin, Laconia/Weirs Beach, Meredith, Plymouth and the various tourist attractions in those areas.

There's not a whole lot between Concord and White River Junction that would warrant bringing those rails back unless it was part of some larger scheme like Boston to Montreal HSR, though even the railfan in me can't see how that would ever make sense.

The only reason I could ever see those rails coming back is if some industrial development boom happened in or around the area of the former ROW (for some strange reason) and hence merits rebuilding the tracks for freight-only usage. Anyway, I also made a topic in the Amtrak forum titled "Proposed Boston - Concord, NH Route Discussion"