I am a huge rail fan. But I'm also an accountant. Here's why an underground North-South-Rail-Link (NSRL) is a poor idea. Do something else with the money.
Even in Romney's day, the expected cost was eight billion. At four percent interest, that means that the interest costs are $867,000 per DAY. That does not include the operating costs or maintenance costs. A million dollars a day may not seem like much to you, but it's more than I make in a whole year. Even if five thousand people per day used this link, that's still $160 per trip. It's not worth it. And I think the number of users would be less than two thousand per day ($430 per trip).
The first question I have is to determine what the goal is.
A - Do you want through trains from NYC to Manchester?
B - Do you want through trains from Framingham to Lynn?
C - Do riders from Wilmington want to get to South Station without changing trains? We all want to get to our destination without changing trains. If you're going to connect North Station to South Station, why not connect North Station directly with Logan Airport, too?
(1) There is no significant demand. Between 1901 and 1938, the Atlantic Avenue Elevated was an existing NSRL. At the heyday of rail travel, it was abandoned due to lack of use. Currently, the #4 bus only runs during weekday rush hour.
(2) How many people want to get from NYC/Providence/Canton to Wilmington/Manchester/Portland? Consider the following: New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation. Less than three miles away is the most populated island in the nation. Rails already connect these two places. Several hundred passenger trains per day use these tracks. So, take guess. How many trains per day take passengers directly from New Jersey to the most populated island in the USA? The answer is ZERO. In order to get from New Jersey to Long Island, one must change trains in Manhattan. Surely, there must be thousands of people that want to get from NJ to Jamaica. So if the rail link already exists, why isn't it used? We all want to get to our destination without changing trains, but we can't connect every village to every other village. Note: this same logic applies to those who want to connect Penn Station to GCT.
(3) In order to get under the Big Dig and subways, subterranean NSRL would need to start descending by Copley Square and could not emerge before Somerville. Why not build on the Rose Kennedy Greenway? Let's see how many North End residents favor that plan.
(4) Are we going to electrify all the way to Framingham/Middleboro and to Manchester/Portland for 20 passengers a day?
So save the two million dollars to do a study. It's simply a waste of money. There, I saved two million dollars.
Even in Romney's day, the expected cost was eight billion. At four percent interest, that means that the interest costs are $867,000 per DAY. That does not include the operating costs or maintenance costs. A million dollars a day may not seem like much to you, but it's more than I make in a whole year. Even if five thousand people per day used this link, that's still $160 per trip. It's not worth it. And I think the number of users would be less than two thousand per day ($430 per trip).
The first question I have is to determine what the goal is.
A - Do you want through trains from NYC to Manchester?
B - Do you want through trains from Framingham to Lynn?
C - Do riders from Wilmington want to get to South Station without changing trains? We all want to get to our destination without changing trains. If you're going to connect North Station to South Station, why not connect North Station directly with Logan Airport, too?
(1) There is no significant demand. Between 1901 and 1938, the Atlantic Avenue Elevated was an existing NSRL. At the heyday of rail travel, it was abandoned due to lack of use. Currently, the #4 bus only runs during weekday rush hour.
(2) How many people want to get from NYC/Providence/Canton to Wilmington/Manchester/Portland? Consider the following: New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation. Less than three miles away is the most populated island in the nation. Rails already connect these two places. Several hundred passenger trains per day use these tracks. So, take guess. How many trains per day take passengers directly from New Jersey to the most populated island in the USA? The answer is ZERO. In order to get from New Jersey to Long Island, one must change trains in Manhattan. Surely, there must be thousands of people that want to get from NJ to Jamaica. So if the rail link already exists, why isn't it used? We all want to get to our destination without changing trains, but we can't connect every village to every other village. Note: this same logic applies to those who want to connect Penn Station to GCT.
(3) In order to get under the Big Dig and subways, subterranean NSRL would need to start descending by Copley Square and could not emerge before Somerville. Why not build on the Rose Kennedy Greenway? Let's see how many North End residents favor that plan.
(4) Are we going to electrify all the way to Framingham/Middleboro and to Manchester/Portland for 20 passengers a day?
So save the two million dollars to do a study. It's simply a waste of money. There, I saved two million dollars.