Extra Tracks at North Station?

There's probably 100 posts hidden in this forum talking about this but I guess theres 101 now :D
So I was scoping out North Station from the parking lot of the old Spaulding rehab building and was surprised to see that there was a whole extra platform and pair of tracks that seemed to be chopped off and replaced with parking lot? Whats the story with that?

Are those the ones that were severed during the 2004 DNC?

Former mail & express platform from B&M years?

I remember something about Spaulding Rehab was supposed to move away and return access to the tracks but then didn't move???

R36 Combine Coach wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2023 11:28 pm Former mail & express platform from B&M years?

Hasn't everything been fully rebuilt since then?

BandA wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 1:53 am I remember something about Spaulding Rehab was supposed to move away and return access to the tracks but then didn't move???

Spaulding did move but they didn't physically move their building, they just moved TO a different building. Looking on google maps, it looks like they would have to knock down part of their building to get access to those to tracks again.

Then again, there's already 10 tracks. How many tracks do you need for just 4 CR lines and a downeaster?
In fact, for that same reason, I'm confused why they want to increase the drawbridge from 4 to 6 tracks. Seems wholly unneeded considering the bottleneck is only about 200 feet long. Unless new lines were planned on the North but I don't think any are. Boston to Manchester via the M&L just ain't happening :/

The extra platform is a bit of future-proofing included when the Fleet Center was built, which so far hasn't been needed. If it ever is, they'll need to rip out some of the parking lot, demolish the old Spaulding building, and reinstall the third drawbridge so they can be accessed (there's not enough space between the existing drawbridge and the platforms to split off a lead for 2 more tracks).

There's a plan to replace the two draws, add a third, and reconnect tracks 11 and 12.

https://www.mbta.com/projects/north-sta ... eplacement
https://stvinc.com/project/north-statio ... eplacement

While the drawbridges are "only a 200' bottleneck", that bottleneck is known to bring trains to a full stop within sight of the station.

l008com wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 3:50 am Then again, there's already 10 tracks. How many tracks do you need for just 4 CR lines and a downeaster?
In fact, for that same reason, I'm confused why they want to increase the drawbridge from 4 to 6 tracks. Seems wholly unneeded considering the bottleneck is only about 200 feet long. Unless new lines were planned on the North but I don't think any are. Boston to Manchester via the M&L just ain't happening :/

Any expansion won't be due to changes in number of routes, just frequencies of service. That are vague plans to double or even in some cases triple the headways on certain lines, which will definitely put pressure on station track management.

Mass General has taken over the building, but if there was a deal already to return the land for tracks 11/12, that would still be in effect.

BOS was considered "at capacity" while BON was considered "near capacity" iirc. I think New Hampshire will eventually figure out a way to force Commuter Rail to at least Manchester. We may yet someday see BON service via the Grand Junction; Riverside to BON locals via the Main Line and Grand Junction would be popular if priced competitively. Electrification? Not happening. North South Rail Link? Not happening.

BOS had big problems with switching at the throat of the station, with long train waits.

Lesson is to get as many tracks set up as feasible

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/file ... g-2023.pdf

According to this MBTA pdf from 5 months ago, tracks 11 and 12 are planned to be reconnected to the system once the 3 new drawbridges are built.

I think New Hampshire will eventually figure out a way to force Commuter Rail to at least Manchester. We may yet someday see BON service via the Grand Junction; Riverside to BON locals via the Main Line and Grand Junction would be popular if priced competitively. Electrification? Not happening. North South Rail Link? Not happening.

This is all true, especially the last one, with the MBTA looking at expanding North and South Stations and building the new Widett Circle Yard, which will effectively become the "BET of the south side", anyone who still thinks that NSRL is happening is dreaming 20 years ago. Electrification doesn't have much of a better shot either, so that's not why they are looking to do this, I think its just a matter of adding tracks to North Station because the new drawbridge project gives the a good opportunity to do so, and future NH service, which I also agree is probably gonna happen at some point, would eventually come to justify that, not that it really needs any justification.

Proper implementation of NSRL would remove the need for an above ground terminal at BON altogether, with all trains passing through a 2 platform station below ground. The DE would also use that, passing through and on to a similar station underneath the current South Station. NSRL would also remove the need for any above ground expansion of South Station. But as others have noted, unlikely to happen any day soon. Too many folks stuck in the past.

My favorite plan for a NSRL was a 2 or 4 track surface level RoW down the old 93 corridor. Impossible now but was such a no-brainer, it should have been included in the original design of the big dig for sure. And it would have been even nicer once electrification finally happens.