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  • Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.
Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.

Moderators: sery2831, CRail

 #1542639  by MBTA3247
 
BandA wrote: Wed May 13, 2020 1:29 amWhat happens to the old Middleborough station?
If they ever build the line up to Stoughton, presumably Middleboro service would be restored to the existing station, with all Southcoast trains going via Stoughton.
 #1542663  by njtmnrrbuff
 
Eventually the Stoughton routing would have to be built to enable a faster ride from Boston down to Bristol County. The initial route will probably take a bit longer than driving from Boston to New Bedford. On the other hand, it will open up commuting opportunities from New Bedford to Quincy.
 #1542788  by Charliemta
 
Will there be an easy connection from South Coast Rail to the Red Line at Quincy (or Braintree)?
 #1542816  by MBTA3247
 
Charliemta wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 7:07 pm Will there be an easy connection from South Coast Rail to the Red Line at Quincy (or Braintree)?
The current plan is to reroute existing Middleboro trains, so yes.
diburning wrote: Thu May 14, 2020 11:15 pm Is it really a better idea to build a new station in Middleboro instead of simply reversing direction each way at the current Middleboro/Lakeville station?
While replacing the existing station is terrible for Middleboro, it is in fact the most sensible option for South Coast Rail operations. Doing the dogleg between the junction and the current station and changing directions there will add a lot of time to the schedule.
 #1542843  by Red Wing
 
Question, is it the time to think about running shuttle service like say NJT's Princeton shuttle or MTA's Danbury shuttle? no new station needed just a transfer further up the line. The whole Old Colony system could potentially get more service if transfers were offered for each of the branches.
 #1542847  by jaymac
 
Red Wing » Fri May 15, 2020 10:58 am
...The whole Old Colony system could potentially get more service if transfers were offered for each of the branches.
That type of service -- and not just on the OC -- might actually be a good niche for DMUs.
 #1542848  by NH2060
 
I’m amazed this is actually happening. I didn’t want it to for a long time and I have a gut feeling that it won’t draw enough riders post-pandemic.

But we’ll see what happens.
 #1542854  by Red Wing
 
jaymac wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 10:45 am That type of service -- and not just on the OC -- might actually be a good niche for DMUs.
Kingston and Plymouth stick out like a sore thumb to me.
 #1542866  by Jeff Smith
 
ProgressiveRailroading.com: MBTA board approves South Coast Rail construction contract
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board approved a nearly $159 million contract with Skanska DW White JV to build the Fall River Secondary Line between Fall River and Boston.

The construction is part of Phase 1 of South Coast Rail, a project to build a new southern line of the MBTA commuter-rail system along several abandoned and freight-only rail lines. The line will connect southeastern Massachusetts and Boston in fall 2023, MBTA officials said in a press release.

Under the contract, the joint venture will build two new commuter-rail stations in Freetown and Fall River, and a train layover facility with six storage tracks in Fall River.
...
 #1542885  by MBTA3247
 
Red Wing wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 11:34 am
jaymac wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 10:45 am That type of service -- and not just on the OC -- might actually be a good niche for DMUs.
Kingston and Plymouth stick out like a sore thumb to me.
That's about the one type of service where battery-powered EMUs might be viable. Have the EMUs just bounce back and forth between Plymouth and Halifax, timed to meet the diesel trains running all the way between Kingston and Boston. As they'd be standing at one station or the other most of the time, inductive charging pads or short stretches of third rail at the stations would be sufficient to keep them charged.
 #1545295  by apodino
 
I was thinking about this the other day and I read somewhere that Bourne has joined the MBTA district. I know that they will build a new middleboro station and route trains that way to Fall River and New Bedford, but what is the feasibility of extending the Middleboro/Lakeville line to Bourne, and keeping the existing station to be served by Bourne trains? This would also save for phase 2 if the Stoughton line is extended to join this (Which I hope happens, but folks in Easton have money to fight this)
 #1545372  by BandA
 
It's pretty trivial to extend Middleboro trains to Buzzards Bay in Bourne. Just add full high level platform? As been discussed elsewhere, not much need to cross the canal in off-season. Hopefully not all the capacity is used up by Southcoast Phase 1. And cannot share new Middleboro station that is on the branch to Fall River/New Bedford.
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