Railroad Forums 

  • South Coast Rail Clog (Effects on the whole Middleboro Main Line & Old Colony Service)

  • 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

 #1583376  by wicked
 
Not mentioned in this thread is the need to shut the current Middleboro station and spend a few million to build another one two miles away, before the Middleboro Secondary split.
 #1583386  by CRail
 
The new station is already under construction.
 #1583399  by STrRedWolf
 
CRail wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:45 pm The new station is already under construction.
I have another fellow transit enthusiast actually working on that project as part of the construction crew. He's shown photos of new track being laid down. I'll ask how it's going.
 #1583411  by BandA
 
And the new Middleborough station cannot be used with the Cape Flyer service IIRC!!!
 #1583422  by HenryAlan
 
Correct. The new station will be on the branch, after it splits from the ROW that the Flyer follows to Buzzards Bay and beyond. The new station is very close to the existing station, but each one can only serve a single branch, rather than both.
Last edited by CRail on Wed Oct 27, 2021 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Unnecessary quote removed.
 #1583427  by STrRedWolf
 
Word from my friend is that most of the track work is done or close to done. They're working on under drainage, signaling conduits, and the station platform.

They're also working on double-tracking around Fall River and New Bedford, including bridge replacements. This should let the MAS in those two areas be raised from 10 to 80... depending on what MassDOT does.
 #1583430  by The EGE
 
The new Middleborough station is designed to support a future platform on the southwest leg of the wye for Cape Cod shuttle service, but bizarrely lacks any provision for a CapeFLYER platform. I suspect that the CapeFLYER will cease stopping at Middleborough/Lakeville relatively soon after SCR opens - it doesn't seem logical to maintain the station just for the tiny number of CapeFLYER riders using the station.
 #1583745  by wicked
 
Which is a damn waste. They built two apartment buildings there. You know, that whole TOD thing. Also knowing where the new station is, I'm guessing there is little parking (not that it matters during COVID).
 #1583767  by njtmnrrbuff
 
I didn't know that about the current Middleboro-Lakeville Station closing once the newer one on the South Coast extension opens up. It probably makes sense as many of the trains end at the current Middleboro-Lakeville Station and the only one that continues beyond there is the Cape Flyer. It doesn't surprise me that very few people get on and off the Cape Flyer at Middleboro-Lakeville Station. It's already so close enough to the Cape that many people heading to the Cape who live in Middleboro will just drive. On the other hand, for those who live in Middleboro who want to use the train to the Cape-Wareham is just down the road. That is very true about if the extension to Buzzards Bay ever happens in terms of needing the current station.
 #1584594  by wicked
 
The EGE wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 10:18 pm The new station will have 500 spaces to Middleborough/Lakeville's 850.
Huh. I looked again at the station site and see it's a bit further down and much closer to 495 from where I thought it was. I thought it was at the site of the old station.
 #1587284  by troffey
 
BandA wrote: Sun Oct 10, 2021 10:08 pm 6-cars is the longest the "T" regularly runs on any lines IIRC.
Old Colony Line trains are capped at six cars. I believe that is due to the length of the South Station platforms by the postal annex, but I could be wrong.

Other south side lines run 8 car trains regularly.