Station Developments

[Alex M]

It is the phase before the existing station is leveled. The new station is up. The interior work needs to be done. The fixtures for the half platform are on site for installation once the platform is done.

[STrRedWolf]

Update on BWI: The old station ticket office building is now stripped down to one wall, supporting girders, and a roof. Three walls have been torn down to the steel I-beams.

Traffic is still a mess.

[gokeefe]

Good to see that project moving forward. Absolutely critical for the future of the NEC.

[Arlington]

At BWI is there a temporary station? If so I'm guessing it is somehow built into the parking garage?

[2-C+C-2]

At BWI is there a temporary station? If so I'm guessing it is somehow built into the parking garage?

Yes temporary, but not in the parking garage. It's a couple of trailers side by side in the area just to the east of the far (north) end of the track one platform.

Restrooms are separate trailers between the station trailer and the old station building.

Wooden ramps and steps between everything to keep them accessible.

[STrRedWolf]

At BWI is there a temporary station? If so I'm guessing it is somehow built into the parking garage?

Yes temporary, but not in the parking garage. It's a couple of trailers side by side in the area just to the east of the far (north) end of the track one platform.

Restrooms are separate trailers between the station trailer and the old station building.

Wooden ramps and steps between everything to keep them accessible.

I've been in the temp trailer station. It's not bad; the small lobby shop is at one end, ticket off the other, and a set of bathrooms in the middle that are handicap accessible.

Another trailer with bathrooms is there, but it's not handicap accessible.

[superstar]

The contract to build the new Buffalo Exchange Street station has been awarded, with completion expected in late 2020. A news article has some artists' renderings.

[Station Aficionado]

Well, the supporters of BCT, including the local congressman will be disappointed, but this deal looks done. The drawings of the new station remind me a little of the new station at Rochester. It’s good they’re planning for possibility of more than the current 3x/day. One thing I don’t understand—they say the new station will be elevated. But the drawings show it level with the street—so elevated above what?

I don’t know that there will be any change to Depew in the near future, so the new Exchange St. will be the final piece of station revitalization on the Empire West corridor. Now, if they can add a frequency or two, maybe with one going to Cleveland... We can dream, I suppose.

[MACTRAXX]

SA (and Everyone:)

From reading the NYSDOT Press Release and viewing the artists renderings it looks to me that the
new BFX station will be higher off the ground then the current station - which I recall was lower in
elevation previously than street level - and will include a new high-level platform longer than the
current low-level platform. Keeping this Buffalo location looks like a good move for Empire Service.

MACTRAXX

[STrRedWolf]

Some snapshots of the BWI station being torn down and rebuilt:
From Dec 9th:

Dec 9th, 2018
IMG_1822.jpg (408.53 KiB) Viewed 3825 times

From Jan 8th (today):

Jan 8th, 2018
IMG_1800.JPG (425.14 KiB) Viewed 3825 times

[gokeefe]

Really great to see this happening. BWI outgrew the facility by several orders of magnitude. The station opened in 1980. Not bad for 39 years work and who knows how many millions of passengers.

[Arlington]

I still don't get why they didn't leave themselves more room for a 6-track future at BWI (like they did at TF Green Airport in Providence, whose "future" is much farther in the future than BWIs)

Seems to me two island platforms with a track on both sides, and 2 central bypass tracks would have been more robust and required the same number of elevators, and just lay only 4 of the tracks now (if that's all they could afford...PVD only has 3 tracks laid and 1 side platform, but has space for another island and 3 more tracks)

[The EGE]

PVD only has space for four tracks.

[Arlington]

PVD only has space for four tracks.

I'm fairly sure "TFG" (Providence Airport) is planned 6, and that the garage was built with this in mind. Exactly as it "should have been" at BWI, the plan is for:
2 "Acela bidirectional bypass" at the centerline
2 Amtrak Northeast Regional tracks on the inboard sides of the island platforms
2 Commuter tracks on the outermost sides of the islands.

As you can see in this aerial view from the North/Boston side looking towards New Haven (linked below), the current MBTA bidirectional* platform on the southbound (railroad westbound to NHV/NYC) side is provisioned to become the "southbound island platform" (and the platform is already "done"/ready for this role):
https://goo.gl/maps/QPRzcKRpw1s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You also see this in the space they've left between the glassed elevator tower and the outer edge of today's platform:
https://goo.gl/maps/G6vJGCP3cky" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In the view above, you see they've left "stutter step" / "knockout" horizontal framing in the garage that would allow them to easily

1) "bore through" on the left to finish today's island platform and add an outermost track without touching the elevator
2) "bore through" on the right to create a northbound island, leaving the vertical elements in the center of the island (as you can already see on the opposite side).

In the second view linked above, you also see how they've positioned the elevator (in the glassed tower) one train's width outboard of the edge of the (future southbound island) platform, and left space to widen today's side platform into tomorrow's full-length, full-width island.

Of course what would a reserved ROW be without a signals box? In this case, nestled under a horizontal element that could be removed (similar to the ones that area already "not there" on the other view.

*MBTA/RIDOT service is effectively single track south of Providence (downtown).

[STrRedWolf]

First of all, I swapped the photos. The one with a back wall is the latest photo, so they're on the rebuilding phase now.

Second, when they did the study to rebuild BWI's platforms and 4-track between GROVE and WINANS, they ended up having to do a environmental study of some protected lands bordering the tracks. EPA said the minimal taking of some of the lands is fine. Six tracks through that area, though, would be pushing tracks well west and the EPA wouldn't approve.