MBTA Urban & Regional Rail

[Nexis4Jersey]

Massachusetts

Projects to be completed by 2030

Fall River line
New Bedford line
DMU Purchase
MP36PH–3C Purchase
New Bi-level Purchase
New Orange line cars
Fitchburg line extension to Wachusett / Greenfield
New Haven - Springfield line
South Station Capacity Enhancements
Full Providence line 3/4 tracking
Blue line extension to Lynn
Littleton Station upgrade
Back Bay Station upgrade
Lowell line Extension to Manchester
Haverhill line Extension to Plaistow,NH
Blue Hill Avenue Station
Talbot Ave Station
Four Corners / Geneva Station
New Market Station
Green line Extension to Somerville / Union SQ
South Station Canopy





Large Scale Rail Projects

Project : New Bedford line
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 7
Projected Ridership : 20,000


Project : Fall River line
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 8
Projected Ridership : 25,000


Project : Newport extension of the Fall River line
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 3
Projected Ridership : 12,000


Project : Extension of Newburyport line to Portsmouth
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 5
Projected Ridership : 8,000


Project : Extension of the Haverhill line to Plaistow
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 2
Projected Ridership : 3,000


Project : Extension of the Fitchburg line to Greenfield
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 6
Projected Ridership : 7,000


Project : Extension of the Lowell line to Concord
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 9
Projected Ridership : 30,000


Project : Extension of the Forge Park / 495 line to Milford
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 3
Projected Ridership : 10,000


Project : Cape Cod line
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 10
Projected Ridership : 16,000


Project : I395 Rail Corridor
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 7
Projected Ridership : 9,000


Project : Worcester - Ayer - Lowell line
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 9
Projected Ridership : 17,000


Project : Extension of the Lawrence line to Manchester
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 6
Projected Ridership : 11,000



Project : Blue line extension to Lynn
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 5
Projected Ridership : 17,000


Project : Green line extension to Somerville
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 7
Projected Ridership : 60,000


Project : Green line extension to Union SQ
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 1
Projected Ridership : 9,000


Project : Mattapan - Ashmont Extension to Hyde Park
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 4
Projected Ridership : 10,000


Project : Mattapan - Ashmont extension to Fairmont
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 3
Projected Ridership : 4,000


Project : Green line extension to Needham JCT
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 8
Projected Ridership : 30,000


Project : Green line extension to Airport via Everett
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 12
Projected Ridership : 55,000


Project : Green line extension to Everett / Malden line
Number of lines : 1
Stations : 8
Projected Ridership : 45,000



Current Railway / Light Rail lines


Line : Providence line
Length : 40 mi
Stations : 14
Ridership : 28,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 50,000)

Line : Greenbush line
Length : 18 mi
Stations : 10
Ridership : 5,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 8,600 )

Line : Franklin line
Length : 20 mi
Stations : 16
Ridership : 13,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 19,000 )

Line : Needham line
Length : 9 mi
Stations : 11
Ridership : 8,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 12,000)

Line : Fairmount line
Length : 12 mi
Stations : 5
Ridership : 2,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 7,000)

Line : Old Colony lines
Length : 27 mi
Stations : 17
Ridership : 20,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 40,000)

Line : Worcester line
Length : 45 mi
Stations : 17
Ridership : 18,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 21,000 )

Line : Newburyport / Rockport lines
Length : 50 mi
Stations : 14
Ridership : 18,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 28,000 )

Line : Haverhill line
Length : 55 mi
Stations : 14
Ridership : 10,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 13,000)

Line : Lowell line
Length : 45 mi
Stations : 9
Ridership : 12,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 28,000 )

Line : Fightburg line
Length : 50 mi
Stations : 18
Ridership : 10,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 19,000 )

Line : Blue line
Length : 6 mi
Stations : 12
Ridership : 67,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 85,000 )

Line : Red line
Length : 17 mi
Stations : 18
Ridership : 179,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 200,000 )

Line : Orange line
Length : 11 mi
Stations : 19
Ridership : 181,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 200,000)

Line : Mattapan - Ashmont line
Length : 3 mi
Stations : 8
Ridership : 7,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 15,000)

Line : Green line
Length : 26 mi
Stations : 66
Ridership : 237,000 (Projected 2020 Ridership : 310,000)

Total 2020 Projected Rail Ridership : 855,000



http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en...a23f6af755&z=8< Massachusetts / RI 2040 Regional Rail plan


http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en...aeb0dbe48&z=11<MBTA Urban 2050 plan

• Video Link

• Video Link

[fflint]

Where are the new Green Line stops for Somerville planned?

[Beta_Magellan]

Here’s an interactive map of potential stops.

[ardecila]

Hopefully the Fairmount Line can be turned into a light metro with frequent service (electrified?). It has the right characteristics for it...

[jamesinclair]

Might as well kick off the thread with some current events


"Caption: MBTA expansion plans are as much on track as this train"

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

Might as well kick off the thread with some current events


"Caption: MBTA expansion plans are as much on track as this train"

No there not , The Fall River and New Bedford lines are progressing slowy....so are the New Stations and some other upgrades....

[ardecila]

I dunno...

This is pretty impressive. Even if the system isn't getting bigger, they're replacing outdated and cramped stations with spacious, well-designed new ones, or at least retrofitting elevators and ramps into stations to ensure accessibility.

In Chicago, there's nothing like that. The CTA hasn't had decent capital funding for years, and the little funding they do get is immediately sunk into new buses and track replacement. There's little to no money for stations.

The high quality of design at MBTA is really great... obviously there is plenty of architectural talent in Boston, but it takes strong-willed and ambitious management to seek out the talent and then reconcile the good design with the budget necessities of government construction.

[jamesinclair]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

No there not , The Fall River and New Bedford lines are progressing slowy....so are the New Stations and some other upgrades....

Most massachusetts residents are crossing their fingers that the fall river line ends up like silver line 3....just a line in a planning book. There are better ways to spend that money.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

Most massachusetts residents are crossing their fingers that the fall river line ends up like silver line 3....just a line in a planning book. There are better ways to spend that money.

The Fall River / New Bedford line are important to that part of the state which is dying according to the census..... I haven't heard most Mass residents don't want it , thats hearsay....anyway. I heard theres a fight over which line the state restores first....

[jamesinclair]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

The Fall River / New Bedford line are important to that part of the state which is dying according to the census..... I haven't heard most Mass residents don't want it , thats hearsay....anyway. I heard theres a fight over which line the state restores first....

A train wont save them, but will hurt the rest of the state. It's just an incredibly inefficient use of money.

The project order should be based on what projects gets more riders for the smallest amount of money. Not "how do we make a sad little town feel better"

[ardecila]

I dunno. Boston and Providence have an amazing amount of prosperity. Trying to spread that to New Bedford and Fall River is a valid goal... strengthening the region helps everybody.

Of course, train service has really done quite a bit to strengthen the economies of Worcester and Lowell.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by jamesinclair

A train wont save them, but will hurt the rest of the state. It's just an incredibly inefficient use of money.

The project order should be based on what projects gets more riders for the smallest amount of money. Not "how do we make a sad little town feel better"

I disagree a train will boost there growth and bring more tourists $$$. You seem to be anti-Train , and form what i'm hearing this project is very popular in that part of Mass. If you have nothing more then garbage to add to this thread stop posting now...

[jamesinclair]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

I disagree a train will boost there growth and bring more tourists $$$. You seem to be anti-Train , and form what i'm hearing this project is very popular in that part of Mass. If you have nothing more then garbage to add to this thread stop posting now...

It would be cheaper to dump money on those towns in perpetuity instead of screwing over the entire MBTA system.

The project isn't popular on their end either, they're suing to stop it.

I'm anti train because Im against a wasteful project in favor of actually useful projects like extending the blue and orange lines?

I guess in your world, you either support everything unconditionally, or you're a garbage-touting hater.

[manrush]

Some news from Boston on the new Fairmount Line upgrade.

The Transport Politic: Fairmount Corridor Construction Promotes Better Use of Commuter Lines in Boston

Details can be found here: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2...nes-in-boston/

Originally Posted by Yonah Freemark

Boston has one of the nation’s most extensive and well-used commuter rail systems, with twelve lines splayed out from its terminal stations located downtown. But use of those services within the dense core communities of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville is limited. Despite the fact that the commuter lines pass through those cities as they head out into the suburbs, few residents there choose commuter rail over the subway and bus network, likely because of few stops, limited frequencies of service, and inadequate connections with te rest of the transit network, both in terms of operations and fares.

As in other American cities, this represents a significant under-use of an asset that could play a significant role in upgrading Boston’s transportation network.

With the Fairmount Corridor improvement project, however, that situation will begin to improve on a limited basis — at least within a few neighborhoods south of downtown.

In the comment sections, there was a proposal to sever the Fairmount Line from FRA regulations, or at least to get an FRA waiver for the line, so that lighter regional rail vehicles could be run on it.

Another idea in the comments section was to electrify the line.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Originally Posted by manrush

Some news from Boston on the new Fairmount Line upgrade.

The Transport Politic: Fairmount Corridor Construction Promotes Better Use of Commuter Lines in Boston

Details can be found here: http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2...nes-in-boston/


In the comment sections, there was a proposal to sever the Fairmount Line from FRA regulations, or at least to get an FRA waiver for the line, so that lighter regional rail vehicles could be run on it.

Another idea in the comments section was to electrify the line.

But the MBTA uses the Fairmont line to bypass the Providence line for Franklin line trains....and Foxboro trains. Electrifying the entire South Station network is great idea....but will probably never happen or at least not for a long time.