Boston MA North South Rail Link Feasibility Reassessment Study --- Good News!

JCitron

Trainzing since 12-2003
Boston has two distinct passenger terminals which require a trip across town either on foot, by public transportation, or by cab in order to make a rail connection between the two terminals. The current trolley (tram), subway system is usually overcrowded even during the off peak hours, making the journey across town between North Station and South Station very stressful for rail travelers from the north heading south or vice versa.

When the terminals were built well over century ago, they were built by competing companies. The famous North Station, where the Boston Garden sports arena is located, was once owned by the Boston and Maine and its subsidiary companies. That terminal originally dates back to the 1840s or 1850s when many different terminals were consolidated into a single one. Once the various lines were merged, the bigger North Station was built, and later modified in the 1920s, and more recently updated and renovated.

The south side is served by South Station, which was built in the early 1900s to consolidate the passenger operations of the New Haven and the Boston and Albany operations.

When the Big Dig was done to bury Interstate 93 and remove the overhead highway, there was an allowance done to allow for a rail connection between the two terminals, however, nothing more than the tunnel itself was done. There was push back as usual from the state legislature about spending money on rail infrastructure while $14 Billion was spent on the Big Dig project with its bloated costs and many over runs.

As the traffic load on the interstate has increased, and the cost of fuel has gone up, there's renewed interest in building this rail link. Let's hope there's a push forward on this rather than letting the project languish again for another 20 years.

http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/planning/Main/CurrentStudies/NorthSouthRailLink.aspx
 
Would it be a standard rail line for though travel or a Light rail just for transport? Using google maps the area opened up by the big dig look kind of crowded as is.
 
I've had an interest in this project and it would be fairly simple. More information about the North South Rail Link can be found here: http://www.northsouthraillink.org/

The tunnel will be four tracks, with each track having the same electrification as the Northeast Corridor. Currently, one can transfer from South Station to North Station via getting off the train at Back Bay and then taking the Orange Line north to North Station. The alternative would be terminating at South Station, transferring to a Red Line train to Park Street, change at Park Street Under to the Green Line, and then the Green Line to North Station.

For this project, after trains load and unload passengers at Back Bay, they would enter a tunnel and arrive at an underground South Station with 4 tracks and two island platforms where passengers can transfer to the Red Line or the Silver Line. Heading north, trains would then arrive at a Central Station that has 4 tracks with two island platforms. Passengers at this Central Station can finally transfer to the Blue Line from the MBTA Commuter Rail or the Amtrak Northeast Corridor. Afterwards, the trains would head north to an underground North Station that has the same platform configuration as the two other underground stations.

I apologize if my information is incorrect. The website is a great resource for those who are interested in this project. The MBTA Commuter Rail will need new electric motive power or electric multiple units to improve service on every Commuter Rail line for the MBTA.
 
I've had an interest in this project and it would be fairly simple. More information about the North South Rail Link can be found here: http://www.northsouthraillink.org/

The tunnel will be four tracks, with each track having the same electrification as the Northeast Corridor. Currently, one can transfer from South Station to North Station via getting off the train at Back Bay and then taking the Orange Line north to North Station. The alternative would be terminating at South Station, transferring to a Red Line train to Park Street, change at Park Street Under to the Green Line, and then the Green Line to North Station.

For this project, after trains load and unload passengers at Back Bay, they would enter a tunnel and arrive at an underground South Station with 4 tracks and two island platforms where passengers can transfer to the Red Line or the Silver Line. Heading north, trains would then arrive at a Central Station that has 4 tracks with two island platforms. Passengers at this Central Station can finally transfer to the Blue Line from the MBTA Commuter Rail or the Amtrak Northeast Corridor. Afterwards, the trains would head north to an underground North Station that has the same platform configuration as the two other underground stations.

I apologize if my information is incorrect. The website is a great resource for those who are interested in this project. The MBTA Commuter Rail will need new electric motive power or electric multiple units to improve service on every Commuter Rail line for the MBTA.

You've got it summed up perfectly. I've been following the project off and on since it's early inception. During my Boston commutes in the early 1990s one of my fellow commuters showed me a Globe article on the project. We both said how cool, and knew it would probably never happen, at least not during the time the Big Dig was going in. While I was commuting, the Central Artery bridge was still in place and the the Leonard Zachim Bridge wasn't built yet and the loops and approach ramps were being built.

I would love to see electric service up this way utilizing EMUs instead of the ancient F40PHs pulling Horizon cars. Our commuter service on the Northside is pretty antiquated compared to whatever anyone else has like the Southside and western routes. For some reason we're always the last to see anything new.
 
Would it be a standard rail line for though travel or a Light rail just for transport? Using google maps the area opened up by the big dig look kind of crowded as is.

It'll be a standard heavy rail and not a light rail service.
 
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