Members of the TransitMatters advocacy group gave a very compelling presentation on Regional Rail last night at the library. Regional rail is their vision for frequent, reliable service on the commuter rail system with a fare structure to match the rest of the MBTA. They provided some very timely and smart advice. Here are some highlights:
- Electrification will improve service, help the environment, and save money
- Meanwhile, Regional Rail proposes incremental improvements to enable service every 30-60 minutes, all day
- Double-platform upgrades to the Newton stations are strategic for communities from Boston to Springfield
- Newton’s stations provide the key to mitigating Carmaggedon from the upcoming I-90 Allston project
It’s that last piece that seemed to get the most attention. The Mass Pike construction makes the Newton stations an urgent project and should justify the use of federal mitigation funds. This in turn can kickstart Regional Rail on the Framingham/Worcester line. Cancelling the ill-conceived South Station Expansion project would easily free up enough to fund the rest. The goal is four accessible Newton stations (including Newton Corner), 15-minute headways, and a $2.75 fare.
I’ll post a link to the video and presentation when it’s available.
[UPDATE: Sean has 15 Comments
I thought it was a great presentation overall, but that last point specifically was very interesting. Apparently as part of the I-90 Allston project federal funding will be available for things that could mitigate the impact on highway travel. So something like.. adding a second platform to the Newton stations to enable more frequent service could fall under that mitigation funding. Their argument was basically to build the single platform alternative now while we have the CIP funding but design for the second platform at the same time and build as a mitigation to the I-90 Allston project.
Dear elected officials who might be reading this… DO SOMETHING TO MAKE THIS ACTUALLY HAPPEN.
Bring it on!
Seriously, what can we as citizens do to advance this vision? What elected officials need our letters? What organizations need our donations?
Doug, as the transit matters people said, we need a multi-town campaign along the entire FW line, including Senate President Spilka’s town of Ashland.
What if we started organizing an advocacy team consisting of one regular commuter representative per station along the line? Recruitment can happen at the stations.
Yes!! With its name COMMUTER rail, it really pigeonholes itself into being just for commuters, but it has the potential to be a lot more. Those changes would be a game-changer.
And even if it’s just for commuters, the changes would attract more of them. Having to wait an hour for the next train if you’re running late is a serious problem. When I worked near commuter rail years ago, that often caused me to end up driving in.
There is a MBTA meeting on Green Line improvements in Sept:
The Green Line Transformation Public Meetings are a public forum for T riders and any interested stakeholders to learn more about the short- and long-term projects planned to make the Green Line safer, more comfortable and more reliable by 2030.
September 23, 2019, 6:00 PM, Newton Free Library, Druker Auditorium, Newton, MA
for more info and other public meeting dates: http://www.mbta.com/projects/green-line-transformation
I live in the Highlands, so I don’t use the Worcester to Boston commuter rail service. That said, I’m confused by:
(1). The back and forth in several recent posts between those that describe crowded, standing room only trains during rush hour periods and those arguing that there are always plenty of empty seats.
(2) The time lag between the construction of every proposed and conceivable residential project along Washington Street and the North of Newton in general and a realistic analysis of when the proposed improvements and upgrades to the commuter rail system will take place to accommodate a reasonable analysis of how many prospective new commuters these new projects will draw to the trains.
(3) I think this time lag may be significant because every transportation study I’ve been involved with has stressed that needed new public transit should be in place before people move into new development projects. If the service is bad when they move in, it’s much more likely they will opt for other ways to commute and get around. It’s also likely that once they choose these other options, it will be difficult to get them to flip back to public transit.
There are similar concerns in my neck of the woods about extended lag times between the introduction of additional commuters from Northland and Riverside and the upgrading of service on the Green Line.
You’re not kidding, Meredith! Miss a train? You could end up waiting for more than an hour until the next one. Need to go into work late because you have a doctor’s appointment? Better make sure you don’t miss the last inbound train that stops in Newton. Get a call from the school nurse to pickup your sick kid? The outbound trains are several hours apart during business hours, hopefully you can get there ASAP!
FYI: The precise commuter rail schedule as it affects Newton and the precise bus schedule as it affects the Washington St corridor from Crafts St to West Newton may be found on my web page Transit along Washington St in Newton MA at:
https://web.northeastern.edu/rasala/transit/
This document was the subject of a recent Village 14 blog post:
https://village14.com/2019/07/24/transit-along-washington-st-in-newton/#axzz5vjvBrzqj
FYI the MBTA approved funding of the design phase of Newton station accessibility project today at the FMCB meeting. https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2019-08/2019-08-12-fmcb-M-newton-commuter-rail-stations-design.pdf . $5m allocated toward design.
Of note:
1. “Design so as not to preclude future construction of Alternative 2 which includes
construction of a second side platform at each station and additional vertical
transportation elements” (as expected)
2. “As part of the project scope, an additional side platform at one of the
three Newton Commuter Rail stations will be advanced to the
conceptual design level to further define project cost and schedule
impacts.”
3. Construction phase is still contingent on the remaining funding magically appearing from somewhere.
So, I wonder, what are the criteria for choosing which station to upgrade to two platforms, and who gets to decide, the MBTA or the city?
@Adam I have several replies, in no particular order:
* The one that’s the least expensive
* Whichever one is most likely to allow the MBTA to not do it
* The operationally least intrusive to off-peak schedules
* Village Cage Match!
* Based on the city’s recommendations and developer contributions to Newton’s Transit Improvement Fund (which is being set up, right??)
@ Doug, West Newton because it’s the middle of the three?
Full Disclosure: I’m heavily biased, West Newton is my stop.
Thank you Adam for posting this, and also for your help in spreading the word about the event. Thank you also to event co-sponsors Green Newton, Newton Transportation Advisory Group, 350 Mass, and Mass. Sierra Club.