MBTA Commuter Rail
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| Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail Company | |
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| Reporting marks | MBTX |
| Locale | Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island |
| Dates of operation | 2003–present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | Boston, MA |
The MBTA Commuter Rail is the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. The line's characteristic purple-trimmed coaches run as far south as Providence, Rhode Island, and as far north as Newburyport and as far west as Worcester, both in Massachusetts. Because of this coloring, locals often call the system the Purple Line, to match the names of the colored subway lines. The trains have two terminal stops in Boston—South Station and North Station—both linked with Amtrak and the local bus and subway lines. (See "Boston transportation".)
The MBTA contracts operation of the Commuter Rail system the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR), a private company. As of FY2005, there were on average 135,900 weekday boardings, which was 11.9% of the MBTA system as a whole.[1]
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[edit] Current lines
The eight lines of the Commuter Rail leaving from South Station, from southeast to west:
- Greenbush Line, to Greenbush
- Old Colony Lines, to Plymouth and Kingston / Route 3 and to Middleborough/Lakeville
- Fairmount Line, to Readville, with trains continuing along the Providence/Stoughton and Franklin Lines
- Providence/Stoughton Line, to Stoughton and to Providence, Rhode Island
- Franklin Line, to Forge Park–495
- Needham Line, to Needham Heights
- Framingham/Worcester Line, to Worcester
Trains run to Foxboro for certain special events at Gillette Stadium, via a spur on the Providence/Stoughton Line.
The four lines of the Commuter Rail leaving from North Station, from west to northeast:
- Fitchburg Line, to Fitchburg
- Lowell Line, to Lowell
- Haverhill/Reading Line, to Haverhill
- Newburyport/Rockport Line, to Newburyport and Rockport
[edit] Operational history
In 1973, the MBTA bought various Commuter Rail lines from private owners.
The Boston and Maine Railroad was contracted to run service on the Lowell Line and other North-side lines, which it had formerly owned, while the Penn Central, and later Conrail, operated the remaining southern lines. Later, Conrail ceased subsidized passenger rail services, and the Boston and Maine won the contract for the entire system. After bankruptcy, the B&M continued to run and fulfill its contract under the protection of the Federal Bankruptcy Court, in the hopes that a reorganization could make it profitable again. It emerged from the court's protection when newly formed Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) bought it, in 1983. GTI let the contract expire in 1986.
In 1986–2003, Amtrak managed all of Boston's Commuter Rail.[citations needed] MBTA observers see Amtrak as having been a reliable manager/operator;[citations needed] but the National Passenger Railroad Corporation sometimes experienced strained relations with the MBTA.[citations needed] Quibbles centered on equipment failures, crewing issues about the number of conductors per train, and responsibility for late trains.[citations needed] Because of these issues, and Amtrak's repeated statements that the MBTA contract was unreasonable, few were surprised at Amtrak's decision not to bid again for the MBTA Commuter Rail contract when at its 2003 renewal.[citations needed]
When the MBTA asked for tenders on the Commuter Rail operation contract, Amtrak did not bid.[citations needed] Two tenders were submitted, from Guilford Rail System and from the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR), the latter of which won, taking over the MBTA Commuter Rail operation from Amtrak in July 2003.[2] The MBCR contract originally expired in July 2008; it has since been extended to July 2011.[citations needed]
The MBCR is a joint venture of Veolia Transportation North America (formerly Connex); Bombardier Transportation, which has manufactured some of the vehicles in the MBTA fleet; and Alternate Concepts, Inc.,[3] majority owner of Paul Revere Transportation, which operates some bus lines under contract from the MBTA.[4]
Some freight train companies lease the right to operate on MBTA-owned track, including the Providence and Worcester Railroad, CSX Transportation, the Bay Colony Railroad, Pan Am Railways (formerly Guilford Rail System), and Fore River Transportation.[5]
[edit] Expansion and improvements
Several extensions of and improvements to the MBTA Commuter Rail network are in debate or under way.
[edit] South Station Lines
An extension of the Stoughton Line is proposed to Fall River, Massachusetts, and New Bedford, Massachusetts; [1] describes some of the controversy. [2] has additional details. Some argue that building it does not make economic sense.[3]
A Providence Line extension to T. F. Green Airport, in Warwick, Rhode Island, is being constructed.
As of December 2007, Massachusetts is negotiating to buy the Framingham to Worcester tracks from CSX to gain better control over on time performance; there is a disagreement about liability.[4] As of April 2008, CSX and the state have agreed on a purchase price of between $300 million and $400 million for this track as well as some other track, but the liability issue is still unresolved; CSX argues that no-fault liability leads to faster payments and lower legal expenses, but Massachusetts is concerned about taxpayers becoming liable for CSX's potential negligence.[5] [6]
[edit] North Station Lines
There is a proposal to build a South Salem Commuter Rail station in Salem, Massachusetts, to improve access to Salem State College, as well as to extend Commuter Rail to Peabody, Massachusetts, and Danvers, Massachusetts.[7]
There is a plan to upgrade the Fitchburg Line to have cab signaling and to construct a second track along a seven mile stretch near Acton which is shared with freight traffic, so that the Fitchburg to Boston trip will be able to take only about an hour.[8]
New Hampshire has created the New Hampshire Rail Authority and allocated money to build platforms at Nashua and Manchester.[9] However, the current plan is for passengers heading from these New Hampshire stations to have to change trains in Lowell, Massachusetts when traveling to Boston.[10]
An article in the Eagle Tribune claims that the Massachusetts is negotiating to buy property which has the potential to extend the Haverhill Line to Plaistow, NH (though the article also erroneously claims that the MBTA only serves Massachusetts, ignoring the existence of Providence station and the station under construction at T F Green Airport).[11] Funding is available, and Plaistow is potentially interested but wants to better understand the potential drawbacks of being the location of the layover station.[12][13]
[edit] North-South Rail Link
No direct connection exists between the two stations; to travel from one station to the other, passengers must use the MBTA subway or the street. While passengers using the Providence/Stoughton, Framingham/Worcester, Franklin, and Needham lines can transfer to and from North Station at Back Bay via the Orange Line subway, all other passengers have to change subway trains at either Park Street or Downtown Crossing stations. A North-South Rail Link has been proposed to unite the two halves of the Commuter Rail system; but, because of the high cost, Massachusetts has, as of May 2006, withdrawn its sponsorship of the proposal. Train cars are transferred between the two halves of the system via the Grand Junction Railroad, which is not used for passenger service.
[edit] Equipment
MBTA Commuter Rail service from both stations is provided by push-pull trains powered by diesel locomotives, although some of the lines run on the electrified Northeast Corridor. EMD F40PH locomotives and Kawasaki bi-level passenger cars are typically used for trains that originate from South Station with EMD GP40MC locomotives and single-level passenger cars used from North Station. The railroad also operates two EMD GP9 work locomotives.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Journey to 2030. Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. May 2007. Chapter 2, p. 2-8. Refers to: MBTA, "Ridership and Service Statistics," Tenth Edition, 2006.
- ^ Home
- ^ Partnerships
- ^ Paul Revere Transportation
- ^ Transportation System Performance-Commuter Rail
[edit] External links
- Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR)
- MBTA Commuter Rail
- MBTA Commuter Rail profile and photos
- How MBTA rebuilt ridership - Railway Age article from Nov 1991. Contains history of MBTA Commuter Rail system.
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