The “Thoughts from Everyone” series is a collection of discussions and analyses of the current system contributed by other transit fans that I personally find interesting. For a full index with ideas on all topics, see here.
This post includes discussions of any mainline rail in Massachusetts. The majority of such discussions focus on railroads and routes served by the MBTA Commuter Rail system. However, other mainline rail activities such as Amtrak (including East-West Rail), CapeFLYER and even freight trains may also be included.
Note: If a discussion is largely about a commuter rail line but also has a particular focus on a region that it serves, it may be listed in both this page and another relevant “Thoughts from Everyone” page, with a brief note.
Last updated: April 20, 2024 (updated layover yards)
History
Map of intercity passenger rail network of New England in 1920 (r/laterbacon, Apr 2024)
Commuter Rail Ridership
Post-Covid Ridership Recovery
The MBTA commuter rail system has seen notable recoveries in ridership in the years after Covid-19 compared to pre-Covid. Despite an overall reduction in transit ridership due to trends such as working from home (WFH), the recovery rate is much higher on commuter rail than rapid transit and buses, partly due to a concurrent move towards a “regional rail-like” model with constant headways all-day.
Media Reports:
- Commuter rail’s ridership recovery plan is working (Commonwealth Beacon, Mar 2024)
System Operations
Fares and Zones
Discussions of limitations of commuter rail fare system and challenges of its reforms (TheRatmeister, Stlin and others, Apr 2024), and later comments
- While they’re within context of a discussion on South Coast Rail’s opening time, the comments from here onwards started a secondary topic on commuter rail fares in general, both within MBTA and compared to sister systems.
- Stlin commented on Title IV analyses, which are designed to ensure equity, and how it may create challenges in commuter rail fare reforms by disproportionately benefitting wealthier, non-minority demographics.
Infrastructure and Facilities
Layover Yards
[Crosslink] In this comment on West Station (which I’ve archived here), F-Line to Dudley mentioned an official layover analysis, and discussed choices between Widett Circle, Beacon Park Yard (West Station) and Readville Yard. He also mentioned Widett Circle has space for 24 trainsets, or 30 with further expansion.
Northeast Corridor
In this context, Northeast Corridor (NEC, also known as Southwest Corridor in Boston) is the railroad heading southwest from Boston South Station towards Washington D.C., via Back Bay, Ruggles, Forest Hills, Route 128, etc. Today, it is served by MBTA Providence/Stoughton Line, Franklin/Foxboro Line, Needham Line, and Amtrak Northeast Corridor and Acela trains. Phase 2 of South Coast Rail (SCR) also proposes trains from Fall River and New Bedford to use this corridor.
Note that NEC shares the same right-of-way (ROW) as the southern half of Orange Line, but on different tracks.
Infrastructure
Station plans for quad-tracking Northeast Corridor (F-Line to Dudley, Aug 2018)
- Descriptions of station layouts at commuter rail stations on the NEC, as per the NEC Infrastructure Improvements Master Plan (IIMP). (I have not been able to locate this information from the original document.)
[Crosslist] This section, in its regional “Thoughts from Everyone” page, lists discussions of Hyde Park and Readville stations.
South Coast Rail
Opening Plans
The extension was delayed numerous times. An original opening date of end of 2023 was planned, but in September of that year, it was pushed back to summer 2024. In April 2024, project director Jean Fox said the extension was “unlikely” to open by this revised deadline, with no concrete date given.
Media coverage of SCR’s delays in April 2024:
- Summer start to South Coast Rail looks ‘unlikely’ — but there’s one bright spot for riders (The Herald News, Apr 2024)
- South Coast Rail Construction Almost Complete (RT&S, Apr 2024)
- These reports of an MBTA public meeting suggest that construction was delayed particularly at East Taunton station, and testing, such as those of Active Train Control (ATC) and Positive Train Control (PTC) systems, will be more exhaustive than expected. Fox declined to reveal the fare zones of Fall River and New Bedford, but said she “expect[s]” weekend service to be available.
- An archBoston discussion of these reports is above/below this comment. The linked comment mentions the slow progress on signal installations.
Regional Rail and Electrification
This section includes discussions of implementing regional rail and electrifying the present-day commuter rail system. For official projects on this topic, see here.
Track Upgrades
Double trackings needed on the northside commuter rail system to achieve regional rail frequencies (F-Line to Dudley, Mar 2024)
- The comment describes a few single-track segments of commuter rail lines to the north, such as Fitchburg, Haverhill and Newburyport/Rockport lines, and to what extent they limit the regional rail proposals of running frequent service every 15 or 30 minutes.
Future Expansions
This section includes community discussions of future Commuter Rail and Regional Rail expansions anywhere in the region that are under official studies.
Northern Tier Passenger Rail Study (Greenfield and North Adams)
The Northern Tier Passenger Rail Study is an official MassDOT proposal to bring mainline rail service to Greenfield and North Adams, on a ROW through the MBTA Fitchburg Line.
Discussions of MassDOT public meeting in March 2024: Conversation 1, Conversation 2 (archBoston, Mar 2024)
- These discussions pertain to a MassDOT public meeting on the project (announcement here, post-meeting media coverage here).
- RailsRoadsRiverside has posted a more detailed analysis of North Adams service (blogpost, archBoston comment), along with a crayon map of interstate rail services.
- F-Line to Dudley quoted travel times of some proposed alignments both within and outside the study.