| 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. A reporting mark is an identification assigned by the Association of American Railroads (AAR to rail carriers and other companies operating in North America. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. The Millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. Various terms are used for Passenger rail lines and equipment The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ( MBTA) is "a body politic and corporate and a political subdivision" of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts The United States of America —commonly referred to as the 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. Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 38 miles (61 km northeast of Boston. Worcester (ˈwʊstɚ is a City in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Because of this coloring, locals often call the system the Purple Line, to match the names of the colored subway lines. A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway The trains have two terminal stops in Boston—South Station and North Station—both linked with Amtrak and the local bus and subway lines. |}A train station, railway station, railroad station, or station yard is a facility at which Passengers may board and alight from Trains South Station, located at Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, in Boston Massachusetts, is the largest Train station and North Station, located at Causeway and Nashua Streets in Boston Massachusetts is a major transportation hub The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Doing business as Amtrak, is a Government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 (See "Boston transportation". The Boston transportation system includes roadway rail air and sea options for passenger and freight transit )
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]
Contents |
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. South Station, located at Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, in Boston Massachusetts, is the largest Train station and The Greenbush Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system Scituate is a small seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Cape Cod Bay midway between Boston and The Old Colony Lines are branches of the MBTA Commuter Rail system connecting downtown Boston Massachusetts with the South Shore and Cranberry -farming Kingston is a coastal town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Middleborough is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Lakeville is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The Fairmount Line or Dorchester Branch is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system in Boston Massachusetts, USA. Readville is a part of Boston, considered either a part of the Hyde Park neighborhood or a neighborhood in its own right The Providence/Stoughton Line is a line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running southwest from Boston Massachusetts, USA. Stoughton (Official Name Town of Stoughton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The Franklin Line of MBTA Commuter Rail travels in a northeasterly direction toward Boston Massachusetts from Franklin Massachusetts. Forge Park/495 is a station on the MBTA Franklin Line. The station is the terminus of the line The Needham Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running west from downtown Boston Massachusetts through the Boston neighborhoods of Roxbury Needham is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The Framingham/Worcester Line is a Railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running west from Boston Massachusetts to Worcester Massachusetts Worcester (ˈwʊstɚ is a City in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America. Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, approximately 22 miles (35 km southwest of Boston and 18 miles (29 km Gillette Stadium is the home Stadium for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution soccer team
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
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. The Boston and Maine Railroad, also known by the abbreviation B&M, was the dominant Railroad of the northern New England region of the United The Lowell Line is a Railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system running north from Boston to Lowell Massachusetts. The Pennsylvania and New York Central Transportation Company, almost always called Penn Central, was an American Railroad company that operated from 1968 Consolidated Rail Corporation, also known as Conrail, began operations on April 1, 1976 as a federally funded takeover of the major railroad 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. Pan Am Systems (formerly Guilford Transportation Industries is a privately held transportation and airline Holding company that controls the following divisions GTI let the contract expire in 1986.
In 1986–2003, Amtrak managed all of Boston's Commuter Rail. MBTA observers see Amtrak as having been a reliable manager/operator; but the National Passenger Railroad Corporation sometimes experienced strained relations with the MBTA. Quibbles centered on equipment failures, crewing issues about the number of conductors per train, and responsibility for late trains. 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.
When the MBTA asked for tenders on the Commuter Rail operation contract, Amtrak did not bid. 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.
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. Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Bombardier group ,[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. The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad in the United States. Bay Colony Railroad Corporation is a Class III railroad operating in Massachusetts. Pan Am Railways (PAR known as Guilford Rail System (GRS before March 2006 is a Class 2 railroad covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag [5]
Expansion and improvements
Several extensions of and improvements to the MBTA Commuter Rail network are in debate or under way.
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. T F Green Airport Station is an intermodal station under development in Warwick Rhode Island on the Northeast Corridor, extending the Providence/Stoughton Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States.
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]
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. Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. This article is for the state college in Salem Massachusetts For other uses see SSC Salem State College is a four-year public institution Peabody (pronunciation ˈpiːbədi is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. [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. The Fitchburg Line is an MBTA line that runs from Boston's North Station to Fitchburg Massachusetts. Cab signalling is a Railroad safety system that communicates track status information to the train cab (driving position where the engineer or driver can see the information [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]
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. Back Bay Station, located at 145 Dartmouth Street between Stuart Street and Columbus Avenue is a train station in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. The Orange Line is one of the four subway lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Park Street Station of the MBTA, located at the intersection of Park Street and Tremont Street in Boston at a corner of Boston Common Downtown Crossing Station of the MBTA, located at the corner of Washington Street and Summer Street and the corner of Chauncey Street and Summer Street in Boston 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. The North-South Rail Link is the name for a proposed rail Tunnel in Boston Massachusetts, that would connect rail service terminating at South Station Train cars are transferred between the two halves of the system via the Grand Junction Railroad, which is not used for passenger service. The Grand Junction Railroad was an 855-mile (1376 km long Railroad in the Boston Massachusetts area connecting the railroads heading west and north from Boston
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. Push-pull is a mode of operation for Locomotive -hauled Trains allowing them to be driven from either end A Diesel locomotive is a type of Railroad Locomotive in which the prime mover is a Diesel engine. The Northeast Corridor ( NEC) is the busiest passenger rail line in the United States by ridership and service frequency 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 General Motors Electro-Motive Division model F40PH is a 3000 Horsepower (2 ( is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato Tokyo. The General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD GP40 Diesel locomotive, in its "normal" configuration was primarily used in freight The railroad also operates two EMD GP9 work locomotives. An EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel Locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division in the United States and General Motors Diesel in Canada between
See also
References
- ^ Journey to 2030. The Big Dig is the unofficial name of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project ( CA/T) a Megaproject that rerouted the The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ( MBTA) is "a body politic and corporate and a political subdivision" of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts The North-South Rail Link is the name for a proposed rail Tunnel in Boston Massachusetts, that would connect rail service terminating at South Station Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. A metropolitan Planning organization (MPO is a Transportation policy-making organization made up of representatives from local Government and transportation 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
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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