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City officials tour commuter rail options
Hurdles to quick rail connection explored
 Local
officials hoping for a quicker commuter rail connection
from New Bedford to Boston got a first-hand look at some
of the difficulties of linking to the Middleboro line.
About 40 regional planners and elected officials took a
bus tour along the proposed Middleboro rail corridor
Friday and learned that a bottleneck from Braintree to
Boston's South Station, along with potential delays in
Lakeville, pose expensive challenges.
The so-called Middleboro alternative is one of three
former rail extension proposals the state is considering
under Gov. Deval Patrick's plan to connect SouthCoast to
Boston by 2016. The Attleboro, Stoughton and Middleboro
proposals were considered by the state in the past, with
the Stoughton line identified as the preferred route in
a 2002 Final Environmental Impact Report.
Gov. Patrick is "committed to taking a fresh look" at
the three proposals in addition to newer proposals
submitted by the public such as a dedicated lane for
public transit on Route 24 or a monorail service on the
same highway, said South Coast Rail Manager Kristina
Egan.
Each of the three alternatives present problems that can
be solved "with enough money and enough political will,"
she said.
Extending the Middleboro line would require adding a
second track parallel to the existing track that runs
from Braintree to South Station because of capacity
issues related to the new Greenbush Line, Ms. Egan said.
Adding the additional track will prove an engineering
challenge since the area is densely developed with
houses, bridges and roads, she said.
The second problem is that trains running from New
Bedford and Fall River may have to back up — causing a
10-minute delay — and head south to pick up passengers
at the Lakeville station before continuing on to Boston.
Mayor Scott W. Lang, a strong proponent of the
Middleboro proposal, says both challenges can and should
be overcome. The "terrible bottleneck" between Braintree
and South Station is already a problem that needs to be
addressed, he said.
As for backing up trains to get to the Lakeville
station, that should never happen, the mayor said.
All trains from New Bedford and Fall River "should shoot
through and stop at the Bridgewater station," he said.
Lakeville passengers could be picked up by trains
running from Buzzards Bay if the Middleboro line also is
extended toward Wareham as proposed.
The Middleboro link would be cheaper and faster to build
than the preferred Stoughton route, he said.
State Sen. Mark C. W. Montigny, D-New Bedford, disagreed
with the mayor.
"My sense today is that Middleboro will not be the
alternative," he said. "I am skeptical."
Though not a fan of the governor's decision to
re-evaluate the three routes, Sen. Montigny said he
thinks the Middleboro proposal should be given a fair
analysis.
"In the end, it is the Legislature in Boston, and not
local officials, who will have to decide," he said.
A position paper from the Taunton River Watershed
Campaign, a coalition of 10 conservation groups, states
that there are "serious environmental concerns" with the
Stoughton line, which threatens to harm sensitive
wetlands such as Hockomock Swamp and Pine Swamp and the
rare species that live there.
"The Assonet Cedar Swamp will be impacted no matter
which route is used," according to the paper.
The full environmental impacts of the Middleboro and
Attleboro routes have yet to be documented, said
Priscilla Chapman of Mass Audubon, who joined Friday's
tour.
While the Hockomock Swamp is the biggest hurdle to the
Stoughton proposal, the Attleboro route is challenged by
17 grade crossings where the rail would cross existing
streets requiring builders to bury the rail and raise
the road or vice versa, Ms. Egan said.
Capacity problems are also an issue with the Attleboro
corridor since Amtrak trains would have priority over
commuter trains, she said.
A second round of tours is planned for the spring, after
the state whittles commuter rail proposals to a select
group of two to six alternatives, Ms. Egan said.
There is no guarantee that Middleboro, Attleboro or
Stoughton will be among the final contenders, she said.
Contact Becky W. Evans at
revans@s-t.com
December 01, 2007 |
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