MBTA Board approves partial electrification of the commuter rail
The Fiscal and Management Control Board of the MBTA on Monday unanimously approved a series of resolutions supporting a plan to electrify some MBTA commuter lines and offer greatly increased train frequencies. Previously another advisory group had recommended a proposal to electrify all of the Commuter Train and offer service on 15 minute headways. What the board approved was a first-phase project that would upgrade the Fairmount and Providence/Stoughton lines along with at least part of the Newburyport/Rockport lines. The Board’s resolutions called on the state legislature to pass a transportation bond bill proposed by Governor Baker and for the creation of teams to oversee the system’s transformation.
Still to be determined along with the specifics of the project are its costs and how to pay for it. The Boston Herald directed the MBTA General Manager to return by February with a staffing plan to oversee the projects and a timetable for the first two years of work and stated that the MBTA should prioritize $1.5 billion on the Fairmount and Lynn Lines.
(Note: Electrification of the Providence Line is mostly done since Amtrak runs electric trains on it already. However, some sidings in Massachusetts would require additional electrification. In Rhode Island, the existing Providence Station is already electrified for the Commuter Trains, however if the same train was to run further south, both TF Green Airport and Wickford Jct. sidings would need to be electrified.
The Fairmount electrification has implications beyond just that commuter service. If a North South Rail Link were constructed, Amtrak trains might need an alternate route into South Station during construction of the tunnel. Having the Fairmount line electrified from Readville to South Station would allow continual Amtrak service (except to Back Bay) during that period. The electrification of the Fairmount would eliminate a number of diesel exhausts in a low income residential area and improve the air quality there. The Lynn line would require a dual mode engine for the near term since no trains currently run just between Lynn and North Station but extend to Beverly where they split to go to either Newburyport or Rockport.)