T. F. Green Airport (MBTA station)

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T. F. Green Airport Station is an intermodal station under development in Warwick, Rhode Island on the Northeast Corridor, extending the Providence/Stoughton Line south from Providence. 41°43′39″N 71°26′30″W / 41.7275, -71.4417

As its name implies the station's primary purpose is to bring passengers and employees to and from Providence's T. F. Green Airport (PVD), but it will also serve local commuters to Providence and Boston, Massachusetts.

The new station is expected to cost $223 million and will include a four level, 3500 space garage with facilities for airport car rental companies and park and ride commuters. The station will be connected to the airport via an elevated 1250 foot (380 meter) long skywalk with moving sidewalks.[1] The costs are allocated among the major components:^[1]

$28.1M - commuter parking garage
$46.9M - rental car garage
$40.2M - rental car desk and service areas
$22.9M - commuter rail platform
$43.5M - skywalk
$14.1M - connection from airport terminal to skywalk

Amtrak trains are not expected to serve the station initially because there are not enough funds to build and electrify extra tracks that Amtrak says it needs to prevent delays. Initial service is expected to consist of eight MBTA commuter trains on weekdays only.^[2]

The station's ceremonial groundbreaking took place on Monday, July 17, 2006 but construction was further delayed by negotiations with Amtrak over the terms allowing the MBTA to run commuter trains along Amtrak-owned tracks.^[2] Site preparation began in September 2007 and, as of October 2007, construction was expected to begin in the spring of 2008.^[3] The station is scheduled to open in 2010.^[4]^[5]^[2]

1 Funding
2 MBTA
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Funding

Rhode Island provides funding to the MBTA in return for commuter rail service to Providence as part of the agreement known as the Pilgrim Partnership.^[6]

Amtrak owns the tracks in this area.^[7] The Rhode Island Airport Corporation operates all state-owned airports; the project sponsor is the Rhode Island Department of Transportation,^[7] which assembled funding consisting of:^[1]

$29M already collected from a $4.25 car rental fee
$22.2M grant from Rhode Island
$88.9M grant from federal highway funds
$42M loan from the federal government under the Transportation Finance and Infrastructure Act
$39.6 bond from Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (of which the Airport Corporation is a subsidiary)^[8]

$20M of federal funding was earmarked by former Rhode Island senator Lincoln Chafee in the 2005 SAFETEA transportation bill.^[9] The MBTA has not allocated any capital funds for service to TF Green.^[10]

The Rhode Island Airport Corporation will be responsible for repaying the bonds from the operating revenues of the car rental and commuter parking facilities.^[1]