South Coast Rail

South Coast Rail is a project to build a new southern line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system along several abandoned and freight-only rail lines. The line has been planned to restore passenger rail service between Boston and the towns of Taunton, Berkley, Fall River, Freetown, and New Bedford, on the south coast of Massachusetts. It would restore passenger service to some of the southern lines of the former Old Colony Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (service along the southeastern lines was largely restored in 1997 and 2007).

After previous service was discontinued in 1959, the project surfaced in the 1980s. A full planning process was held from 1990 until its suspension in 2002. Planning restarted from the beginning in 2007; the Final Environmental Impact Statement was issued in August 2013. Several separately-funded projects, such as bridge reconstructions, have been undertaken, including major tie replacement (beginning in November 2013), and $2.3 billion was appropriated to the project in an April 2014 state bill.^[3] As of June 2017, the project is expected to cost $3.42 billion and not reach completion until 2030, with some service beginning in 2022.^[2]

Project history

Route of the Fall River Railroad and the original Old Colony Railroad in 1846

Previous service

The lines planned for commuter rail service date largely from the 1840s and were later part of the Old Colony Railroad network. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad leased the entire Old Colony system beginning in 1893, and ran commuter and intercity service to Fall River and New Bedford until 1959.

Restoration planning

Geographic map of current plan, with service to both Fall River and New Bedford via Stoughton

Junction between proposed New Bedford (left) and Fall River branches in Myricks

Tracks in Freetown proposed for restoration on the Fall River branch

In the 1980s - during the first expansion of commuter service in Massachusetts in decades - the restoration of the lines to New Bedford and Fall River was proposed. Since the Mansfield Branch was permanently severed by a grade separation project in the 1950s, three possible routes to the South Coast were placed under consideration: an extension of the Stoughton Branch of the Providence/Stoughton Line past Stoughton, a route following the Providence Line to Attleboro and then branching onto the Attleboro Secondary, and a route following the Old Colony mainline to Middleborough then the Middleboro Secondary westwards. (All three routes used the same lines from Taunton south to Fall River and New Bedford). By 1988, the MBTA was tentatively planning to extend service to Taunton via Stoughton.^[4]

The first serious study, completed in January 1990, concluded that the Stoughton Branch was the most viable route. The study was criticized for not considering other alternatives, including express buses.^[5] In March 1991, newly elected governor William Weld asked the state legislature to authorize the sale of bonds to finance further studies.^[6]

In the early 1990s, the Old Colony Lines (Middleborough/Lakeville Line and Plymouth/Kingston Line, plus the delayed Greenbush Line) were chosen as Big Dig environmental mitigation instead of routes to Fall River and New Bedford; the first two routes opened in September 1997 and Greenbush in 2007.^[7] The Old Colony mainline was rebuilt with restricted single-track sections through parts of Dorchester and Quincy, limiting the capacity required for reaching the South Coast via Middleborough - such that service could be operated to one of Fall River and New Bedford, but not both.^[5]

However, planning for service to the South Coast continued. The March 1995 Expanded Feasibility Study analyzed routes absent from the 1990 report, concluding that both the Stoughton and Attleboro routes would be viable and that a partial Stoughton Branch extension to North Easton would be most cost-effective.^[5] In September 1995, the MBTA filed an Environmental Notification Form with the EPA for service via the Attleboro route, with a curved 3-mile 'Attleboro Bypass' connecting the Northeast Corridor to the Attleboro Secondary just north of Attleboro proper. The then-$156M project was to be completed in 2000.^[8]

In August 1996, Weld signed a bill giving $136 million to commuter rail expansion, while the state legislature directed the MBTA to further study alternatives.^[9] However, in 1997 the Expanded Alternatives Analysis showed vastly increased costs - $410M via Attleboro, $426M via Stoughton, or $312M via Middleborough. The report recommended the Stoughton route as the most cost-effective due to its high ridership, despite the higher cost.^[6][10]

A groundbreaking ceremony was held in October 1998, but since planning was not complete no real construction began. Based on an April 1999 analysis of South Station operations, the July 1999 Draft Environmental Impact Report concluded that the Stoughton route was the only viable route, with projected service of 20 trains per day to each of Fall River and New Bedford for an estimated total of 4,325 daily riders.^[11][12] In January 2000, following then-governor Paul Cellucci's reapproval, the state reported that construction would begin in late 2002 and last until 2004.^[6] The Draft Environmental Statement certificate was received in November 2000; the EPA confirmed that Stoughton was the only practical route but required a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).^[9] The FEIS was released in April 2002 and approved in August; however, in July 2002 the MBTA revised the project cost to $600 million with an opening date of 2007.^[6][9]

Due to ballooning costs, Governor Romney's administration suspended the Growth Task Force and stopped project planning in November 2002; the environmental approval process was stopped in May 2003.^[9]

Planning restart

Projected cost of South Coast Rail, in millions of dollars, at the time of release of various planning documents and funding bills

In October 2004, the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District restarted the Growth Task Force, even while the MBTA was conducting its review of the project.^[9] In March 2005, Romney allowed the project to proceed and allocated $670 million for the project, then projected to open between 2011 and 2013. In June 2005, the Chief of Commonwealth Development stated that the cost could be as high as $1 billion.^[6]

In April 2007, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation released South Coast Rail: A Plan For Action, which restarted the planning process from the beginning. The plan estimated project costs at $1.435 billion (including $163 million for procuring additional rolling stock and $31.6 million for expanding South Station) with opening in December 2016.^[13] A Strategic Environmental Permitting Plan was released in August 2007, followed by a Phase 1 Alternatives Analysis Report in April 2008 which narrowed 65 options (including unlikely modes like heavy rail metro and monorail) to five plausible alternatives including Attleboro, Stoughton, and Middleboro routes plus express bus service or a mixture of Attleboro and Middleboro service.^[14][15] In May 2008, MassDOT issued a formal request to the US Army Corps of Engineers to allow discharge of fill materials into wetlands - effectively starting the formal environmental review process.^[16] A federal Notice of Intent and state Environmental Notification Form were filed in November 2008.^[9]

In a May 2009 interview, Commonwealth Treasurer Tim Cahill stated that "it is virtually going to be impossible" for the state to open the lines in 2016 as planned due to the recession, adding that federal funding was unlikely to be obtained because "[t]he federal government doesn't trust us anymore because of the Big Dig."^[17] However, the state continued to publish studies, releasing the South Coast Rail Economic Development and Land Use Corridor Plan in June 2009 and the Phase 2 Alternatives Analysis Report (which indicated electric or diesel service through Stoughton as the best choice) in September 2009.^[18][19]

On September 23, 2009, the state government signed an agreement with CSX Transportation for the purchase and upgrade of several of CSX's freight lines in the state. CSX agreed to sell its lines from Taunton to Fall River and New Bedford for use by the South Coast Rail project, as well as the Grand Junction Branch, the Framingham-to-Worcester section of the Worcester Line, and the South Boston Running Track. Other parts of the agreement included plans for double-stack freights west of Worcester, the abandonment of Beacon Park Yard, and liability concerns.^[20] On June 11, 2010, the state and CSX completed the first phase of the agreement, including the transfer of the South Coast Rail lines to MassDOT.^[21]

In February 2010, MassDOT received a $20 million TIGER grant to replace three bridges in New Bedford built around 1907, for immediate freight use and future South Coast Rail service.^[22] The grant represented part of the $71.4 million the state had applied for to fund the Fast Track New Bedford project, which would have included a fourth bridge, construction of Whales Tooth station with bus and ferry facilities, and pedestrian and bicycle access improvements.^[23] The MBTA opened bidding in July 2010 and issued a Notice To Proceed in October 2010; the replacement bridges opened for Massachusetts Coastal Railroad freights in November 2011.^[24]

The Army Corps of Engineers released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in March 2011.^[25] Concurring with previous documents it recommended that South Coast Rail be routed through Stoughton, citing in particular the need to add a billion-dollar fourth track from Back Bay to Forest Hills to accommodate service through Attleboro. However, the DEIS differed from the previous reports by strongly recommending that service be electric, stating that the higher ridership (9,580 projected daily riders versus 8,140), decreased travel time due to the higher acceleration of electric locomotives and their 100 mph top speed versus 79 mph for diesels, and reduced pollution outweighed the increased cost of electrification.^[25] The electric alternative was projected to cost $1.88 billion versus $1.48 billion for diesel service, with the increased cost from the overhead wire infrastructure as well as the cost of buying electric locomotives plus new coaches capable of 100 mph speeds.^[25] (Current coaches are limited to 80 mph even on sections of the Northeast Corridor rated for 150 mph.^[26])

Funding

In July 2013, after substantial discussion the Massachusetts Legislature overrode Governor Deval Patrick's veto and passed a major transportation funding bill providing an average of $600 million per year in additional funding. The bill mentioned South Coast Rail as deserving funding but did not specifically allocate monies to the project.^[27][28] In September 2013, the Army Corps of Engineers released the Final Environmental Impact statement, with few changes from the Draft statement and cost revised slightly downwards to $1.817 billion.^[16]

In mid-November 2013, MassDOT began replacement of 42,000 ties along 33 miles of the Fall River and New Bedford branches, funded as a freight improvement project that also serves as a prerequisite for South Coast Rail.^[29] On November 13, 2013, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Transportation approved a $12 billion spending authorization that includes $2.2 billion for South Coast Rail.^[30] The spending bill, which also included $1.3 billion for the Green Line Extension and $300 million for South Station expansion, was then sent to the Massachusetts House and Senate for debate.^[31]

On April 18, 2014, a modified version of the bill was signed into law, allocating $2.3 billion for South Coast Rail, $1.33 billion for the Green Line Extension, and $325 million for South Station.^[3]

Early contract awards

On June 18, 2014, the MassDOT board awarded a $12 million one-year contract (with to $210 million possible over 10 years) to Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. for "program management, early design development, and environmental permitting".^[32]

On October 22, 2014, a $18.4 million contract was issued for upgrades to grade crossings in Taunton, Freetown and New Bedford. Work on the crossings will last from November 2014 until late 2016.^[33] The Dean Street (US-44) crossing in Taunton was replaced in August 2015.^[34]

On November 25, 2014, a $42 million contract was awarded for the replacement of three bridges (President Avenue, Brownell Avenue, and Golf Club Road) in Fall River plus the Wamsutta Street bridge in New Bedford. The bridge work is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2016.^[35]

Project changes

The existing Middleborough/Lakeville station would be closed or reduced to shuttle service under the revised plan released in 2017

In June 2016, MBTA announced that the project cost had been revised to $3.42 billion, with completion not expected until 2030. The substantial delay and increase in cost caused officials to consider alternate plans, including an earlier, interim addition of service to New Bedford via Middleborough.^[36] However, that plan would decrease service to Middleborough/Lakeville station.^[37] In March 2017, the state announced a revised plan intended to provide service sooner for a total cost of $3.42 billion. The $1.1 billion Phase 1 would follow the Middleborough route and open in 2024; Phase 2 would follow the original route through Stoughton (including electrification) and open in 2029.^[38]

By June 2017, the planned completion dates were changed to Phase 1 in 2022 and Phase 2 in 2030. The revised plan has attracted criticism from several directions, including some of those who had previously advocated for the project as well as previous opponents.^[2] Middleborough and Lakeville officials were critical of the possibility of abandoning the current Middleborough/Lakeville station - which has attracted transit-oriented development - or requiring its riders to take a shuttle train, as well as possible traffic issues from a downtown Middleborough station. The New Bedford mayor was critical of the longer travel times of the Middleborough routing, and the Taunton mayor was critical of Phase 1 lacking the downtown Taunton station of the previous plan. Stoughton, Easton, and Raynham officials continued their previous opposition to South Coast Rail.^[2]

Route diagrams

Phase 1 (2022)	Phase 2 (2030)
Red Line mi mi   Framingham/Worcester, 0.0 South Station Needham, Franklin, and Providence/Stoughton Lines Fairmount Line Track 61 2.3 JFK/UMass 7.9 Quincy Center Greenbush Line 10.9 Braintree Kingston/Plymouth Line Holbrook/Randolph 15.0 Montello 18.6 Brockton 20.0 Campello 21.9 Bridgewater 27.7 Middleborough 34.5 Middleborough/Lakeville Line Middleboro Yard Attleboro Secondary East Taunton King's Highway Fall River Whale's Tooth	0.0 mi 0 km South Station Fairmount, Greenbush, and Old Colony Lines 1.2 mi 1.9 km Back Bay Framingham/Worcester Line 2.2 mi 3.5 km Ruggles 5.0 mi 8 km Forest Hills (Needham Line only) Needham Line 8.4 mi 13.5 km Hyde Park Fairmount Line 9.5 mi 15.3 km Readville (Franklin and Fairmount Lines only) Dedham Branch (closed 1967) Franklin Line 11.4 mi 18.3 km Route 128( Amtrak NEC and Providence Line only ) 14.8 mi 23.8 km Canton Junction Amtrak NEC and Providence Line 15.6 mi 25.1 km Canton Center 18.9 mi 30.4 km Stoughton North Easton Easton Village Raynham Park Taunton Attleboro Secondary Middleboro Secondary East Taunton New Bedford Branch King's Highway Whale's Tooth Fall River Branch Freetown Fall River Battleship Cove

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to South Coast Rail.

• Official website
• South Coast Rail Final Environmental Impact Statement - United States Army Corps of Engineers