Electric trains, platform renovations key to faster, reliable, cheaper service, study says

An electrified, zero-emission Commuter Rail fleet, platform adjustments and second and third rails will greatly improve around-the-clock service and reduce long-term maintenance costs for the T, a new $2.6 billion proposal by Transit Matters suggests.

The plan, known as Regional Rail Phase 1, has been reviewed by state lawmakers and would ensure the state meets its net-zero emissions target by 2050, Jared Johnson, CEO of Transit Matters said in a webinar Monday.

“There is no other type of power that is clean and as reliable and as cost-effective as traditional overhead electrification,” Johnson said. “It’s what most countries have been using for 100 years or so. It’s essential for meeting our climate change goals.”

Electric trains would enable faster service, allowing for more trains throughout the day, can prove up to 25 times more reliable than the current diesel fleet and will not emit pollution in the communities they pass through, according to the plan.

Tracy Corley, a development fellow with MassINC, said the current COVID-19 crisis has renewed focus on air quality and the T will need to make health part of their strategy.

“People will be willing to have (overhead) wires if they know they won’t be going to the hospital quite as frequently,” Corley said. “Making that connection to the impact this has on peoples’ everyday lives needs to be part of the strategy for our local communities.”

Beverly Mayor Michael Cahill, who participated in the webinar and oversees one of the system’s busiest areas near the Newburyport/Rockport line split, lauded the proposals for electrification and universal, all-day 30-minute frequencies of inbound and outbound trains.

“We’ve got a lot of employers in Beverly who are trying to get younger professionals from Boston, Cambridge and Somerville, and getting trains out of Boston earlier in the day and frequently is near impossible,” Cahill said.

Platform adjustments, estimated to cost $880,000,000, would include changes such as raising heights to shave minutes off each stop, dedicated platforms apart from shared Amtrak rails and second platforms at smaller stations to speed up service, according to Transit Matters.

The Department of Transportation should design projects such as electrification of the Providence Line, a third track on the Worcester Line and key high-level platforms so they are “shovel ready” for a possible coming federal stimulus bill, the report states.

“The MBTA has to really start implementing some of these easier-to-do things like scheduling right away,” Johnson said, “so we can move away from the peak-focused mindset.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3eD7yEd