Can someone explain the Boston North and South Station situation? Why are there two stations, why they aren't connected even though they're so close, what alternatives are there, what plans are being contemplated to connect them, and exactly how Amtrak serves points north of South Station? Since Pennsylvania was able to connect the Reading services with 30th Street Station, why not Boston, too? Are there really stubs built into the "Big Dig" project to accommodate service between South Station and North Station, and where are they? Finally, were does MBTA figure into this?
Thank you very much!!
Simply North Sta. was built for the Boston and Maine and its connections west, north and Downeast while South Sta. was built fo the NYC's Boston and Albany west to Springfield and Albany and for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford connections to Providence and New York City and to Cape Cod and Southeastern MA. Any "through" NYC to Downeast service went north from Providence to Worcester to Portland, ME and ducked any problems in Boston. Worked ok until there were no more passenger trains. In Philly, things were different and, actually the PRR did not connect to the RDG Terminal but rather though their own Broad St. route. (Broad St. Station or Terminal was knocked down in the early 50's when Suburban Sta. opened.)
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The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates commuter rail with 80 locomotives and 410 coaches on over 600 miles of track. Amtrak service is electric to the south, diesel to the west and north.
North Station located on the northern edge of Boston, formally part of the Boston & Maine Railroad, crosses the Charles River and, well, heads north and northwest. It now serves 5 Commuter Rail Lines, Fitchburg, Lowell, Haverhill, Newburyport, and Rockport. It also has the Amtrak "Downeaster" service to Portland ME. Boston Garden is next door and the "Orange Line Subway" runs under it.
South Station (Boston Terminal Company) is the big one, built in 1898 to unify heavily used rail service to the south and west. On the south side of Boston, in the heart of the Financial Center and across the street from the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, it once served the New Haven Railroad and the Boston & Albany division of the New York Central. The "Red Line Subway" runs beneath it. The MBTA operates 7 Commuter Rail lines out of it, Worcester, Franklin/ Forge Park, Providence RI, Stoughton, Middlrborough, Plymouth/ Kingston, and Needham Hights. Amtrak has (nearly) hourly Acela (bullet train) service as well as Amtrak Regionals to New York and Washington plus the Boston section of the Lake Shore Limited. The 11 high level platforms are often not enough with trains backing up waiting for a platform to open.
Boston, with water on three sides, has two, stations and between them is some of the most expensive land in the nation. When built, an Elevated Subway line did connect the two stations but it is long since torn down with I-93 in its place. The New Haven line is Amtrak, the Boston & Albany is CSX, and the Boston & Maine is Pan Am, formally Gilford. A freight bypass is operated from the CSX line in the west end, over the Charles River, then winding behind the MIT campus in Cambridge to a Pan Am connection. The "Big Dig'" did provide for a rail connection between the stations to allow Amtrak service to consolidate in South Station, but the cost overuns ended up so deep in the hole it was never completed. To combine two fully used station into one would require all new "right of ways" to feed it. As the four Subway Systems in Boston distributes the Commuter passengers, any further changes would be for Amtrak through service only,
Don U. TCA 73-5735
According to the SPV atlas there was once a surface RR from South Station (BOS) to North Station (BON). It was the Union Freight RR (UFRR) a joint operation of the HYNH&H, B&A (Boston and Albany a NYC subsidiary), and the Boston & Maine (BM). As to whether there was any passenger car exchange between the 2 stations on that route I will leave to someone else.
The only connection now is go west on the B&A to University interlocking (CP3) just east of Beacon Park yard then proceed NE on the 10 MPH CSX (B&A) connection to "H" tower and then the MBTA into North Station. At present this route is only used to ferry Amtrak and MBTA equipment to/from the MBTA maintenance facility NW of North Station (location?) and the Amtrak "South Bay" maintenance facility just south of South Station. The connection track from University and "H" was supposed to be sold to along with the B&A from CSX to Worcester to the MBTA but I have no idea if that actually happened (anyone?)
I do not know if there is even a direct wye conection at University or if equipment has to reverse direction to proceed along the connection. (anyone?) . It may be the connection track is "excepted" track and at present that would not allow passengers to travel on it. As to the idea that MBTA will upgrade the connection?????
The Beacon Park yard is the CSX Double Stack and Pig Back terminal for Boston. It also is a large engine terminal with a reversing loop. The lines run on to South Station and over the University Branch to Cambridge.
Last I read, CSX was to sell the land and move the inter-modular yard to their existing Framingham yard 16 miles west. The MBTA keeps the double track "main" and connections while Boston University gets the former B&A freight yard. Allston Station, at that location, is already a very nice "sports bar". The original Boston & Albany yards stretched east from Allston, but, most of the land was taken for the building, over the tracks, of the 52 floor Prudential Tower and extention of the Massachusetts Turnpike into downtown.
Have not worked in Boston for several years, how about an update from someone up their.
As far as I know, there are still some interchange CSX freight movements over the now 10mph Grand Junction Railway past MIT near Vasser Street through Cambridge and Sommerville, and I believe their is still on active CSX freight customer in East Boston reached by that line. At least that is the last I heard, just a few years ago.
There is not a wye where it connects with the Boston and Albany main. A train coming from the west could head directly to North Station over this route, but a train from South Station would have to reverse to cross the Charles Ravier on this line.
I hope Amtrak delivers connection information to through ticketed passengers from points west and south of South Station to and from Maine and New Hampshire locations. The best bet is to use the "T: Orange Line between Back Bay Station, not South Station, and North Station. About a seven minute journey, about ten or fifteen minutes between trains, less time intervals during rush hours, and reliable service. A more entertaining route is to use the Green Line trolleys (light rail) Copley Square Station about a block from Back Bay Station, but not all trains go through to North Station, some terminate at Park Street.
As far as I know, passenger service of any type was never operated on the Union Freight. Special passenger trains did on occasion use the Grand Junction, and I believe this included at least one fantrip.
On the route of the Union Freight, the Boston Elevated operated the Atlantic Avenue Elevated from North Station south to a junction with the Main Line Elevated on Washington Street north of Dover Station, with trains running from Dudley to North Station. Service stopped in 1937, with the structure removed in 1941. This had provided a direct passenger North-South Station connection, as well as a direct connection to the ferry terminal of the Boston Revere Beach and Lynn narrow gauge, which quit in January 1940.
The Grand Junction is used primarily by Amtrak, the MBTA commuter rail, and CSX to move equipment from one side to the other. I say CSX as I used to take the Newburyport/Rockport Line to get to work. Along the line if I recall correctly was the Boston Market Terminal (trucking) and there usually was a CSX GP38 or GP40 (not sure if it's a -2) on the switch lead, occasionally with a crew moving cars around on that second of the line. I think it is between Chelesa and Riverworks station stops. I do not know if CSX serve anyone else along this line.
Trains coming from the north side would have to be flagged along the Grand Junction as there are no crossing gates, only the crossbucks and flashing lights are installed (and some only have the cross bucks). MBTA trains coming along the Boston and Albany line could run into North Station easily over the Grand Junction. Other lines that presently terminate directly South Station such as the Providence Line would have to stop and reverse direction somewhere after Back Bay (might as well make it South Station) and then push back to the area around CSX Beacon Park Yard (Old Boston & Albany Yard discussed above), and then run into North Station. This is counterproductive as it's faster to just have everyone detrain at South Station. The same holds true for most services running out of North Station, where I think only the Newburyport/Rockport trains are set to run over the Grand Junction while turning towards the MBTA maintenance facility on the north side of the Charles. I think the other three lines running into North Station (from my experience riding the Downeaster) would have to pull into (or just north of it) North Station, reverse directions (not to mention change tracks). Either way, at the least, the North Station trains/lines would run through the Grand Junction, and then reverse direction again once on the Boston & Albany line. Also of this as you can see is time consuming and not worth the effort. The current terminals line up nicely with existing T (subway) services so why change it?
The only line that would easily benefit is the Worcester line but I think that'd cause confusion amongst commuters if some trains were only to North Station and others to South Station. Additionally the Grand Junction is single track only so I'm not sure how well that fits into the timetable. It could be more of a mess and trouble than it's worth.
Well in terms of getting from South Station to North Station (at least for Amtrak passengers), you best bet is actually the Orange Line and linking up with Amtrak at Back Bay. Otherwise, you're stuck navigating T (which isn't too hard) or taking a cab. A simpler solution might be extending Silver Line service (especially with an airport connection), taking a cab, or perhaps a designated MBTA Bus service between the two stations.
The were several proposals for a North South rail link. Some were judged to expensive even when added to the Big Dig (imagine that?). I hate to quote or provide a link to wikipedia, but it does provide several of the options for a North and South Station link that were proposed and studied in some cases.
I think the MBTA would like to build the North-South Rail link but it's more of a long term goal versus a short term goal of getting in new equipment, expanding to new lines as well as existing services.
The Downeaster is operated by Amtrak (take a look at the Cabbage F40PHs) on behalf the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority. Ticketing and such is through Amtrak which is convenient but it isn't necessarily an Amtrak owned and operated service. For those of you who were wondering, Amtrak's website for the Downeaster does point out how to switch from Boston's North Station to either South Station or Back Bay.
I hope I didn't miss anything!
It is my understanding that Harvard University actually owns the Beacon Park Yard, along with lots more acreage in Allston to expand the campus in that direction. I have no idea what the lease agreement with CSX is.
Also, the commuter line is only SINGLE TRACK going past the yard. The former second track has been permanently "borrowed" for yard operations. If you ride the line westward from Back Bay on the northernmost (outbound) track, you will find you will be switched to the other one to go past the yard. That is another annoying impediment to faster service on the Worcester line.
I should have added a reason why the Union Freight was NEVER used for ANY passenger service It was a very low-speed freight street railway, intended to serve the docks, warehouses, and other commercial facilities along Atlantic Avenue. ALCO made two promotional movies in 1948 that I helped to arrange a screening at MIT in 1950, one on the deisilazation of the Maybrook LIne of the Hew Haven and one on the Union Freight. The Union Freight had enough optimism in 1948 to not only completely dieselize with one large order for ALCO switchers, but also to relay a lot of track, with concrete in-street roadbed and metal angle flangeways. Would have made avery smooth ride for PCC streetcars. The in-street switches were interesting also, something like streetcar switches but with the normal two moving points. But then most of the business moved elsewhere and what little reamined went to trucks.
I have confidence the NS-SS underground link will be built someday. It would free up job opportunities for many with a one-seat ride between the south and the north of Boston.
The very last steam locomotive I saw on the Grand Junction was the NYC 4-6-4T suburban tank engine bumped from the Highland Branbch by dieslization and working as a freight switcher. Spring 1951.
aegrotatio Can someone explain the Boston North and South Station situation? Why are there two stations, why they aren't connected even though they're so close, what alternatives are there, what plans are being contemplated to connect them, and exactly how Amtrak serves points north of South Station? Since Pennsylvania was able to connect the Reading services with 30th Street Station, why not Boston, too? Are there really stubs built into the "Big Dig" project to accommodate service between South Station and North Station, and where are they? Finally, were does MBTA figure into this? Thank you very much!!
A proposed North-South rail link connecting the two stations has been discussed for at least the last four decades. There was serious interest in this as a follow-on project to the Central Artery rebuild (the Big Dig) but that project degenerated into a boondoogle with enormous cost overruns which killed the rail link idea for the foreseeable future. I have read that as part of the Big Dig some of the slurry slurry walls were built for the rail link tunnels..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North%E2%80%93South_Rail_Link
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
Remember that Massachusetts is probably one of the most backward states in supporting rail transportation. It does not contribute to the Downeastern service, several of the lines that ran into the Green LIne subway were either replaced by buses completely on the surface (Watertown, Tremont Avenue, and City Point) or reduced in length with buses running completely on the surface (Arborway Huntington Avenue), and there is only the Lake Shore Limited connection to ride between Springfield and Boston, a natural rail travel corridor market. The "T" has a huge deficit and drastic action is going to be required to catch up on deferred maintenance.
I attribute this mostly to MIT's dependence on GM's contributions.
My recently deseased classmate, Marty Whole, co-authored the textbook on transportation economics that was used for years:
"Investment in public transportation is not economically justified because its operations are not self-supporting from the farebox."
Sadly as it exists now, there is only one rail link between North and South Stations. That would be the CSX 'Grand Junction' (single track freight and deadhead movements only).
The track is still used today, MBTA double-deckers (manufactured by Kawasaki) go north to have their wheels turned (or new axles mounted) and then are quietly sent south. No double-deckers operate on the North side (Rockport/Newburyport, Haverhill, Lowell, and Fitchburg) lines. The MBTA (well the MBCR, Mass Bay Commuter Railroad) seems rather fine with status quo. They don't want to spend money to double-track the Western Route (Haverhill - Boston) for example to increase capacity. I have asked and they basically wrote back 'it's not going to happen in your lifetime...'
Some services, like the Downeaster could benefit from a link, as far as I know only preliminary tunnel work was done. Thoughts were floated about doing a unified North-South commuter link but they never came to fruition. The Acela would also benefit by being able to go north and provide higher speed service but there is no overhead catenary on the any of the North Side lines.
There is a freight track along Sullivan Sq in Somerville that would allow access to the Grand Junction but it has seen extremely little use and would require a track geometry change for Newburyport/Rockport/Haverhill trains to use it. As it is with the rather sad state of repairs around the lines, I don't see that as something that would happen anytime soon.
I would love if it did, it would be a huge economy and ridership boost and for railfans like us it would be a new and cool experience!
-gary-
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