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Amcrak
By adamg on Fri, 02/29/2008 - 9:56am
Figures. Those disintegrating, cracked Northeast Corridor ties will affect some MBTA commuters out of South Station. The Globe reports the rail lines between Back Bay and Readville will be shut June 14 through 17 to allow for replacement of the ties there. That means buses for commuters on the Attleboro/Providence, Franklin, Needham and Stoughton lines (dear Globe: What about the Fairmount Line?).
Commute-a-holic, meanwhile, points us to this fun story about the Winchester commuter-rail stop:
Signs warning pedestrians away from the in-bound entrance to the commuter rail station along Waterfield Road in Winchester are still in place, more than two weeks after hundreds of pounds of concrete fell from the ceiling. ...
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Comments
Commuter train detours
The Fairmount Line should be unaffected, since its trains don't run between Readville and Back Bay. In fact, most likely the Providence, Stoughton, and Franklin trains will be detoured onto the Fairmount Line rather than being replaced by buses.
Needham service could just end at Forest Hills, requiring passengers to transfer to the Orange Line.
You are right
I should know that, given how often I wander aimlessly around Readville (just can't get enough of that faded industrial landscape).
That was a "when" not an "if"
I grew up with a bridge builder and engineer, so I can spot bad concrete. I used to use Wedgie-mere and Winchester all the time to get me and my bike to Lowell. I spent very little time on the inbound side (I'd be getting off there) but I really wondered when both stations were just going to collapse.
I also wondered why they are bridges, but were not built with level platforms despite the ramps. I had to carry a bike on to the train, and wheelchairs had to use a lift. Why????? Because a level platform would have used maybe 2' more concrete and, moreover, might take too much foresight and thought.
Those Winchester bridge stations were built in the 1950s
to replace what used to be grade crossings. Not much has changed there since then. This infrastructure was built by the private Boston & Maine railroad, then inherited by the state when B&M went bankrupt.
At that time, I doubt much thought was given to high platforms or wheelchairs, let alone bicycles. Also, high platforms might have interfered with freight traffic that also had to pass through the stations.
Amtrak Bridge Replacement
It really may only be interesting to a train geek like me, but Amtrak has been planning on shutting down the NEC north of New Haven for some time now to finish the new lift bridge over the Thames River in New London. I think Amtrak figured that since the line will already be shut down - why not do a maintenance blitz on the railroad ties?
The current bridge down there is a bascule that was built in 1919. Here's an old article about the work. I've also found this nifty picture that shows the progress they've made on it so far. You can see that the new lift towers are in place, but the old span is still there. Amtrak is going to use the June shutdown window to put the new lift in place.
but why shut down all service from Boston to New Haven?
instead of just running trains to either side of the missing bridge, and busing across the river?
High Level Platforms
Yeah - I know it seems a bit much to cancel service over the entire stretch North of New Haven. However, due to ADA stuff, and plain-old logistics - Amtrak needs to have a full length high level platform to board / disembark all the passengers. The next high level platform north of New Haven is up in Providence.
All the other stations in-between have low-level platforms and are partially staffed. (Yes, technically New London has a partial 2-car high level platform, but its mostly low-level). East of New London you've got Mystic, Westerly, and Kingston.
Its unfortunate, but I think logistically it just makes more sense to bus people the full length. I think I might even be faster then detraining a few hundred people at New London, bussing them across the river to Mystic, then reboarding the entire crew.
Imagine a few hundred people trying to filter off a 9-car Amtrak train through 3 open doors down the steps to the platform....... yikes!