Talbot Ave. Station opens on MBTA Fairmount Line

Talbot Ave. Station in September 2012
Wikipedia Commons

The first of four new stations on the MBTA's Fairmount line is set to open Monday, November 12th, after nearly two years of preparation and construction. The Talbot Avenue stop, which began construction in November of 2010, will include two full-length high-level platforms and will be located just north of Codman Square in Dorchester. 

The Fairmount line is the only MBTA commuter rail line to lie primarily within the city of Boston, serving the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Mattapan, and Hyde Park. Currently, there are only four stations on the line, Uphams Corner, Morton Street, Fairmount, and Readville, all of which get served every half hour during rushes and every hour during off-peak times. There is no night or weekend service on the line. 

In 2005, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts agreed to make improvements to the line, in part because of its legally binding commitment to mitigate increased air pollution from the Big Dig.

The MBTA has allocated $37 million to the project and $39 million has been allocated from the Commonwealth from the Emergency Needs Bond Bill of 2007. The total cost of the project is estimated to be about $79.4 million.

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To date, the existing Morton St. and Uphams Corner stations have been completely rebuilt, six bridges have been either replaced or repaired, and both signaling and track work has been completed. After the Talbot Ave. station is opened Monday, three more stations will need to be opened before the line is complete. Stations are currently being constructed at New Market Square in Dorchester (planned opening June 2013), Washington Street (Four Corners/Geneva) in Dorchester (planned opening April 2013), and Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester (planned opening sometime in 2015).

The addition of new stations and the upgrades to the existing infrastructure are projected to divert 220 trips from automobiles to transit, and increase daily weekday ridership on the line from around 2,800 to 7,300 passengers.

After the Talbot Ave. station opens on Monday it will be served by trains 28 times every weekday (14 inbound and 14 outbound). You can access the new schedule for the Fairmount Line (effective Nov. 7th) HERE.

Rotem Coaches Arrive in Boston

Courtesy: MassDOT

It took almost a year, but the four prototype Hyundai-Rotem bi-level coaches have finally arrived at the Boston Engine Terminal (BET) the MBTA's commuter rail maintenance facility. The coaches, which arrived by barge in New Bedford in January, have seen little to no use since their arrival, other than some static testing and a trip to Middleboro.

Now that they have finally made their way up to the BET, the MBTA can start their own testing process on the cars. The MBTA has said that after the coaches arrival at the BET on Wednesday, they will be inspected by Commuter Rail personnel and the testing process will begin thereafter.

The Rotem cars have come under a bit of controversy over the past few months. Setbacks by the Hyundai-Rotem company have caused the a big delay in the $190 Million order of 75 cars that the MBTA has with the company. It became such an issue that acting MBTA General Manager John Davis had to take a trip to Korea this past September to talk with executives at the company. It now looks as if everything is on track for the order and if there are no more hiccups, GM Davis says that the agency hopes to have the first of the coaches in revenue service by January of 2013. Davis also noted that the last coaches in the order should arrive in Boston by July of 2014.

One of the four prototypes being lifted off of a barge
in New Bedford MA.
Courtesy: City of New Bedford

It is rumored that these coaches will primarily serve the North Side commuter rail lines once in service. If the rumors are true, passengers on commuter rail trains leaving North Station should expect to see an increase in capacity, which will mean less over crowding during rush hours. The coaches will be fully equipped with electronic LED destination signs, pre-installed Wi-Fi (unlike the retrofitted aftermarket Wi-Fi that the MBTA installed on most of its coaches) and bathrooms.

It has also been rumored that once all of the Rotem coaches are in service the older 500 and 1500 series coaches will begin to be retired from revenue service. These coaches, which were built by Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB), were put into revenue service between 1987-88. The coaches have never seen a mid life overhaul and are steadily showing signs of their age. The MBTA did institute an in house re-building program for the cars (replacing floors and seating upholstery) so they would last until all of the Rotem Coaches enter service and the Kawasaki Bi-level overhaul is finished.

The first four prototype cars were built and assembled at Hyundai-Rotem's South Korean manufacturing facility. The remaining 71 coaches of the order , however, will be built at the company's new facility in Philadelphia. 

With new equipment comes more reliable service, modern amenities, and increased capacity, in a win-win situation for both the MBTA and its passengers.

Vote for Transportation

Voters across all 50 states will head to their local precincts today and cast ballots for a wide array of candidates seeking office in municipal, county, state, and federal elections. Here at Boston to a T our main concern when endorsing candidates for office is where they stand on transportation related issues.

Below is a list of candidates we believe will best promote causes related to the continued growth and sustainability of public transit both here in the Commonwealth and across the country.

President

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Flickr User: Super Jag

Barack Obama/Joe Biden: In his first four years in office President Obama made investment in high speed rail one of his administration's domestic policy priorities. By apportioning $53 billion for infrastructure upgrades to rail in February of 2011, President Obama not only gave room for Amtrak to better move people across the country but for freight suppliers and regional rail services to operate more efficiently. Mitt Romney's consistent affirmation that he would end subsidies to Amtrak and scale down federal funding across the board (presumably decreasing necessary capital investment for regional transit agencies) leads us to believe his motto towards transit, and transit riders, would be one of you're on your own. As Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney oversaw the MBTA. During his administration the Authority's annual budget deficit, created by a failed forward funding plan implemented by his predecessor, increased upwards of a hundred million dollards, while its debt load ballooned to over $5 billion. Romney's inaction in regards to the MBTA's fiscal crisis ultimately led to the budget debacle that nearly crippled the Authority earlier this year. The President's leadership on transportation related issues, mixed with Mitt Romney's inability to address transportation needs, makes Boston to a T believe that four more years of an Obama administration would be beneficial to transit riders across the country.

Senate

Elizabeth Warren: The race between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren made history as the nation's most expensive Senate race ever. The vile attacks launched by each campaign created a sharp divide over the concept of "whose side do you stand on". While Senator Brown constantly championed himself as a bi-partisan leader working to promote the well-being of all his record speaks differently. As a United States Senator he voted against three jobs bills that would have largely focused on our nation's infrastructure. These bills would have put thousands of people to work rebuilding our highways, airports, roads, bridges, and public transit facilities. On the contrary, Elizabeth Warren has made investment in infrastructure a cornerstone of her bid for Senate. Warren believes that if our nation's infrastructure is strong we can better move people, cargo, and information and thus create economic advantages to boost our competitiveness in the future. Boston to a T proudly endorses Elizabeth Warren in her bid for US Senate.

Congressional Races

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Office of the Governor 

Michael Capuano: Congressman Capuano has been a tireless advocate for transportation issues throughout his six terms in office. His work advocating for the Green Line extension to Somerville and an Orange Line stop at Assembly Square are exemplary of his commonsense approach to reducing automobile dependency and increasing transit use in urban areas. Congressman Capuano was also a strong proponant of a piece of legislation called the Carnahan Bill. The bill would have extended federal funding to operational costs and capital investment costs for regional transit agencies instead of just the latter. There is no stronger advocate for transit and transit riders in the US House of Representatives than Michael Capuano. Boston to a T proudly endorses him in his bid for re-election.