Amtrak's 2010 strategic infrastructure plan shows a new track 4 on the Eastbound (Northbound) side of the NEC with high level platforms. It also includes full electrification of existing track 3.
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Cost of Amtrak to Green Airport: $90 million
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Building an Amtrak stop at T. F. Green Airport could cost $90 million and attract 71,200 riders annually, according to a new study from the railroad and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.
State leaders have for years eyed expanded rail service as the next step in efforts to expand Green Airport, but funding and fitting it into the busy Northeast Corridor train schedule are major hurdles.
The study, which U.S. Sen. Jack Reed initiated with language in a federal appropriations bill, looked at four scenarios to bring more trains to the airport, including starting a new Rhode Island commuter railroad and extending Connecticut’s Shore Line East service into the Ocean State.
It concluded that getting many more trains to Green is “feasible” and that Amtrak service is the least expensive way to do it.
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deathtopumpkins wrote:No more than it's costing now. The station was designed from the beginning to fit a fourth track and another side platform on the opposite side.Freight modifications are bundled up in that price. Right now Green is in a stopgap configuration BOTH for passenger and freight. The two wired tracks will not clear a P&W autorack under the station overhang, so when they built the single commuter rail platform they undercut the trackbed by a couple feet. Then, instead of bypassing the full-high as you normally would with Plate F+ freight cars they simply restrict P&W's speed through the platform slow enough that the harmonic rocking minimizes the platform scrapes and dings (something they can do because this is not a legacy high-and-wide route, but a wholly 21st century creation via RIDOT's FRIP program done with Amtrak's blessing).
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What I don't understand about this study though is what they'd be building for Amtrak. The state already plans to eventually build the second platform to serve increasing MBTA frequencies and their own eventual in-state service. Is that single additional platform expected to cost $90 million? Or does that include building a more substantial headhouse with a waiting area, Amtrak ticketing, etc.? The station already has parking and a pick-up/drop-off area.
Or is this $90 million to build island platform(s)?
Reading through the study the only mention of specific infrastructure improvements is lowering and electrifying the freight/MBTA track through the station.
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As a result of Reed’s efforts, the FRA’s 2017 feasibility study noted bringing a regular Amtrak stop to the airport would require upgrades at T.F. Green Station in order to allow Amtrak’s regional trains to stop there and to accommodate freight, commuter, and high-speed trains that also operate along that route. This new CRISI grant will allow RIDOT, in partnership with Amtrak, to advance the initiative and support preliminary engineering and environmental review work on a new Amtrak stop at the existing T.F. Green commuter rail station.
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