1. South Station Expansion Planning.
2. Worcester service upgrading without Grand Junction and before South Station expansion.
3. Analysis.
1. South Station Expansion Planning.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation in its August 24, 2012, news letter, announces work on South Station expansion, saying as following.
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MassDOT in conjunction with the MBTA and the City of Boston is launching the South Station Expansion Project. Using funds awarded by the federal government, MassDOT will spend the next several years performing planning, environmental review, and preliminary design for an expanded station and ancillary facilities.
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More details and the full announcement, including a link to request future public notifications on the project, are at: http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/InformationCenter/WeeklyNewsletters/RoadtoReformNewsletter08242012.aspx.
2. Worcester service upgrading without Grand Junction and before South Station expansion.
The Worcester Telegram reported at the beginning of August, http://www.telegram.com/article/20120802/NEWS/108029914/1246, that the Worcester - Boston service will be greatly upgraded this fall, going from 13 daily round trips to 20 daily round trips.
Expansion is anticipated shortly after the state completes purchase of railroad rights of way along the route.
This expansion is striking because the numbers sound like what the Cambridge pols were talking about in their fight to move Worcester service onto the Grand Junction Railroad.
3. Analysis.
These announcements are major victories for the environment and for responsible transportation planning and yet more slaps in the face for the “reprehensible” (to quote that civil rights judge) government in Cambridge, MA, USA.
I have done major analyses on this matter and will likely follow up with further analyses.
Without going into full details, the Cambridge Machine ran around for an extended period yelling “You can’t win, you can’t win, you can’t win.” They even tried to create yet another fake group to claim opposition to passenger service on the Grand Junction Railroad in Cambridge. Such “protective” groups from the Cambridge pols commonly try to maneuver Cambridge residents into working against their own best interest. One such outrage is their ongoing fight to maintain and expand environmental destruction and animal abuse in the BU Bridge area of the Charles River in Cambridge.
The Cambridge Pols claimed use of the Grand Junction was needed to give Worcester needed expansion of its Boston commuter service because South Station could not handle the added trains during rush hour.
The Grand Junction Railroad line is an integral part of the habitat of the Charles River White Geese, running directly east of the traditional nesting location and west of a traditionally wild hillside which has been used for some nesting in recent years.
The Worcester Telegram reports that this fall's expansion of service of Worcester - Boston commuter service is being accomplished pretty close to what the Cambridge Pols have been fighting for. The timing is such this expansion can only be happening in South Station and cannot be happening on the Grand Junction, the target of the Cambridge pols for the service.
The South Station expansion project going forward further protects Worcester expansion without the environmental and animal abuse outrages of use of the Grand Junction Railroad in Cambridge. Previous reports indicated that South Station expansion was necessary to expand the Worcester - Boston service.
Good work.
Thank you folks.
