A new report makes the case for transforming part of the commuter rail into a regional network that would be electrified, have frequent all-day service, and extend to New Hampshire.
“Modernizing the Lowell Line,” a new report from advocacy group TransitMatters, lays out the advantages of updating the MBTA’s fifth-busiest commuter rail line and its second-busiest feeding North Station.
The project would cost roughly $340 million, including $90 million to electrify the line and $250 million to update stations and provide high platform level boarding, the report found.
A cost estimate for the suggested extension to Manchester, N.H. was not included, the report said, as it would involve factors such as track restoration and possible right-of-way expansion.
“The entire line from North Station to Lowell should be electrified,” the report stated. “Electrification allows for significantly faster end-to-end trip times.”
For example, the Lowell Line connects North Station with Lowell in 46 minutes, which is roughly the same time it took non-stop trains to make the trip when the line first opened in the 1830s, the report said.
“Modern operations using electric multiple units,” or EMUs, which is what the report calls the self-powered electric trains, “high track standards and level boarding at all stations could reduce the end-to-end trip time to 31 minutes,” the report stated.
This would all be part of the shift to a regional rail system and would include more frequent, all-day service more akin to rapid transit.
TransitMatters also makes a pitch for “mode-neutral fare integration,” where buses, subways and trains would charge matching fares within the same zone to maximize ridership.
The report envisions two scenarios: an early investment one with just electrification and high platforms, but no further expansion and with 30-minute frequency per branch.
A higher-investment scenario would increase frequency to 15-minutes per branch and would include service to New Hampshire.
“Restoring passenger service to Nashua and Manchester, one of New England’s largest job centers, has long been a priority for rail advocates and the Manchester Chamber of Commerce,” the report stated.
The report also suggests adding new stations at UMass Lowell and Tufts University, where the new Medford branch of the Green Line Extension opens next month.
The existing Lowell Line’s straight trajectory would allow EMUs — if they were to replace existing diesel-powered trains — to achieve very high speeds, the report said.
EMUs could travel 80 mph south of Winchester, and 100 mph north of Winchester. Speeds would be slower between North Station and Lowell, at an average of 49 mph, due to terminal speed limits around the station.
Overall, an average speed of 55 mph between Boston and Manchester is “feasible.” A trip from Boston to Manchester with fast-moving EMUs would take a little over an hour, the report said.
An MBTA spokesperson did not have updated information to provide this weekend.
A presentation given at a June Board of Directors meeting indicated the T is exploring a hybrid approach to electrifying the commuter rail “to reduce cost and accelerate delivery.”
According to the presentation, overhead catenary lines would charge battery-electric trains while moving so they can move offline in tunnels and over bridges, where the T deemed it was too expensive to install wiring.
The T estimated the shift from diesel- to electric-powered trains, which would include installing overhead wiring across the system, would take until 2032, when the existing fleet’s lifespan expires.
“The MBTA remains strongly committed to regional rail transformation,” a presentation slide stated.
