Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Study APPENDIX D. SERVICE PLAN Alternatives Analysis Report – March 2015 New Hampshire Department of Transportation | Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Study Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Service Plan Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Service Plan Introduction The Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Service Plan is a component of the Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Study, a New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) study that is evaluating alternatives for extension of MBTA Commuter Rail service to the Plaistow, New Hampshire area. The study is being conducted in partnership with the Towns of Plaistow and Atkinson and the Rockingham Planning Commission and includes construction of a new train station and layover facility. The Plaistow Service Plan builds on existing MBTA service that currently terminates in Haverhill, Massachusetts and is necessary to understand the implications of extended Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter rail service on existing MBTA schedules, equipment, and other partner railroad’s operations. Methodology The Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Service Plan assumes that all existing MBTA Commuter Rail service that currently terminates at Haverhill Station would be extended north to a new Plaistow area station upon opening of the station. Plaistow Station will act as the new terminal for Haverhill Line trains, with the station capable of handling a single train set at a time along an exclusive station track. It is also assumed that an exclusive station track and layover facility will be built in close proximity to the train station, allowing all train sets operating on the line to layover near the terminal. It is assumed that the Plaistow Station will be located south of Main Street in Plaistow, New Hampshire. For the purposes of developing the Service Plan, the Plaistow Main Street site is the northern most alternative site under consideration, allowing evaluation of the maximum impact to MBTA schedules and operations. Further refinement may be required upon selection of the preferred station and layover sites. A Train Performance Calculator (TPC) was used to estimate train speed between Haverhill Station and Plaistow Station. A TPC program determines train trip times based on existing MBTA rolling stock performance ability, condition of the track, and track geometry. A total of ten minutes, including a minute of pad time, was determined by the TPC model for the travel time from Haverhill Station to Plaistow Main Street. Schedule Development The goal in developing a new timetable for MBTA Haverhill Line operations was to minimize the impact to existing MBTA service while providing service to Plaistow, New Hampshire. Additionally, the Service Plan sought to minimize non-revenue train movements or train trips whose primary purpose is for train positioning, typically evidenced by off-peak (non-peak direction) trains that carry few passengers that would be possible with larger capacity layover facilities envisioned in Plaistow. 1 New Hampshire Department of Transportation | Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Study Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Service Plan The August 2014 MBTA Commuter Rail schedule for the Haverhill Line was used as the basis to survey MBTA operations. Currently, passengers on Trains 203 and 213 are bussed between Bradford and Haverhill stations and Trains 212 and 222 are bussed between Haverhill and Bradford stations due to restrictions on the Merrimack River Bridge between Haverhill and Bradford Stations; the Plaistow Extension Service Plan assumes that the Merrimack River Bridge will be repaired and trains will operate normally upon completion of Plaistow Station. Additionally, trains 203 and 213 provide for extra travel time between Lawrence and Bradford that is assumed to be eliminated in the Plaistow Service Plan. The service plan assumes trains will take ten minutes to travel from Haverhill to Plaistow, need at least 10 minutes of layover time in Plaistow, and take another ten minutes to travel from Plaistow back to Haverhill. Thus, the new service plan will increase Haverhill Line operations by approximately 20 minutes per round trip because the MBTA already allots at least ten minutes for train layover at Haverhill Station. Currently, all but seven trains have sufficient layover time at Haverhill Station to accommodate operations at Plaistow Station without having to change schedules. Results This proposed Service Plan would allow the majority of Haverhill Line services to maintain existing schedules, with trains beginning or ending runs ten minutes earlier than existing operations. A full Haverhill/Plaistow Line schedule is found in Appendix A, with the new MBTA and existing Amtrak service operations profiled. Five train operations will have to be modified in order to accommodate scheduled stops at Plaistow Station. Four southbound (Plaistow to North Station) changes due to existing turn times in Haverhill that do not allow for the added 20 minute trip time. The single northbound schedule change (North Station to Plaistow) accommodates a late arriving train in Plaistow. The necessary changes are not expected to impact other equipment operations at North Station. Also, trains in the Plaistow terminal tracks do not present conflicts as train operations are not frequent enough to conflict with other movements. Changes are summarized in Table 1 and Table 2 and are necessary due to short layover times currently at Haverhill Station. Additionally, two non-revenue operations will be eliminated through the Plaistow Extension Service Plan due to increased capacity of the train layover facilities in the Plaistow area. The MBTA currently runs a deadhead train from Haverhill to North Station and then to the Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility (CRMF) in Somerville at 1:25 AM and deadheads a train northbound to Haverhill at 4:00 AM. This train movement will be eliminated because train layover facilities will be constructed in Plaistow to store six train sets; currently only four train sets can layover in Bradford. With adequate layover space in Plaistow, trains will be able to terminate near the last station stop and reduce employee time and fuel useage. 2 New Hampshire Department of Transportation | Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Study Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Service Plan Table 1.1: Modified Southbound Train Movements Current Current Future Future Departure Arrival North Departure Arrival North Train Haverhill Station Plaistow Station Notes 210 8:55 AM 10:24 AM 9:05 AM 10:24 AM Train shuts down in North Station until 1:58 PM 212 9:44 AM 11:09 AM 9:41 AM 11:09 AM Elimination of Haverhill to Bradford Bus allows better schedule 218 2:40 PM 3:49 PM 2:40 PM 3:59 PM Allows for the 5:10 Lowell Line to depart at the same time 220 4:30 PM 5:40 PM 4:28 PM 5:40 PM Arrival at 5:40 allows for the departure of the 5:50 PM Lowell Line train 222 6:04 PM 7:25 PM 6:12 PM 7:25 PM Elimination of Haverhill to Bradford Bus allows better schedule 226 10:15 PM 11:23 PM 10:10 PM 11:28 PM Terminates at the Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility (CRMF) in Somerville Table 1.2: Modified Northbound Train Movement Current Future Departure Current Arrival Departure Future Arrival Train North Station Haverhill North Station Plaistow Notes 205 10:30 AM 11:38 AM 10:22 AM 11:40 AM Terminates at the CRMF in Somerville 3 New Hampshire Department of Transportation | Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Study Plaistow Commuter Rail Extension Service Plan This page intentionally left blank 4 Plaistow/Haverhill Table A1. Appendix Future Plaistow Bradford Bradford Bradford Bradford Weekday Inbound Layover Layover Layover Layover Layover Proposed Equipment Set Set S Set J Set K Set L Set M Set B Set B Set U Set S Set N Set N Set Q Set Q Set B Set S Set I Set I Set S Plaistow Commuter New Hampshire Department of Transportation Proposed Proposed Proposed Proposed Non- Train Number 200AM 202AM 204AM 206AM 208AM 210AM 214AM 218 PM 218PM 220 PM 224 226PM 226PM 210 AM 212 AM 220PM 222 PM Revenue Depart Plaistow 4:55 5:28 6:00 6:36 7:20 9:05 9:41 11:50 2:40 4:28 6:12 8:19 10:10 Haverhill 5:05 5:38 6:10 6:46 7:30 9:05 9:15 9:51 12:00 2:40 2:50 4:30 4:38 6:22 8:29 10:15 10:20 1:25 AM Bradford 5:08 5:41 6:13 6:49 7:33 9:08 9:18 9:54F 12:03F 02:43F 02:53F 04:33F 04:41F 06:25F 08:32F 10:18F 10:23F Lawrence 5:19 5:52 6:24 7:00 7:44 9:19 9:28 10:14 12:14 2:54 3:04 4:44 4:52 6:36 08:43F 10:29F 10:34F Andover 5:24 5:57 6:29 7:06 7:51 9:24 9:34 10:19 12:19 2:59 3:09 04:49F 04:57F 06:44F 08:48F 10:34F 10:39F Ballardvale 05:30F 6:03 6:35 7:12 7:57 09:29F 9:39 10:25F 12:25F 03:05F 03:15F 04:55F 05:03F 06:50F 8:54 10:40F 10:45F Schedule Rail Commuter Proposed Line North Wilmington 05:37F 6:11 6:43 09:37F 9:47 10:32F 12:32F 0.1333333 3:22 9:01 10:47F 10:53F Extension ServiceRail Plan Wilmington 7:22 8:07 7:00 Anderson/ Woburn 8:12 05:11F 05:19F 7:04 Reading 5:44 6:19 6:51 9:44 9:54 10:39 12:39 3:19 3:29 9:08 10:54 10:59 Wakefield 5:50 6:25 6:57 VIA VIA 9:50 10:00 10:45 12:45 3:25 3:35 VIA VIA VIA 9:13 10:59 11:04 Greenwood 05:53F 6:28 7:00 LOW LOW 9:53 10:03 10:48F 12:48F 03:28F 03:38F LOW LOW LOW 09:16F 11:02F 11:07F Melrose Highlands 5:55 6:30 7:03 9:55 10:05 10:50 12:50 3:30 3:40 09:18F 11:04F 11:09F Melrose Cedar Park 5:57 6:32 7:05 9:57 10:07 10:52F 12:52F 03:32F 03:42F 09:20F 11:06F 11:11F Wyoming Hill 5:59 6:34 7:07 9:59 10:09 10:54F 12:54F 03:34F 03:44F 09:22F 11:08F 11:13F Malden Center 6:02 6:38 7:11 10:03 10:13 10:58 12:58 3:38 3:48 9:26 11:12 11:17 North Station 6:14 6:50 7:25 7:48 8:39 10:14 10:24 11:09 1:09 3:49 3:59 5:32 5:40 7:25 9:37 11:23 11:28 2:35 AM | Terminate Allows for Allows for Eliminate Plaistow CommuterExtension Rail Study at the North Eliminates the 5:10 the 5:50 Eliminates Operation CRMF; Station Haverhill Lowell Lowell Haverhill Terminate because Set I Shutdown to Line to Line to to at the Set S will begins Time until Bradford depart at depart at Bradford CRMF be able to normal 1:58 Bus the same the same Bus Layover in run time time Plaistow – Weekday Inbound Weekday 5 Rail Commuter Proposed Line Plaistow/Haverhill A2.