III 1111111111111111" 1111111111 PB93-217602 Commuter-Intercity u.s. Department of Transportation Rail Improvement Study Research and Special Programs Administration (Boston-New York) John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center Cambridge, MA 02142-1093 FTA-MA-06-0196-93-1 DOT-VNTSC-FTA-93-2 Final Report May 1993 Prepared for: U.S. Department U.S. Department of Transportation of Transportation Federal Transit Federal Railroad Administration Administration Reproduced by: National Techndal Iufomlation setvice U.S. Department ofConunerce Splingflcld. VA 22161 NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. NOTICE The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Publ ic reporting burden for this collection of infonnation is estimated ~o average 1 h9Ur per response, fncludilll the time for reviewulll Instructions searching existing data sources, gatherIng and maintalni'1fl the dilta needed, and cOllfJletil1ll and reviewil)g the col lection of infonnation. Send coornents regardi!'l9 this burden estimate or artY. other aspect of this collection of infonnation, including suggestions for reducIng thIs burden, to ~ashir:lllton He~rters ~X~:7~".,Di~!St~~a!~ f~~~j~!o~~!on Operat~~sR~~..~e~rts, 1215 Jeffersonp~~yi~,. H:~9~~~"1ID1tte 1204, Arl i"H~og"r;X~ 1. 1111111111111111111 [ 1111111111 2. RE~T DATE 3. REP~T TYPE AND DATES COVERED May 1993 Final Report PB93-217602 August 1992 - Septenber 1991 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Commuter-Intercity Rail lmprovement Study (Boston-New York) TT308/U3055 6. AUTHOR(S) Northeast Corridor Improvement Study Team * 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION U.S. Department'of Transportation RE~T NUMBER Research and Special Programs Administration John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center DOT-VNTSC-FTA-93-2 Cambridge, MA 02142 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING U.S. Department of Transportation AGENCY REPORT NUMBER Federal Transit Administration Office of Engineering FTA-MA-06-0l96-93-l Washington, D.C. 20590 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES *Under the overall direction of the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Railroad Administration, the group was COllfJOsed of representatives of the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Parsons Brinkerhoff Quade &Douglas, Inc.; and Charles River Associates. 12a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) This study documents potential system improvements to benefit commuter and intercity rail passenger service in the Boston-New York corridor. It addresses the nature, cost and benefits of major investments in the infrastructure. The results of previous studies, analyses and estimates by the involved public agencies, operating railroads and others, are incorporated by the study team. The study identifies major infrastructure rehabilitation and improvement projects and organizes them into a logical hierarchy of five overall programs. The major projects are identified and characterized. The first program consists of a basic set of five projects required to maintain the existing system capability. Four improvement programs are further defined by incorporating higher levels of system improvement projects. Potential savings in intercity trip times from each of the five programs are calculated for various types of operating equipment. Commuter trip time impacts are also estimated. Ridership gains from reduced trip times are projected from demand mode ls. The projected improvement programs would result in significantly reduced trip times for the New York-Boston/Boston-New York segment, maybe as low as 2-112 hours, depending on the level of investment and the roll ing stock used. Substantial speed and reliability benefits for commuter rail service are discussed. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES Northeast Corridor Rail System, commuter rail transportation, Intercity rail 226 transportation, Amtrak, Metro-North Commuter Railroad, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT OF RE~T OF THIS PAGE OF ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standar~ Form m (Rev. ~:~9) PrescrIbed by ANSI Std. 239-18 298-102 PREFACE The study described in this document was carried out under the overall direction of a Departmental Task Force consisting of the FTA and FRA Administrators and the Counselor to the Secretary of Transportation. The program manager was S. Barsony of the Federal Transit Administration. The Volpe Center effort was directed by R. Madigan; J. Hopkins was responsible for technical coordination of the efforts of the mUlti-disciplinary study team and integration of its efforts. Other key Volpe Center staff members on the team included P. Mattson (civil engineering), M. Safford (institutional and financial aspects), and D. Pickrell (ridership and benefits). Extensive technical support was provided by Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc, under the direction of J. Harrison; K. Ullman conducted the curve analysis, a critical element of the study. Estimates of future ridership were developed by Charles River Associates. The study benefitted greatly from the active cooperation of many organizations and individuals; appreciation is expressed particularly to R. Rathbun (connecticut Department of Transportation), E. Courtemanch (Amtrak), and H. Permut (Metro­ North Commuter Railroad). iii METRIC/ENGLISH CONVERSION FACTORS ENGLISH TO METRIC METRIC TO ENGLISH LENGTH (APPROXIMATE) LENGTH (APPROXIMATE) inch (in) = 2.5 centimeters (cm) millimeter (mm) = 0.04 inch (in) foot (ft) = 30 centimeters (cm) centimeter (cm) = 0.4 inch (in) yard (yd) = 0.9 meter (m) 1 meter (m) =3.3 feet (ft) mile (mi) =1.6 kilometers (km) 1 meter (m) = 1.1 yards (yd) kilometer (km) =0.6 mile (mi) AREA (APPROXIMATE) AREA (APPROXIMATE) 1 square inch (sq in, in2 =6.5 square centimeters (cm2) square centimeter (cm2) = 0.16 square inch (sq in, in2) 2 2 2 1 square foot (sq ft, ft = 0.09 square meter (rnz) 1 square meter (m ) = 1.2 square yeards (sq yd, yd ) square yard (sq yd, yd2) =0.8 square meter (m2) 1 square kilometer (km2) = 0.4 square mile (sq mi, mi 2) square mile (sq mi, mi 2) =2.6 square kilometers (km2) 1 hectare (he) = 10,000 square meters (m2) =2.5 acres acre =0.4 hectares (he) =4,000 square meters (m2) MASS - WEIGHT (APPROXIMATE) MASS - WEIGHT (APPROXIMATE) 1 ounce (OZ) = 28 grams (gr) 1 gram (gr) = 0.036 ounce (OZ) 1 pound (lb) = .45 kilogram (kg) kilogram (kg) = 2.2 pounds (lb) short ton =2,000 pounds (lb) =0.9 tonne (t) tonne (t) = 1,000 kilograms (kg) = 1.1 short tons VOLUME (APPROXIMATE) VOLUME (APPROXIMATE) teaspoon (tsp) = 5 milliliters (ml) milliliters (ml) = 0.03 fluid ounce (fl oz) tablespoon (tbsp) = 15 milliliters (ml) liter (1) = 2.1 pints (pt) fluid ounce (fl oz) =30 milliliters (ml) liter (1j = 1.06 quarts (qt) 1 cup (c) = 0.24 liter (1) liter (1) = 0.26 gallon (gal) 1 pint (pt) = 0.47 liter (1) cubic meter (m3) =36 cubic feet (cu ft, ft3) 1 quart (qt) = 0.96 liter (1) cubic meter (m3) = 1.3 cubic yards (cu yd, yd3) 1 gallon (gal) = 3.8 liters (1) 1 cubic foot (cu ft, ft3) = 0.03 cubic meter (m3) cubic yard (cu yd, yd3) = 0.76 cubic meter (m3) TEMPERATURE (EXACT) TEMPERATURE (EXACT) [(x-32)(5/9)] OF =Y °c [(9/5) y + 32] °c = x OF QUICK INCH-CENTIMETER LENGTH CONVERSION INCHES 0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 CENTIMETERS 0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 25.40 QUICK FAHRENHEIT-CELSIUS TEMPERATURE CONVERSION OF -400 -220 _4 0 140 32 0 500 ~o 860 1040 122 0 1400 1580 1760 194 0 212 0 I II I I I II I II I I I °c -40 0 -30 0 -20 0 -10 0 60 100 20 0 300 40 0 50 0 60 0 70 0 80 0 90 0 100 0 For more exact and or other conversion factors, see NBS Miscellaneous Publication 286, Units of Weights and Measures. Price $2.50. SO Catalog No. C13 10286. TABLE OF CONTENTS section 1. INTRODUCTION 1-1 1.1 Background .•. ·..... 1-1 1.2 Objectives of the Study · 1-4 1.3 Scope of the Study .•. ·•.. 1-5 1. 3.1 Rolling Stock . · · ·· 1-6 1. 3.2 Service Quality · · · · · · ·· 1-6 1. 3.3 Funding Sources · . · · · · · · · · 1-6 1. 3.4 Benefit Analysis ··· · · · · 1-7 1. 3.5 Principal Assumptions · · · ·· · · · · 1-7 2. APPROACH . · . · · · · ··· · 2-1 2.1 Overview. .•• . •.•.•.•..• 2-1 2.2 Acquisition of Information and Identification of Potential Improvements . •. ... 2-1 2.2.1 Literature Review . 2-1 2.2.2 External Contacts . 2-3 2.3 Analysis of NEC and Potential Improvements .. 2-3 2.4 Synthesis of Alternative Improvement Programs ................... 2-5 2.5 Analysis and Characterization of Alternative Improvement Programs ..•••.....•.. 2-4 2.6 Preparation of Final Report and Appendices .• 2-5 3. NEC DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY .•. 3-1 3.1 Description of the Northeast Corridor .•.• 3-1 3.2 Historical Overview .•.•......... 3-2 3.2.1 Early History of the Corridor . ·• 3-2 3.2.2 Modern History of the Corridor ••.• 3-3 3.2.3 Improvement Program Chronology ·• 3-5 3.2.4 Trip Times •..•••...• .•.• 3-7 3.3 Current and projected NEC Passenger Service • 3-8 3.3.1 Current Service . ...•. ·• 3-8 3.3.2 service Projected for 2010 .•.