Friday, November 20, 2015
Monday, November 9, 2015
Stoughton MA Officials Make Case to Buy Train Station
STOUGHTON – Joseph Mokrisky, chairman of the Board of
Selectmen, stated his case to residents Saturday as to why the town should
purchase the old train station on Wyman
Street.
“This is our last
opportunity to save a piece of history in Stoughton,”
Mokrisky said. “Looking at everything that’s here, to lose it is crazy.”
Mokrisky is one of the
local officials leading a campaign to convince voters to authorize selectmen to
spend $350,000 in Community Preservation Act funds to purchase the 127-year-old
station from the MBTA. Residents will vote on this issue at this month’s
special town meeting.
An additional $350,000 in
Community Preservation Act money is being sought by town officials to
rehabilitate parts of the station’s exterior.
On Saturday, Mokrisky and
other supporters of the project held an open house at the old station to allow
residents to take a look inside the building, which opened in 1888 and was
added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Arched wooden ceilings, an
ornate fireplace and a vintage aesthetic are among the most striking features
inside the building. However, disuse and disrepair have taken hold in some
areas, as evidenced by a layer of dust and grime that covers the floors and the
weathered look of many of the items remaining in the building.
“The building has been
vacant for close to 10 years,” said Forrest Lindwall, a member of the Stoughton
Redevelopment Authority. “In the past, it was an active railroad station. They
basically closed down the whole waiting room years ago and just sold tickets.”
Eventually, the ticket
stand was no longer needed as residents could purchase tickets on the commuter
rail trains that run past the station and the building was closed.
However, Mokrisky said he
believes the building could be reopened with a little work.
“Ninety-nine percent of
the woodwork in here is clean,” Mokrisky said. “When you look at the building,
it’s steel and solid stone. It’s not going anywhere.”
Mokrisky said money for
repairs would be used to seal the building, as some of the wood on the
building’s exterior near the windows has begun to rot, and the mortar between
the stones has been worn away in places.
Mokrisky said he fears the
building will be sold and the new owner will open a business that doesn’t fit
the structure’s historic character. However, some residents want to be assured
the town can find a tenant before they approve to buy the property.
There have been
discussions about opening a combined bookstore/coffee shop in the old train
station or moving the local post office’s retail operations into the building,
Mokrisky said, adding that before the town can make those decisions it must buy
the building.
“It’s a historic building,
and we want to bring it back to a positive use,” he said.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
MBTA to Install $451 million Technology to Prevent Train Crashes
(SOURCE: Nicole Dungca, The Boston Globe)
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to spend an estimated $451.3 million to install technology meant to prevent accidents such as the Amtrak derailment that killed eight people in Philadelphia in May.
The fiscal control board that oversees the agency on Monday voted 4-0 to approve the contract to install what’s known as “positive train control” on all commuter rail lines that don’t already have it. The technology is designed to automatically slow trains on certain stretches of track.
The project could mean weekend shutdowns for commuter rail lines starting in March 2017 and continuing into 2018. Officials said the shutdowns would accelerate installation and save money.
MBTA officials said they expect the project to be complete in 2020, making the agency among the last major railroads across the country to install the federally mandated technology.
The increased costs come as transit advocates are already worried about fare hikes and are urging that they be kept to a minimum.
MBTA officials made it clear Monday that the costs will become a burden for the agency. Gerald Polcari, chief procurement officer for the MBTA, called the federal law requiring it an “unfunded mandate.”
“Do we have the funds for this?” he said. “No.”
The law requiring the technology was passed in 2008, and it was
thrust into the spotlight this year when an Amtrak train derailed while
traveling too quickly over a curve, killing eight people and injuring
about 200 others. The National Transportation Safety Board said that positive train control could have prevented the accident.
Under the 2008 law, transit agencies had to finish implementing the technology by 2015 — yet so many cash-strapped agencies were behind that Congress recently passed an extension.
Positive train control, which must be installed on trains, tracks, and signals, is not new to the MBTA. Amtrak installed the technology on the Northeast Corridor tracks that run from New Haven to Boston, which includes the MBTA’s Providence/Stoughton line, according to David Diaz, a vice president with LTK Engineering Services, a firm helping the MBTA with the project.
But the system has 12 other commuter lines operating without the new technology.
The installation contract represents $338.5 million of the overall $451.3 million cost. The T will also need an additional $112.9 million for consultant services; financial support to help Keolis, the commuter rail operator, with the project; MBTA staff support; and contingency costs.
The additional expenditure comes as the governor-appointed control board figures out ways to cut costs and increase revenue. The agency spends nearly $2 billion annually and recently estimated it would take about $7.3 billion to fully upgrade its trains, tracks, and other infrastructure.
To fund the positive train control work, the MBTA plans to borrow federal money through programs created to finance projects. One of those programs, the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, would cover about a third of the costs. MBTA officials said they could look into a combination of loans, as well as using other internal funds.
The costs will continue to grow once the technology is installed. According to officials, Keolis would need to spend about $12 million a year to maintain the technology.
Asked whether the extra costs will affect Keolis’s contract, company spokeswoman Leslie Aun directed questions to the MBTA. Agency officials did not immediately comment.
State Representative William Straus of Mattapoisett, who is cochairman of the Legislature’s transportation committee, said the large cost of the project shows how much the MBTA is in need of substantial investment.
“I think it’s going to be a challenge for the administration to come up with a financing plan if they limit themselves to simply changing operations and looking for efficiencies,” he said. “They’re good things, but I don’t think it will find you the kind of money that the system needs.”
In December, the MBTA’s control board will lay out a plan for closing its deficit, which will include cost controls and possibly fare increases.
Such hikes have worried transit advocates, several of whom on Monday urged the fiscal control board to raise fares by no more than 5 percent. Rafael Mares, senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, said he believes a state law allows the MBTA to increase fares by 5 percent every two years, at most.
But state transportation department lawyers and Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack note that the language of the law says the MBTA can increase fares only every two years or only at a rate of 5 percent annually. They believe that means the MBTA could hike fares by 10 percent every two years.
That interpretation is also supported by key legislators, including Straus.
“I don’t think there’s any indication whatsoever that that’s what they’re thinking of, but that’s the size of the ballpark,” Straus said.
Also on Monday, MBTA officials said they are hiring a company to find out why the agency spends about 1.7 times more on bus maintenance than the average spent by other large urban public transit systems.
Officials revealed the agency spent about $40.81 per hour on maintaining its 1,060 buses in 2013. That compares with an average of $24.32 for 71 other public transit agencies in urban areas, according to the National Transit Database’s 2013 figures.
The 2013 figures were the most current available.
The MBTA’s chief administrator, Brian Shortsleeve, called the differences between the agencies “stark” but said the MBTA is not yet ready to propose ways to drive down the costs.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to spend an estimated $451.3 million to install technology meant to prevent accidents such as the Amtrak derailment that killed eight people in Philadelphia in May.
The fiscal control board that oversees the agency on Monday voted 4-0 to approve the contract to install what’s known as “positive train control” on all commuter rail lines that don’t already have it. The technology is designed to automatically slow trains on certain stretches of track.
The project could mean weekend shutdowns for commuter rail lines starting in March 2017 and continuing into 2018. Officials said the shutdowns would accelerate installation and save money.
MBTA officials said they expect the project to be complete in 2020, making the agency among the last major railroads across the country to install the federally mandated technology.
The increased costs come as transit advocates are already worried about fare hikes and are urging that they be kept to a minimum.
MBTA officials made it clear Monday that the costs will become a burden for the agency. Gerald Polcari, chief procurement officer for the MBTA, called the federal law requiring it an “unfunded mandate.”
“Do we have the funds for this?” he said. “No.”
To fund the work, the MBTA plans to borrow federal money through programs meant to finance transportation projects.
Under the 2008 law, transit agencies had to finish implementing the technology by 2015 — yet so many cash-strapped agencies were behind that Congress recently passed an extension.
Positive train control, which must be installed on trains, tracks, and signals, is not new to the MBTA. Amtrak installed the technology on the Northeast Corridor tracks that run from New Haven to Boston, which includes the MBTA’s Providence/Stoughton line, according to David Diaz, a vice president with LTK Engineering Services, a firm helping the MBTA with the project.
But the system has 12 other commuter lines operating without the new technology.
The installation contract represents $338.5 million of the overall $451.3 million cost. The T will also need an additional $112.9 million for consultant services; financial support to help Keolis, the commuter rail operator, with the project; MBTA staff support; and contingency costs.
The additional expenditure comes as the governor-appointed control board figures out ways to cut costs and increase revenue. The agency spends nearly $2 billion annually and recently estimated it would take about $7.3 billion to fully upgrade its trains, tracks, and other infrastructure.
To fund the positive train control work, the MBTA plans to borrow federal money through programs created to finance projects. One of those programs, the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, would cover about a third of the costs. MBTA officials said they could look into a combination of loans, as well as using other internal funds.
The costs will continue to grow once the technology is installed. According to officials, Keolis would need to spend about $12 million a year to maintain the technology.
Asked whether the extra costs will affect Keolis’s contract, company spokeswoman Leslie Aun directed questions to the MBTA. Agency officials did not immediately comment.
State Representative William Straus of Mattapoisett, who is cochairman of the Legislature’s transportation committee, said the large cost of the project shows how much the MBTA is in need of substantial investment.
“I think it’s going to be a challenge for the administration to come up with a financing plan if they limit themselves to simply changing operations and looking for efficiencies,” he said. “They’re good things, but I don’t think it will find you the kind of money that the system needs.”
In December, the MBTA’s control board will lay out a plan for closing its deficit, which will include cost controls and possibly fare increases.
Such hikes have worried transit advocates, several of whom on Monday urged the fiscal control board to raise fares by no more than 5 percent. Rafael Mares, senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, said he believes a state law allows the MBTA to increase fares by 5 percent every two years, at most.
But state transportation department lawyers and Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack note that the language of the law says the MBTA can increase fares only every two years or only at a rate of 5 percent annually. They believe that means the MBTA could hike fares by 10 percent every two years.
That interpretation is also supported by key legislators, including Straus.
“I don’t think there’s any indication whatsoever that that’s what they’re thinking of, but that’s the size of the ballpark,” Straus said.
Also on Monday, MBTA officials said they are hiring a company to find out why the agency spends about 1.7 times more on bus maintenance than the average spent by other large urban public transit systems.
Officials revealed the agency spent about $40.81 per hour on maintaining its 1,060 buses in 2013. That compares with an average of $24.32 for 71 other public transit agencies in urban areas, according to the National Transit Database’s 2013 figures.
The 2013 figures were the most current available.
The MBTA’s chief administrator, Brian Shortsleeve, called the differences between the agencies “stark” but said the MBTA is not yet ready to propose ways to drive down the costs.
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