Boston Company to Offer First Private Passenger Rail Line

(SOURCE:  WPRI.com)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Boston company wants to offer the first private passenger rail line in the nation in more than 30 years, reviving a once-popular business model that was stopped dead in its tracks decades ago.

Boston Surface Railroad Co. is planning a commuter rail line that would shuttle passengers between Worcester, Massachusetts, and Providence in about an hour. No private passenger rail line has existed since 1983, and it’s been even longer since there was a significant private investment in passenger rail.

While some experts doubt that private rail can be a viable business, others say the market demand is there. Companies in at least two other states — Florida and Texas — have passenger rail projects in the works.

“We’re going through changes in this country with how people travel. Everybody’s looking for more choices,” said Robert Puentes, director of the metropolitan infrastructure initiative at the Brookings Institution.

The 45-mile stretch between Worcester and Providence presents the perfect opportunity for commuter rail because there are existing well-maintained tracks, which are owned and used for freight by Providence and Worcester Railroad Co., said Vincent Bono, CEO of Boston Surface Railroad.

Bono likens the project to a proof-of-concept to see if a private company can use existing infrastructure for passenger rail service for relatively little money.

“Because we’re private, because it’s an existing railroad, because they’re willing to operate it for us, we don’t have to spend ridiculous money,” Bono said.

He hopes the rail will be up and running by 2017.

The nation’s existing passenger railroads rely heavily on government subsidies. In recent years, Amtrak, the nation’s government-funded inter-city railroad service, has come under attack for expensive subsidies of its money-losing long-distance routes and losses from its food and beverage services, although the busy Northeast corridor route has growing operating profits.

Still, some doubt that private passenger rail projects can make a profit.

“If commuter rail is to be competitive, it has to maintain artificially low fares, fares that are below the fully allocated cost of service,” said Albert Churella, a professor at Kennesaw State University who specializes in the history of the railroad industry.

But companies in at least two other states see a market for private passenger rail.

All Aboard Florida is working on a $2.25 billion project to build a passenger rail from Miami to Orlando. It plans to begin operating a limited route by 2017.

Texas Central Railway is developing a $10 billion high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston beginning in 2021. The company has said the bullet train would make the 250-mile trip in 90 minutes.

The Worcester-to-Providence rail line would be much smaller scale than those.

Bono said capital costs are budgeted at $3 million to $5 million, because the company needs to build very little: a short passing track and a passenger platform at the Worcester train station. It plans to keep costs down by relying on equipment it will get refurbished — three used locomotives and 12 former Amtrak passenger coaches.

Boston Surface has entered into a memo of understanding with the freight railroad, which owns nearly the entire route.

A feasibility study was just completed, and the project is in the planning stages. Bono says it doesn’t need federal or state money.

Puentes said the private ventures can help economic growth and recovery.

“This is the right conversation to be having, particularly in a place like Rhode Island,” he said.

Providence & Worcester Rail Yard in Line for $450K from State

(SOURCE:  Telegram.com -By Lisa Eckelbecker - Telegram & Gazette Staff )

BOSTON - State grants worth more than $2 million will go to industrial railroad projects in Massachusetts, including a grant of almost $456,000 to Providence and Worcester Railroad Co. in Worcester.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation said it awarded five grants as part of the state's Industrial Rail Access Program, which gives money to businesses and municipalities to boost economic growth by improving rail networks.

In Worcester, the state grant will go toward work at the Providence and Worcester Southbridge Street railroad yard, the state reported. The railroad is a freight carrier.

Catania Spagna Corp. of Ayer, which processes and sells oils, was awarded $500,000 for rail siding track expansion and unloading improvements in Ayer, DOT said in a news release.

The state reported other grants were awarded to Borden & Remington Corp. of Fall River, $383,910; Pioneer Valley Railroad of Westfield, $175,045; and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and Fore River Railroad Corp. of Quincy, $500,000.

Connecticut Company Trolley #123

Connecticut Company trolley #123.  Note on reverse says "body of car is now part of a tourist camp near Providence RI".  Photographer unknown.

Micro-Trains Offers Providence & Worcester Coal Hopper Set in N Scale

One of the 4 cars in the set

Micro Trains has released a set of 4 factory weathered coal hoppers in N scale.  

Item# 99305270 - P&W (4-Pack)...$119.95

New MBTA Diesel Headed to P&WRR

Brand spankin' new MBTA diesel #2001 is reportedly on it's way to the Providence & Worcester railroad for final setup. Will we soon see it plying MBTA rails??

10/14 UPDATE:  The unit should be on P&W property as I type.

New England Model Railroad Items at 2013 National Train Show

(Information from the Model Railroader magazine website)

New England related model railroad items on display at the 2013 National Train Show, July 19-21:  

HO SCALE:

Alco S-2 diesel locomotive:  Boston & Maine (black, red, and white in two numbers); Upgraded tooling, five-pole skew-wound motor with dual flywheels, and directional light-emitting diode headlights. Direct-current model, $149.95; with ESU LokSound Digital Command Control sound decoder, $259.95. Fourth quarter 2013. Ready-to-run. Master Line. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

Electro-Motive Division GP7 diesel locomotive:  Boston & Maine (McGinnis scheme. SoundTraxx Sound Value decoder (prime mover, three air horns, and bell), acetal handrails, and E-Z Mate Mark II knuckle couplers. $189. October 2013. Sound Value line. Ready-to-run. Bachmann, 215-533-1600, www.bachmanntrains.com

Electro-Motive Division SW1 diesel locomotive: Boston & Maine.  Five-pole skew-wound motor with dual flywheels, directional lighting, and all-wheel drive and electrical pickup. $99.98. Ready-to-run. WalthersMainline. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, www.walthers.com

N SCALE:

Alco S-2 diesel locomotive: Boston & Maine (black, red, and white in two numbers. Die-cast metal hood and chassis, prototype-specific radiator shutters, and directional light-emitting diode headlights. Direct-current model, $119.95; with ESU LokSound Digital Command Control sound decoder, $239.95. Fourth quarter 2013. Ready-to-run. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

Alco RS-3, diesel locomotive:   Vermont Railway. Two road numbers per scheme. Directional lighting, Scale Speed motor, and blackened metal wheelsets. $119.95.Third quarter 2013. Ready-to-run. Master Line. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

Alco PA-1 diesel locomotive:  New York, New Haven & Hartford.  Paragon2 sound and operation system, plastic shell with die-cast metal chassis, and can motor with dual flywheels. PA-1 and PB-1 sets, $249.99; single PA-1 or PB-1, $199.99 each. October 2013. Ready-to-run. Broadway Limited Imports, 386-673-8900, www.broadway-limited.com

Chesapeake & Ohio-style cupola caboose:  Boston & Maine,  Grand Trunk Western, Providence & Worcester (one number). Two car numbers each except as noted. Weighted and detailed underframe, window glazing, and Accumate knuckle couplers. $18.95. Ready-to-run. Trainman series. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com

Recent New England Model Railroad Announcements

N SCALE

Atlas: Alco S2 Diesel Locomotive (w/sound) – Boston & Maine (due 4^th qtr ’13)

HO SCALE

Atlas: 42’ Coil-steel Car w/hood – Providence & Worcester

Atlas: 52’ Evens Gondola – B&M, GT, Amtrak (3^rd qtr ’13)

Broadway Limited: I-5 4-6-4 Steam Locomotive – New Haven

Intermountain: 2 Bay Covered Hoppers – New Haven, B&M (due Fall ’13)