Passenger Trains > New Hampshire takes a baby step toward rail

Boston-to-Concord rail study approved
Railway Track and Structures
by Mischa Wanek-Libman

> New Hampshire's Executive Council approved a $3.6-million contract to
> study options for passenger rail between Boston, Mass., and Concord,
> N.H.
>
> The 4-to-1 vote will allow the Bureau of Rail and Transit of the New
> Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) to enter into an
> agreement with URS Corporation to analyze transit options along the
> 78-mile Capital Corridor, including the viability of establishing
> passenger rail service on this line. The two-part study will include
> an Alternatives Analysis for rail and transit in the
> Lowell-Nashua-Manchester portion of the corridor and a service
> development plan for intercity passenger rail in the corridor between
> Boston and Concord.

http://www.rtands.com/index.php/passenger/intercity/boston-to-concord-rail-study-approved.html?channel=Array

With all the money spent on the various and endless studies, their might be enough to actually build something.

You really have to wonder how serious they are...this time.

Wasn't there a brief NH-Boston rail service in the 1990s, until it was killed by the forces of evil?

New Hampshire has looked at Concord to Boston commuter service several times. I think they may have looked at an extension to Manchester at least once.

Right now there's enormous pressure from commuters to "do something" about the enormous congestion on I-93 to the Boston suburbs which is where the jobs are. Whether that turns out to be rail is anybody's guess. Anybody on I-495 sees an abundance of NH plates on the cars.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Right now there's enormous pressure from commuters to "do something" about the enormous congestion on
> I-93 to the Boston suburbs which is where the jobs are. Whether that turns out to be rail is
> anybody's guess. Anybody on I-495 sees an abundance of NH plates on the cars.

Usually a lot of folks who are working in metro Boston live in NH to avoid "Taxachussets," as my co-workers once explained to me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/13 11:40 by hazegray.

> Usually a lot of folks who are working in metro
> Boston live in NH to avoid "Taxachussets," as my
> co-workers once explained to me.

How much is the saving in taxes offset by the cost of commuting? Parking alone would be a vast sum.

hazegray Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> Usually a lot of folks who are working in metro
> Boston live in NH to avoid "Taxachussets," as my
> co-workers once explained to me.

New Hampshire has no income tax - Massachusetts does. However, if you work in Massachusetts, you pay the same income tax as residents do. New Hampshire generally has higher property taxes than Massachusetts, as their cities and towns get less state aid than in Mass. The financial benefit of living in NH is only realized if you also work there, and don't require specialized government services.

Regarding rail service, the USDOT funded a "demonstration project" for Boston - Concord rail service beginning in 1980. (There was speculation at the time that it might have had something to do with the Democratic Presidential Primary in which Sen. Edward Kennedy was challenging incumbent President Jimmy Carter). The service consisted of one through train using MBTA equipment, and one Concord - Lowell connection using a British "railbus" that was in the US for a demo. Host railroad Boston and Maine was also the MBTA's contract operator at the time, which simplified the start up. Running time was about two hours (vs. a non-rush hour drive time of one hour), and the trains were discontinued within a year or so.

Lastly, the route doesn't follow the "I-93 corridor", but rather US route 3 and the ex-B&M New Hampshire Division along the Merrimack River north of Lowell.

Dave