Connecting the last gap in the East
Coast's rail service
The North-South Rail Link is a proposed pair of approximately 1.5
mile-long rail tunnels below downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The tunnels
would unify Boston's separate northern and southern MBTA Commuter Rail
terminals, and provide direct linkage between Amtrak's southerly service
to Washington D.C. and its northeastern service to Portland, Maine. Both
Amtrak and the commuter rail networks terminate at North and South
Stations. Present connections Public transit connects North Station to
South Station only indirectly, requiring two rail lines, either the
Green Line and the Red Line or the Orange Line and the Red Line.
 The
purpose of building the North South Rail Link project (NSRL) is to
create the backbone for a modern, efficient, convenient rail service
that offers an attractive transportation option for residents and
tourists traveling throughout New England and the entire Northeast;
people who are concerned about continued airport and highway expansion
and its detrimental effect upon the environment and the economy. It will
close the only gap in the East Coast’s intercity rail system. This
tunnel connection between North Station and South Station in Boston will
allow Amtrak’s successful Northeast Corridor (NEC) Acela high speed rail
service to extend through Boston to benefit people in Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont and Canada. This will greatly enhance the federal
investment already made in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor because
continuous interstate/intercity rail service, for the first time, will
be available along the entire East Coast.
Also it will connect the two existing, but separate, commuter rail
systems operated by the MBTA; one that terminates at North Station and
one that terminates at South Station. Both stations are suffering from
capacity issues because they operate as "stub-end" rather than
"flow-through" systems, requiring trains to be stored rather than in
service at all times. The NSRL, by connecting the two stations, will
allow passengers to travel seamlessly from cities and towns on the
northern commuter rail system, to cities and towns on the southern
commuter rail system, and vice versa; enhancing the public investment by
dramatically increasing the frequency and accessibility of train travel
for residents and visitors alike.
Ridership figures project that the North South Rail Link would
eliminate at least 55,000 trips daily from our highway system.
Environmental studies for the project released in the summer show that
the North South Rail Link will result in the largest absolute time
savings of any transportation project in Massachusetts, and clean our
air by eliminating more than 582 tons of the global warming gas CO2
daily.
The Sierra Club is seeking to protect the rail "right-of-way", in
order to ensure that the possibility of building the North/South Rail
Link is maintained. In order to identify and protect this corridor,
additional funds are needed for further study.
To support this effort:
Send a contact Governor Patrick telling him you want the North South
Rail Link to move forward because it is the smart, convenient choice.
Click here for the Governor's contact information. Updates:
As of March 2011, there is a request pending for $6M for engineering
work that would enable MASSDOT to complete the Link’s Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS was shelved early during the Romney
administration and has been gathering dust ever since. Every year for
the past three years, the Patrick Administration has written a letter
requesting that Congress appropriate $6M to prepare/complete this
document. The Patrick Administration, (Sec. Mullen) should be
preparing and sending the same request again this year. Once the Patrick
administration writes the request, it is sent to one or more
Massachusetts congressmen for submission and to Senator Kerry. Ideally
they will direct the request to the appropriate committee(s) in a timely
fashion, and, if all goes well, the money arrives and the work is
accomplished.
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