Gubernatorial predecessors William Weld and Michael Dukakis met with current Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker Monday at the Massachusetts State House to discuss linking the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s North and South stations via an underground tunnel.
Dukakis, who co-chaired the meeting with Weld, said expanding South Station and North Station separately would not be sufficient, as both stations are experiencing congestion.
“First, it won’t solve the problem, secondly, you’ve got a problem at North Station, [and] this is going to require several hundred million dollars as well,” Dukakis said. “So we’re talking about spending $2 billion to add some tracks to these stations when the answer to the congestion at the two stations, quite obviously, is to connect them.”
Weld and Dukakis offered the proposal form two weeks ago in a meeting with Baker. There is currently no direct train route from the North and South stations.
It would take about three to five years to build the rail link, Dukakis said, adding that the project would be quite affordable.
“Because of these increased passengers and the savings on the operational side, with low-interest federal loans, which we now have available to us, this is a project that would virtually pay for itself,” he said.
A bill referred to the State Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation to create a rail transit fund for Massachusetts includes special consideration for preserving the “right of way,” or planned footprint, of the proposed North-South rail link.
“This right of way is extremely vulnerable to the impact of development and redevelopment around the existing rail tracks and terminals. In addition, rail projects already in planning and construction phases will exceed the capacity of the South Station terminal,” the bill states. “Reservation of the right of way for the North South Rail Link will assure that rail transportation can be enhanced or expanded in our region.”
Dukakis said that he has been passionate about connecting the stations since the beginning of the Big Dig project. The link project was underway during his term as governor, but former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ended the plan upon his election to office.
Other cities around the world are facing similar transportation challenges and working to solve them, Dukakis said.
“Cities all over the world are building these rail tunnels because they all have the same problem. Los Angeles, if you can believe it, the car capital of the world, is doing this,” Dukakis said. “In LA right now, it’s under construction, and we’re sitting here, so [Weld and I] feel very strongly about this.”
Dukakis said the government has seen proposals for this kind of expansion before, but a potential obstacle for the project is the current increase in development all over the city.
“A lot of this work has already been done, we know a lot about the project, what it’s going to take,” Dukakis said. “We’ve got a development boom in the city, and one of the things that we don’t want to happen is that any of that development compromise our ability to build this [linkage], so it’s very important that everybody get on the same page and we get moving on this together.”
Several residents expressed varying opinions about building a rail link between North and South stations.
Brendan Moynihan, 27, of Allston, said he had not heard about the proposal, but that he does not believe it would significantly improve transportation.
“It would be a good idea, but I don’t think that it would make that much of a difference,” he said.
Sabrina Strelow, 20, of Allston, said she uses South Station frequently, and that she would love to see improved, quicker services.
“I take buses out of there home to New Hampshire. The T is confusing enough as it is, switching lines,” she said. “To get from here to the airport you have to switch lines [about] three times. Anything to connect and simplify it would be good.”
