Here are the preliminary estimates on how long each option’s commute might be, but officials cautioned they don’t take into account civil service speed restrictions and more in-depth numbers should be available later this year.
56 minutes (electric); 74 minutes (diesel) through Attleboro
82 minutes through Middleborough
82 minutes: Hybrid Attleboro/Middleborough
53 minutes (electric); 70 minutes (diesel) through Stoughton
70 Bus Rapid Transit
BOSTON. Five options now remain for the South Coast Rail project that would bring commuter rail service to Fall River and New Bedford, state officials announced yesterday.
The five options, which would all bring commuters to South Station, include rail connections (running on diesel or electric power) to either the existing Attleboro, Middleborough or Stoughton lines, a hybrid plan using both Attleboro Middleborough connections and an express bus option that would travel up Route 24 to Route 128 and then north on Interstate 93 into Boston. The bus option would include building a new lane on Route 128 between Route 24 and I-93.
A year ago, Gov. Deval Patrick became the latest governor to tackle the long-awaited project, which now includes expanding South Station to handle additional service and is scheduled for completion in 2016.
“We feel really good about the progress we’ve made,” said project manager Kristina Egan.
Later this year, project leaders should have cost estimates on all five alternatives. Last year, officials pegged the Stoughton option, for which they had the most data, at $1.4 billion. While the hybrid option may be the cheapest rail alternative because it wouldn’t include rail improvements, the express bus option would be the cheapest overall of the five alternatives, Egan said.
The state will now conduct a mandatory state and federal environmental review, decide which option to pursue by 2010 and hopefully begin construction in 2012.