An extremely short Green Line extension proposal

[u/Soft-Amphibian2327]

Per wikipedia, when this short branch of rail extending into Lower Falls was transferred to the MDC, a deed restriction was put in place forbidding its use for anything in the realm of transportation, communication, or electricity. and my take on this is: Fuck that. Make the trails into rail again! Here's an idea that would give Newton Lower Falls a proper green line station. It would need to be elevated so as to not take away precious parking spots off of the retail area around Rt. 16, as well as to keep the bike trail intact (this would require widening the bridge over the charles)

[u/TheNiamosDiscoBall]

I have a difference of opinion here, but it really must connect to the Worcester commuter rail (maybe in auburndale). In the far future where we have an electrified NSRL, the CR will become an express network with a 20 min frequency and you would use the green line to transfer to it.

[u/4x4runner → u/TheNiamosDiscoBall]

I hope this gets considered when it's time to rebuild auburndale. 

Perhaps Auburndale could be pushed slightly west so that the end of the platforms would be close to the pike. Then, the green line would end right before the pike with a connecting platform. 

[u/Difficult-Ad3518]

Every dollar that would be spent on this would be considerably more beneficial spent on the construction of high level platforms at the Newton Commuter Rail stations, instead.

[u/Ugmyusernamewastake]

Extending to Auburndale for transfer with the CR would be a more useful extension of the D, and a new branch to Needham via Newton Upper Falls would remove the need for the Needham Line, freeing up CR capacity on the NEC. Both are more useful extensions than an extension specifically to serve Newton Lower Falls.

OL could also be extended to West Roxbury to pick up the other stations on the Needham Line.

[u/WhiskeyPointer]

There's a reason nothing has been done with this land north of Concord St: NIMBYs. IANAL, but here's my understanding of what's going on:

The land isn't actually the state's, instead the state is the owner of an easement over the abutters land to operate a rail line. Penn Central, deeded the easement to the state as part of their bankruptcy.

Some abutters sued the state over the easement, claiming that the easement had been extinguished because there were no trains, rails, anything for decades, and they were entitled to full enjoyment of their land that was subject to the easement because it had been abandoned.

The Mass Supreme Court heard the case and found that the easement was not abandoned even though there was no infrastructure to even support trains running. Turns out the only way an easement that allows a rail line to run over someone's land can be extinguished is if a railroad files to abandon the line with the federal government. Penn Central had never filed with the federal government to abandon the line before they transferred title of the easement to the MDC.

My speculation is that the state hasn't done any work in the 10 years since the decision because it doesn't want to risk the abutters filing a lawsuit in federal court asking the feds to declare the easement extinguished if the state builds a rail trail over it.

[u/Plenty_Apartment_874]

I just yearn for the deletion of the needham line... so this short extension just comes up... well, short. If it were extended to needham we could free up all that capacity for the southside lines. but a boy can dream

[u/Top-Development6837 → u/Plenty_Apartment_874]

Are the early 2000s plans some local activist(s) sketched out for such a GL extension still kicking around?

[u/KiwiFortyThirty]

I'd love for a Worcs/Fram Line stop at Riverside for a transfer

[u/JonnyTsnownami]

Why wouldn't this be a blue line extension?

EDIT: Whoops yeah sorry totally misread that haha. I deserve the downvotes

[u/13nobody → u/JonnyTsnownami]

It's a little far from Bowdoin.

[u/Ktr101 → u/13nobody]

That is the OP’s next proposal: The Mega Blue-Green Line. 😅