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Association for Public Transportation, Inc.

Park Street Light Rail Service

Robert L. Terrell, Executive Director, Washington Street Corridor Coalition

November 23, 2004

The MBTA's statement that the deployment of a light rail vehicle system along Washington Street would overburden the carrying-capacity of Park Street Station is an old and false argument.  The MBTA uses this argument as an excuse for not utilizing light rail technology as the replacement for the old Orange Line system [on Washington Street].

What follows is the Washington Street Corridor Coalition's response.

  1. Park Street Station is currently being used at about 50% of its carrying-capacity.  In the 1986 Alternatives Analysis/Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Washington Street Replacement Study, the MBTA stated that the maximum capacity of Park street Station was 70 streetcars (LRVs) per hour.  In 1995, Faye, Spofford and Thorndike, consultants to this project, showed that 55 streetcars per hour (at peak times) were passing through Park Street Station.

    2. If light rail were used along Washington Street with the same peak-time headways that are used in the rest of the Green Line (a train every 7-9 minutes) then it would take 4-5 light rail trains to service Washington Street.  However if the MBTA's ridership projections for Washington Street light rail are correct, 35,000 rides per day with about 60% of that taking place at peak times, it would take 9 trains arriving every three minutes to service the ridership.  In either case, the Washington Street Light Rail service would not add enough streetcars (somewhere between 5 and 9) to Park Street Station to exceed its maximum capacity.

  2. Historical research has shown, however, that the MBTA's definition of maximum capacity for Park Street Station as 70 streetcars per hour is far too low.  In the 1940s the Boston Elevated Railway Company, the forerunner of the MTA and the MBTA, ran a public transportation system that included 100 streetcar lines.  Eight of the major streetcar lines came through Park Street Station.  Based on the official records of the Boston Elevated Railway Co. for 1945, 125 streetcars per hour came through Park Street Station during the morning peak period and 136 streetcars per hour during the afternoon peak period.

    3. The records also show that in 1950, after three of the major streetcar lines were converted to bus service and six lines passed through Park Street Station, still an average of 90-100 streetcars came through Park Street at peak travel times.  Given these figures alone, it is clear that Park Street Station is not even close to reaching its maximum carrying-capacity and has plenty of space to accommodate light rail vehicles from Washington Street.

  3. As most studies of the Green Line have said, the real problem is not the capacity of Park Street Station.  The real problem lies in the part of the system between Copley Station and Boylston Station.  At Copley streetcars from four different lines (B, C, D, E) converge into one line. The system needs to be upgraded with two inbound and outbound tracks. Also in 2001 the MBTA retained SYSTRA Consulting to conduct a "Green Line Operations Improvement Study".  SYSTRA made two major recommendations, [including] the building of an eastbound crossover connecting Park Street's inside-loop track with the outside track heading to Government Center which would allow for the use of "double berthing" operations.  According to this study, for a mere investment of $4 million the MBTA could easily improve the capacity of Park Street Station, provide for faster transfers and reduce travel times.
  4. Last but not least, the MBTA must always be reminded of the fact that light rail is making a real comeback all over the United States.  Cities such as Charlotte, Phoenix, Portland, Los Angles, Dallas, New Orleans, and many others are building light rail systems.  These lines for the most part are enjoying large amounts of patronage and they are helping to spur local economic development.  The MBTA should utilize the infrastructure already in existence, such as the Tremont Street Tunnel and the tunnel stubs between Arlington Street and Bolyston Street Stations, to build a state-of-the-art light rail system that would benefit all MBTA riders.

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