Greenbush Project FAQ's Last Updated: July 26, 2004

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1 Greenbush Project FAQ's Last Updated: July 26, 2004 The Service Q: When will service start? A: Service is currently scheduled to start in mid The exact date has not yet been set. Q: What will the train schedule be? A: There will be 12 trips each way on weekdays. The exact train schedules have not yet been set. Trains will operate between approximately 5:45 am and 11:00 pm. Q: Will there be weekend service? A: Yes. Weekend service will be on a reduced schedule similar to other commuter rail lines with 8 round trips planned on Saturdays and Sundays. Q: What will fares be? A: Greenbush Line fares will be charged based on the MBTA s zone fare system in use system wide. Adult one-way and monthly pass fares as of 2004 for each of the Greenbush Line stations are listed in the table below. Monthly passes permit unlimited local bus and rapid transit use as well as commuter rail use up to the zone listed. For additional fare information visit Q: How long will the train trip take? A: A one-way trip from Greenbush to Boston South Station will take about an hour. See table below for trip times to intermediate stations. Q: How many parking spaces at each station? A: Over 3000 parking spaces are being constructed at the seven Greenbush Line stations. See table below for the number of spaces at each station. Station Location Number of Parking Spaces Weymouth Landing East Weymouth West Hingham Nantasket Junction Cohasset Braintree/Weymouth town line Rte 53 & Commercial Street 1590 Commercial St, East Weymouth 20 Fort Hill Street, Hingham 190 Summer St, Hingham 110 Cushing Hwy (Rte 3A), Cohasset 777 Country Way, North Scituate North Scituate Greenbush Old Driftway, Scituate Fare Zone Current One-Way Fare (2004) Current Monthly Pass Cost (2004) Approximate Trip Time to South Station $3.50 $ minutes $3.75 $ minutes $3.75 $ minutes $4.50 $ minutes $4.50 $ minutes $5.00 $ minutes $5.25 $ minutes

2 Q: Is there a charge for parking? A: Yes. The current charge for parking in MBTA commuter rail lots is $2.00 per day (as of 2004). There is currently no charge on weekends and holidays. The local municipality will operate some of the parking at the Weymouth Landing and North Scituate stations. Charges for parking in municipally operated lots may be different. Q: Are trains and stations handicapped accessible? A: Yes. The Greenbush Line will be fully handicapped accessible. Accessible parking spaces will be provided at all stations, and all station platforms will be raised to the floor level of the coaches over their entire length for easy boarding. Q: Where will tickets be sold? A: Tickets and passes will be available at the South Station ticket office and from One-way and round-trip tickets will also be available from the conductors on the trains. As on other commuter rail lines, the MBTA expects to make arrangements with stores near the stations to sell commuter rail tickets. Q: Will there be a waiting room at the stations? A: Each station platform will have a lighted shelter with benches and passenger information displays for passengers waiting for trains or waiting to be picked up. Stations will not have attendants or enclosed waiting rooms however. Q: Where will the trains go? A: All Greenbush Line trains will terminate at Boston South Station located at the corner of Summer Street and Atlantic Avenue in Boston s financial district. Riders will be able to transfer at South Station for other commuter rail services, Amtrak intercity trains, intercity bus services, buses to Logan Airport, MBTA Silver Line buses to the South Boston Waterfront, Red Line trains to Cambridge and Somerville, local bus services, and taxis. Q: Can I transfer from Greenbush trains to the Red Line? A: Yes. All Greenbush trains will stop at the Quincy Center Red Line station. Many Greenbush Line trains will also stop at the JFK/UMASS Red Line station. Transfer to the Red Line is also available at South Station. Q: Will all trains make all stops? A: The current plan is for all trains to make all seven stops on the Greenbush Line as well as stops at Quincy Center and Boston South Station. Some trains will also stop at JFK/UMASS. Q: Will bus services change? A: Changes have not yet been finalized, but minor changes to bus routes are expected so that the Route 225 (Quincy Ctr-Lincoln Square) buses stop at the Weymouth Landing station and Route 222 (Quincy Ctr-Jackston Square) buses stop at the East Weymouth Station. Q: Will commuter boat services change? A: There are no changes in commuter boat service planned as part of the Greenbush Line Project. Proposals for improvements to the commuter boat services are being discussed.

3 Q: Will train service on the Kingston/Plymouth or Middleborough/Lakeville Commuter Rail Lines be reduced? A: No, however there may be minor adjustments to the schedules on these lines when Greenbush service starts. Q: Will Red Line service change? A: No. Operational Issues Q: Will there be train whistles? A: No. The Greenbush Line is being designed to qualify as a Quiet Zone where train horns ( whistles ) are not routinely sounded at grade crossings. While the horns will not be sounded routinely at crossings, they may still be used occasionally for other purposes such as to warn maintenance workers and in emergency situations. Q: How will the MBTA keep commuters from parking on side streets or in business parking lots? A: The MBTA and local police will work together to enforce parking restrictions around commuter parking lots. Q: Will the MBTA assessment on my Town increase when train service starts? A: No. Local assessments for the MBTA are based on population not service. Q: How fast will the trains travel? A: The trains will operate at speeds up to 60 mph. Trains will travel slower around station stops and sharp curves. Q: How many cars will trains have? A: The trains will typically have 5 or 6 coaches using a mix of single- and double-level cars. The line is designed to accommodate trains with up to 9 cars. Q: Will trains at the layover facility in Scituate idle all night long? A: No, except in unusual circumstances such as a power failure or unusually cold weather (below 10 F). The layover facility will be equipped an electrical heating system that the trains will be plugged into to allow the locomotives to be turned off overnight. Q: Will lights at the stations be on all night long? A: No, station lights will be timed to shut off after the last train of the evening (about 11:30 pm). Q: Will freight trains operate on the Greenbush Line? A: Only in East Braintree where local rail freight service operates currently. The MBTA does not operate freight service. While freight service could potentially be expanded east of East Braintree it is not likely due to a lack of potential freight customers along the line. Q: Will pesticides be sprayed on the tracks? A: Herbicides are sprayed along the railroad as required to control vegetation growth on the tracks. Spraying is generally done annually in the summer and uses only herbicides approved by the Pesticide Bureau of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources such as Roundup. Spraying is restricted in wetland areas, around drinking water wells and reservoirs, and in windy conditions.

4 Q: When will maintenance work be done? A: The MBTA inspects, services, and repairs its rail lines on a regular basis so that we can continue to provide safe, reliable, and efficient transit service. Much of this work will be done during normal business hours, however, it will be necessary on occasion to perform certain maintenance work at night or on weekends to avoid disruptions to train service. Environmental Issues Q: What is the expected ridership? A: More than 4200 passengers per weekday are expected to ride the Greenbush Line each way by the year Q: How much will the Project Cost? A: The Project is currently estimated to cost $479 million including planning, engineering, land, and permitting costs along with the cost of construction and new trains. Q: Why is the project being built - what is it intended to accomplish? A: The Greenbush Line is being built as mitigation for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project in downtown Boston. The basic purpose of the project is to reduce automobile traffic on the congested highways leading into downtown Boston by diverting commuter traffic from the South Shore from automobiles to transit. The Project is also intended to meet other needs of the area including: Encouraging transit-oriented development patterns; Provide transit service to the South Shore area which is currently underserved; Increase transit capacity to the South Shore to alleviate congestion on other transportation facilities in the area including the Braintree Red Line; and Reduce fuel consumption and air pollution from automobiles. For more information on this topic please refer to the project s Final Environmental Impact Report which is available at under Current Projects, Greenbush. Q: Does the MBTA have the permits needed to start construction? A: Yes, the approval of the project s Final Environmental Impact Report on August 17, 2001 allowed the MBTA to proceed with land acquisition, vehicle procurement, final design, and construction of the project. Construction is currently underway in areas where site specific wetland permits are not required. All wetland permits have been applied for and construction in wetland areas will commence once the applicable permits are issued. Q: Will wetlands be filled? A: The Greenbush Line is being built along an established rail bed originally constructed in the 1850 s. The wetland impacts of the Project consist of a number of marginal impacts to wetlands associated with reestablishment of railroad drainage ditches, improvements to bridges and culverts, construction of slopes and retaining walls, and other similar work. The total of less than 3 ½ acres of permanent wetland impact are spread out over the 18-mile length of the project. Q: Will the MBTA replace the wetlands it impacts? A: Yes, extensive environmental enhancements, including a total of 9 acres of wetlands restoration, will be provided by the MBTA to compensate for the 3-½ acres of permanent wetland impact.

5 Q: Will endangered species be harmed? A: No. The MBTA will be providing an extensive package of endangered species mitigation and enhancements to ensure that the Project provides a net benefit to endangered species. Construction Issues Q: How will noise and vibration impacts be addressed? A: The MBTA has conducted extensive analysis and investigations to determine where the train service will cause noise or vibration impacts to adjacent residences. Impacts occur where noise or vibration levels are projected to be high enough to interfere with normal activities such as sleeping. Just being able to hear the trains is not an impact. Where vibration impacts have been identified, rubber mats will be placed under the track to reduce the vibration levels. Noise walls will be constructed in three areas where high concentrations of noise impacts have been identified. The MBTA will provide funding for noise abatement work at other properties identified as noise impacted. The funding level will be in proportion to the magnitude of the impact. Q: Will I be compensated if my property value goes down? A: No. Q: Will trees on my land be cut down? A: No. Trees will only be cleared from MBTA owned property. Q: Will construction workers be on my property? A: No, unless we have obtained permission from you in advance and then generally only for purposes related to protecting your property from damage such as monitoring vibration levels or building settlement. Q: Will I be compensated if I lose business due to construction? A: No. Q: Will I be notified before construction starts adjacent to my property? A: Yes. Safety Q: How will MBTA educate children and the public about railroad safety? A: The MBTA participates in the Operation Lifesaver railroad safety education program. This national program provides railroad safety education programs to schools and community groups through municipal police departments. Q: Will the grade crossings be safe? A: The MBTA is committed to providing safe grade crossings. All of the grade crossings on the Greenbush Line will be equipped with crossing warning systems consisting of flashing red lights, bells, and gates. Because the Greenbush Line will be a Quiet Zone where train whistles are not routinely sounded at crossings, additional safety measures such as median strips or 4- quadrant gates will be installed at most crossings. MBTA personnel will inspect and maintain the crossing warning systems on a regular basis to ensure that they are kept in good working order.

6 Q: How many grade crossings will there be? A: There will be a total of 25 public and 3 private grade crossings on the Greenbush Line. A total of 15 crossings that existed originally will be eliminated through the construction of underpasses in Weymouth Landing, Weymouth Heights, and Hingham Square, an overpass at Rocky Lane in Cohasset, and the closure or avoidance of 7 other crossings. Q: Will there be fencing along the track? A: Yes, in all inhabited and public areas, which constitute about 85% of the line. Fencing will generally be 6-foot high, heavy-duty chain link fence placed along the railroad property lines. Resources for Additional Information Q: Whom do I call if I have a question or concern about construction activities or if I want to see the plans? A: Call the Greenbush Hotline at Q: Whom do I contact if I have a question or concern about the trains after construction is complete? A: Under the MBTA s Write to the Top program, you can write, call, or the MBTA s Commuter Rail Chief if you have a concern. Visit Contact Us, Write to the Top for current contact information. Q: Whom do I contact if I see an emergency situation such as children playing on the tracks or to report vandalism? A: Call 911. Your local police and fire departments will contact the MBTA as required. The MBTA Police can be contacted in an emergency at