Integrating Intercity & High-Speed Rail with Local Transit: the MBTA Experience Anna M. Barry MBTA Senior Director Vehicle Procurement and Quality Assurance Boston, MA
MBTA s History & Service Depth are the Foundation for Integration with HSR
First American Railroad Maybe? The horse drawn Granite Railway freighted stone to build the Bunker Hill Monument Sources www.miltonhistoricalsociety.org/postcard9. www.flickr.com/photos/marc72/464679339 and National Park Service
Park Street Subway Definitely the First American Subway Photo Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Print Department.
Boston is the Hub of the Universe Commuter Railroad (Purple) is divided North and South Subway system is radial and color coded Heavy Rail - Blue, Orange and Red Light Rail - Green Bus Rapid - Silver Line
Boston Rail Terminal Primer North Station serves all lines to the north and northwest of the Charles River
Boston Rail Terminal Primer South Station - serves all Lines to the south and southwest of Boston
Amtrak Acela and Regional Services Providence, R.I. Back Bay, Boston South Station, Boston
Amtrak Acela/Regional Providence, RI MBTA Commuter Rail Amtrak Acela & Regional Local & Intercity Bus
Ridership and Service Statistics Providence Location Service Trains/One Way/Weekdays Passengers Weekday Note Providence Amtrak - Total 20 240,000* * FY 10 Tickets Amtrak - Acela 10 Amtrak - Regional 10 Amtrak - Chicago NA MBTA Commuter 17 2000
Amtrak Acela/Regional Back Bay Station, Boston Orange Line Heavy Rail MBTA Commuter Rail Local Bus
Ridership and Service Statistics Back Bay Location Service Trains/One Way/Weekdays Passengers Weekday Note Back Bay Amtrak - Total 21 238,364* * FY 10 Tickets Amtrak - Acela 10 Amtrak - Regional 10 Amtrak - Chicago 1 MBTA Commuter 84 13000 Orange Line 312 17000
Amtrak Acela/Regional South Station, Boston MBTA Commuter Rail Red Line Heavy Rail Silver Line BRT Logan & Washington Street Local Bus Intercity Bus Terminal
Ridership and Service Statistics South Station Location Service Trains/One Way/Weekdays Passengers Weekday Note South Station Amtrak - Total 21 630,000* * FY 10 Tickets Amtrak - Acela 10 Amtrak - Regional 10 Amtrak - Chicago 1 MBTA Commuter 138 44000 Red Line 427 23000 Silver Line 501 7000 Intercity Bus 100,000* 3.5 Million* *Annual
Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority & Amtrak Downeaster Haverhill, MA Anderson Multimodal, Woburn, MA North Station
Intercity Downeaster Haverhill & Woburn, MA Haverhill - customer choice Anderson/Woburn - Logan Express - MBTA Lowell Line
Intercity Downeaster North Station, Boston Commuter Rail * Orange Line/Green Line Superstation Local Bus Employer Shuttles *Orange Line = transit connection to Back Bay Amtrak Service
Intercity Downeaster North Station, Boston
Ridership and Service Statistics North Station and Woburn Location Service Trains/One Way/Weekdays Passengers Weekday Note North Station Downeaster- Total 5 312,000 * FY 10 MBTA Commuter 98 27000 Orange Line 312 12000 Green Line 581 13000 Downeaster- Total 5 Anderson MBTA Commuter 54 1200 Logan Express 49
What is Integration? Customer Experience - Seamless multiple service providers not apparent Operational - Multiple providers manage and share use of same assets - Good working operating relationship prerequisite to good customer service relationship
Operational Integration the Challenges Amtrak, NNEPRA, MBCR and MBTA diligently cooperate on operations Timetables - Washington and Chicago - single track commuter lines - constrained terminal Speeds - Amtrak @ 150 (T) @ 80 Shared Main Line Tracks Terminal Tracks Yards Electrified and non-electrified service in same terminals and yards
Integration Modalities Physical Connections Signage - Wayfinding Project Other Information - Face to face - Public address - Web Ticketing
Preemptive Observations Shared customers - No systematic statistics or metrics Integration implementation - No natural vehicle to drive process Railroads want to improve integration Complaints - Not significant - rough positive metric or - customer resignation?
Back Bay Physical transitions seamless Ticketing 3 distinct points Staffing 3 entities Signage new electronic departure signs Amenities few Local bus connections
MBTA Local Buses The App Connection Customers Connecting no estimates Just became easier to plan & use
South Station Historic station once busiest in nation Numerous amenities for all customers
South Station Physical transitions intuitive Ticketing and staffing 3 separate entities Signage to trains excellent Signage to buses/subway needs improvement MBTA Wayfinding Project
South Station Bus Terminal 100,000 buses/year 3.5 million riders Signage/Wayfinding dependent on future air rights project Signage to trains & subway excellent Amenities Great building
North Station MBCR performs all - Ticketing - PA - Customer Service Signage - good Space - safer Amenities Transit connection will be improved
North Station Subway Superstation Access improved by Superstation Project Green/Orange cross platform access Signage effective Connection to Back Bay Amtrak Service
Providence Station MBTA Tickets sold at coffee shop Amtrak: announcements and customer service Signage Improvements underway Rhode Island riders use both services
Conclusions/Recommendations By and large, customers served well though the proximity of services and the construction of logical and natural paths of travel. Signage is a recognized need and a work in progress One point of sales for tickets is a good interim step to joint ticketing, if that ever can be achieved. MBTA has taken the lad in equipping its stations for all users.
Conclusions/Recommendations Improved integration is good customer service and good public policy, but the implementation vehicle needs development. The maturity of current contractual relationships may allow for greater exploration of shared services. Data and customer concerns and needs are areas for further development.
Thank You for Your Help Amtrak Newmark Knight Frank RIDOT NNEPRA MBCR MBTA Railroad Operations MBTA Service Planning MBTA Real Estate & Development MBTA Bus Operations MBTA Design & Construction