Changes to the Providence/Stoughton Commuter Rail Line Schedule

A press release from the MBTA. Track project to shift Commuter Rail schedule during construction running from June 11 to mid-September.

New Schedule to take effect Saturday, June 11, 2011

(Boston, MA) – The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR) today announced that will go into effect on Saturday, June 11. The schedule adjustment is required to mitigate impacts caused by a rail tie replacement project that Amtrak is performing.

The work will take place on shared rail lines between the Back Bay and Forest Hills stations, a stretch Providence/Stoughton line trains use to get in and out of South Station.

The three month project is expected to conclude in mid-September.

Providence/Stoughton line schedule changes are as follows:

STOUGHTON BRANCH

All INBOUND Stoughton trains will NOT stop at Ruggles.

All OUTBOUND Stoughton trains WILL stop at Ruggles if they are currently scheduled to do so.

Inbound WEEKDAY

• Train 906 & Train 908 are combined into one train designated Train 908. This train departs Stoughton at 8:05am (17 mins later than Train 906 & 23 mins earlier than Train 908) Train 908 will NOT stop at Hyde Park. Train arrives at South Station at 8:38am
• Train 910 – No change in departure time from Stoughton. Arrives at Back Bay and South Station 7 minutes later
• Trains: 902, 904, 912, 914, 916, 976, 918, 920, 922, 924, 926, 928, 930, 932 have no changes to their schedules except they will NOT stop at Ruggles

Outbound WEEKDAY

• Train 905 – Will not operate
• Train 907 – Departs South Station at 7:20am 20 minutes earlier
• Train 921 – No change in departure from South Station. Arrives at Stoughton at 6:04pm (3 minutes later)
• Train 923 - No change in departure from South Station. Arrives at Stoughton at 6:29pm (3 minutes later)
• Train 929 - No change in departure from South Station. Arrives at Stoughton at 9:38pm (3 minutes later)
• Trains:  901, 903, 909, 911, 913, 915, 975, 917, 919, 925, 927, 931 – schedules unchanged

PROVIDENCE BRANCH

All weekday and certain weekend INBOUND Providence trains will NOT stop at Ruggles.

All weekday and weekend OUTBOUND Providence trains WILL stop at Ruggles if they are currently scheduled to do so.

Inbound WEEKDAY

• Train 806 – No change in departure from TF Green to Rte 128. Arrives at South Station at 7:48am (3 minutes later) 
• Train 832 – No change in departure from Mansfield to Hyde Park. Arrives at South Station at 8:10am (3 minutes later)   
• Train 808 – No change in departure from TF Green. Will stop at Hyde Park.  Arrives South Station at 8:19am (3 min later)
• Train 810 – No change in departure from TF Green to Hyde Park. Arrives at South Station at 8:55am (4 minutes later) 
• Train 822 – No change in departure from Providence to Hyde Park. Arrives at South Station at 6:27pm (7 minutes later)
• Train 8802 – Departs TF Green 6 minutes later
• Train 8804 – Departs TF Green 2 minutes later
• Train 828 – No change in departure from Providence to Hyde Park. Arrives at South Station 10:58pm (3 minutes later)
• Trains:  800, 802, 804, 812, 834, 814, 816, 818, 820, 824, 826 - Schedules unchanged except, these trains will NOT Stop at Ruggles

Outbound WEEKDAY

• Trains 8801 & 8803 – Will stop at Providence
• Train 807 – Departs South Station, Back Bay, and Ruggles 5 min earlier. Arrives Providence 1:17pm
• Train 813 – No change in departure from South Station. Arrives at Providence at 5:44pm (2 minutes later)
• Train 815 – No change in departure from South Station. Arrives at  Providence at 6:10 (4 min later) and at TF Green at 6:25pm (8 min later)
• Train 817 – No change in departure from South Station. Arrives into Providence at 6:48pm (4 min later) and at TF Green at 7:03pm (10 mins later)
• Train 819 – No change in departure from South Station.  Arrives at Providence at 7:15pm (4 minutes later) and at TF Green at 7:30pm. (4 minutes later)
• Train 823 – No change in departure from South Station.  Arrives at Providence at 9:24pm (3 minutes later)
• Trains: 801, 831, 833, 803, 805, 809, 811, 821, 825, 827, 829 – Schedules unchanged.

Inbound SATURDAY/SUNDAY

• Trains: 1802, 1804, 1808 and 2808 will NOT stop at Ruggles, all other inbound trains will stop at Ruggles
• Trains 1814 and 2814 – Will stop at Ruggles at 8:05am

Outbound SATURDAY/SUNDAY

• Trains 1805, 1807, 2805 and 2807 – No change in departure from South Station. Will operate 3 minutes later Rte 128 to Providence

About the Project

Providence/Stoughton line trains converge with the Fairmont, Franklin and Needham lines to travel in and out of South Station at the section of the main line between Back Bay Station and Forest Hills where the work will take place. Normally, three tracks operate through this area of track. However during the project one track will be taken out of service entirely.

Temporary schedules are available at South and Back Bay Stations and on the MBCR and MBTA websites.

The ties being replaced by Amtrak were installed in the 1990’s as part of their Northeast Rail Corridor Improvement Project. The concrete ties have been determined to have a systemic failure, similar to issues on the Old Colony Line. If not addressed promptly, the failures will lead to speed restrictions that would severely delay a significant volume of travel into and out of South Station for both Amtrak and MBTA commuter rail trains.

All work during this period will be performed during overnight hours, which provides a safe environment for workers, while expediting the project schedule. Daytime rail service is impacted because Federal Railroad Administration regulations do not allow train travel through the active project area at any time due to the size of equipment and of the project staging area.

In addition to customer communications provided by the MBTA and MBCR, Amtrak has created project hotlines at: 1-800-288-1310 and askamtrak@amtrak.com

About MBCR

The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company, LLC (MBCR) is a partnership of Veolia Transportation, the largest private sector operator of multiple modes of transit in the North America and one of Europe’s largest passenger transportation companies; Bombardier Transportation, the world’s leader in the manufacture and maintenance of passenger rail vehicles; and Alternate Concepts, a Boston-based transportation operations firm. MBCR operates and maintains the fifth largest commuter rail network in the United States under a contract with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. MBCR provides service to 40 million passengers a year in nearly 80 cities and towns in Massachusetts, as well as Providence, RI.