A ride on the MBTA Commuter Rail brings frustration and excitement for Congressman Seth Moulton.
"Our trains are so old, decrepit and slow," said Moulton, D-Mass.
Beyond improving train cars and slow speeds, Moulton is championing a long-discussed public transit idea: connecting Boston's North and South stations by rail. The North Shore's member of Congress commissioned a study from the Harvard Kennedy School that suggests the project would have a $7.9 billion price tag and bring in an estimated 86 million additional riders for the Commuter Rail.
"If you look at international comparisons and look at what similar tunnels have cost in other parts of America, like Los Angeles, it actually could come out less," Moulton said.
The tracks connecting the stations would burrow below the city, adding another tunnel to Boston's already complex underground and allow trains to continue through without having to stop and turn around, like they do now.
"It goes under the Big Dig, under the Blue Line, the Red Line, it just goes under everything in the city," said Moulton. "We've already set aside $4 billion for South Station expansion, that covers half the project cost. The additional money comes from the rail link itself. It pays for itself."
Not everyone shares that positive perspective.
In a Boston Globe op-ed published Sunday, Chair of the Massachusetts House Joint Committee on Transportation Rep. William Straus lamented the cost of the proposed rail link and critiqued the amount of infrastructure that would need to be built.
Straus also emphasized the need for other projects, like expanding South Station.
Despite that criticism, Moulton thinks this is the moment to make the connection: "I think our generation can be the one to get this done."
