So, #GPCOG (Greater Portland Council of Governments) did a study, and upgrading the existing rail lines would be more expensive. What they are proposing is a dedicated bus lane on existing surface roads... Interesting...
Gorham-Westbrook-Portland Rapid Transit Study
"The study explored both rail and bus-based modes, including the potential to use existing rail corridors for rapid transit service. Once Tier 1 Evaluation corridors were identified, the costs and benefits of using the corridor for rail versus bus-based service were considered.
Existing rail corridors were not recommended for rapid transit service, mainly due to current use by freight and/or Downeaster passenger rail services, and strict FRA regulations related to shared rights-of-way.
Existing rail corridors also provide limited access to key destinations, could create environmental impacts to sensitive sites, and are susceptible to sea-level rise. Ultimately, we found that using an existing rail corridor would require major rail construction and reconstruction to support rapid transit service, which would be considerably more costly and complicated than a bus-based service, while providing less access and mobility to the public.
A more detailed description of the mode-choice analysis can be found in Chapter 4 of the final report.
More detailed key reasons for recommending a rapid bus-based LPA were determined in the Tier 2 evaluation, and include:
Capital Costs: A rail alternative is likely to cost four to twelve times more to construct than a BRT alternative.
Operating Costs: It is generally more than twice as costly to operate rail transit on a per-hour basis than it is to operate bus transit.
Ridership and Capacity: In the Greater Portland context, a street-running rail service is unlikely to produce enough added ridership to justify the higher cost of building and operating rail service instead of BRT.
Overall: BRT is assumed to provide similar benefits as street-running rail service at substantially lower per- rider cost"
https://gpcog.org/557/Gorham-Westbrook-Portland-Rapid-Transit-
#SolarPunkSunday #MorePublicTransportation
#BikeRacks #NoGorhamConnector
#MoreRapidTransit #GorhamME #WestbrookME #PortlandME