Owned by State of Rhode Island Connections RIPTA: 1, 8, 14, 20 Opened 6 December 2010 Owner Rhode Island | Tracks 3 Disabled access Yes Bicycle facilities racks available Platforms in use 1 | |
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Location 700 Jefferson Boulevard
Warwick, Rhode Island Line(s) Providence/Stoughton Line Address Warwick, RI 02886, United States Parking 650 spaces ($6.75 daily fee); 24 accessible spaces Connection Rhode Island Public Transit Authority Similar Wickford Junction, Providence station, Foxboro, Canton Junction, Leipzig Bayerischer Bahnhof | ||
T. F. Green Airport is a train station and intermodal facility in Warwick, Rhode Island on the Northeast Corridor, adjacent to T. F. Green Airport. It extends the MBTA Commuter Rail Providence/Stoughton Line from Boston, which previously only went as far as the Providence train station. The station was completed in October 2010 and MBTA service began on December 6, 2010. On November 14, 2011, service expanded to 10 weekday trains in each direction. Trips to and from Boston's South Station take 75 to 90 minutes.
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The station's primary purpose is to serve local commuters to Providence and Boston, but it will also bring passengers and employees to and from the airport. The station also makes it possible to move between T.F. Green and Logan International Airport in about two hours via subway and commuter rail. Amtrak trains cannot and do not serve the station because the track that serves the single platform is not electrified. Funding was not provided for the necessary track and electrical work, although long-range plans call for this infrastructure to be provided.
History
The station's ceremonial groundbreaking took place on July 17, 2006, but construction was delayed by negotiations with Amtrak over the agreement to allow the MBTA to run commuter trains on Amtrak-owned tracks. Site preparation began in September 2007 and construction began in late 2008 or early 2009. The station was originally scheduled to open in late 2010, and construction was completed on schedule, with the opening ceremony taking place on October 27, 2010.
On October 13, 2010, the MBTA and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation signed an agreement enabling MBTA operations to the station to begin on December 6, 2010, initially with 6 inbound and 5 outbound trains each weekday. This service consisted of three peak-hour trains in each direction between T.F. Green and South Station, plus several off-peak shuttles to/from Providence. This was despite earlier concerns that service could be delayed pending completion of the Wickford Junction station and the siding there used to allow trains to reverse directions. However, the siding at T.F. Green was deemed sufficient for operations. In November 2011, service was increased significantly, with mid-day service and more rush hour trains. The line was extended 10 miles past T.F. Green with the opening of Wickford Junction station in April 2012.
In the first quarter of 2012, inbound ridership from the station averaged 149 riders per day. By July 2012, the count increased to more than 200 daily, even as passenger traffic at the airport decreased. The MBTA's April 2013 audit averaged 227 daily inbound boardings.
Normal service to T.F. Green Airport is weekday-only, with no regular weekend trains. However, beginning on September 16, 2012, special Sunday trains serving New England Patriots games were extended from Providence to T.F. Green Airport. These trains run on game days only to Foxboro, which is not served by regular daily MBTA service.
Funding, facilities and cost
The station includes a four-level, 3,500-space garage with facilities for airport car rental companies and park and ride commuters. The station is connected to the airport via an elevated 1,250-foot (380-meter) skywalk with moving sidewalks, known as the Interlink. Costs included:
The total cost of the T.F. Green amenities, plus an additional station at Wickford Junction was $336 million. The project sponsor was the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, which assembled funding consisting of:
$20M of federal funding was earmarked by former Rhode Island senator Lincoln Chafee in the 2005 SAFETEA transportation bill.
As part of the 1989 Pilgrim Partnership Agreement, Rhode Island provides capital funding (including some of its federal formula funds) for MBTA expansion in the state. (Rhode Island also gave the MBTA $11 million to cover capital costs for the T.F. Green project.) Massachusetts (through the MBTA) provides the operating subsidy for MBTA Commuter Rail service in return. Rhode Island also pays Amtrak to allow the MBTA to use its tracks.
The Rhode Island Airport Corporation, which runs T.F. Green Airport, will be responsible for repaying the bonds using revenues from car rental and commuter parking facilities.
Amtrak
Although Amtrak owns the tracks through the station, T.F. Green Airport is not a stop on Amtrak's Northeast Regional or Acela Express trains. The station is on a third track built west of the existing two-track Northeast Corridor line, however the new track was not electrified due to lack of funding. All Amtrak trains currently operating on the Northeast Corridor require overhead electric power. Amtrak had requested a separate track for its trains, which was not built, and has also cited a lack of sufficient ridership for the stop to be economically sustainable. This may change with time. Long-term Amtrak plans call for a fourth track (as a second passing siding) with a second platform at the station for intrastate commuter service as well as possible future Amtrak use. The new siding and the current siding would need to have catenary wire extended over them in order for Amtrak trains to stop. In late 2012, the mayors of New London and Providence met to discuss how to make T.F. Green a stop for Northeast Regional trains.
Currently, connections to Amtrak Northeast Regional and Acela Express trains can be made at Providence, and to the Lake Shore Limited at South Station and Back Bay in Boston. Future plans call for MBTA service to be extended to Kingston, where passengers could connect to Northeast Regional trains.
The IATA airport code for T. F. Green Airport, PVD, is also used by Amtrak for its Providence train station.
Bus connections
One RIPTA bus route stops on Jefferson Boulevard at the station:
Three routes stop on Post Road and at the airport terminal: