MassDOT unveils final environmental report for South Station expansion plan

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has released its final environmental impact report on its plan to expand the South Station rail and bus terminal in Boston.

The project calls for acquiring and demolishing a nearby U.S. Postal Service facility to make way for the expansions. MassDOT then would build seven new tracks and four platforms and construct a new layover facility for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter-rail service.

As part of the project, MassDOT also would update aging tracks and signals.

The expansion plan is aimed at increasing capacity to meet current and anticipated  commuter-rail and intercity rail service needs, MassDOT officials said in a blog post. The expansion would enable growth in passenger-rail transportation in Massachusetts and along the Northeast Corridor, agency officials added.

South Station is Boston's busiest intermodal and multimodal transportation hub and New England's most heavily used passenger-rail facility. Currently, the station's 13 existing tracks are fully used by Amtrak and the MBTA, with both operators "severely limited" in their ability to increase service, according to the environmental impact report.