[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 129 (Monday, July 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40325-40326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16977]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration


Environmental Impact Statement for North-South Rail Link in 
Boston, MA

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of EIS cancellation.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Federal Transit Administration 
(FTA) is canceling its preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for a rail-in-tunnel connection between North and South Stations 
in downtown

[[Page 40326]]

Boston, Massachusetts. The project sponsor, the Massachusetts Bay 
Transportation Authority (MBTA), has announced its intention not to 
pursue the project at this time for lack of financial resources.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard H. Doyle, Regional 
Administrator, FTA Region 1, (617) 494-2055.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 8, 1995, FTA published a Notice of 
Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS for a North-South Rail Link (60 FR 
12819): a rail-in-tunnel connection between the MBTA's North and South 
Stations in downtown Boston, intended to connect the MBTA's separate 
commuter rail systems on the north and south sides of Boston and to 
close the gap in intercity rail service between Boston and Portland, 
Maine. On April 14, 2003, however, the MBTA informed FTA of its 
intention to forego this project in the near future in light of the 
MBTA's limited financial resources and its pursuit of certain other 
projects of higher priority. In response, on May 30, 2003, FTA 
recommended that the results of the MBTA's alternatives analyses to 
date be compiled as a Major Investment Study (MIS): a document that 
could provide an appropriate planning context for further consideration 
of alternatives for a North-South Rail link. In accordance with FTA's 
metropolitan planning requirements at 23 CFR part 450, an MIS may 
precede the preparation of an EIS and be a useful tool for developing 
local consensus, financing, and an implementation strategy for a fixed 
guideway transit project. Thus, on June 24, 2003, the MBTA published an 
MIS for the North-South Rail Link, which had been prepared with 
financial assistance from FTA. Should the MBTA choose in the future to 
again pursue a North-South Rail Link, this June 2003 MIS could serve as 
a foundation of analysis for a subsequent EIS. Given the MBTA's current 
intentions, however, there is no longer a proposal for Federal action 
on the North-South Rail Link subject to the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act, therefore, FTA is rescinding its 
March 8, 1995 NOI and terminating its preparation of an EIS for the 
North South Rail Link.

    Issued on: June 27, 2003.
Richard H. Doyle,
Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-16977 Filed 7-3-03; 8:45 am]
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