Yeah, the idea that the PNW is better with funding, that might be true. But that's me guessing, and it's hard to give her the benefit of the doubt, here. Do you know much about that?
And as for Quebec, yes, they've got that train. But looking at hydrogen powered trains for the MBTA is one of the things I think I'd call bonkers. This isn't my wheelhouse, but I generally don't see serious transit people get excited about hydrogen power. Stringing up catenary wires is relatively straightforward, has more than a century of accumulated standards and best practices, and there's a massive international market for parts and expertise. Hydrogen power is comparatively new and untested. It seems to be useful on short branches or where it's impractical to put up wires, but that's not our situation yet. The Providence and Fairmount lines must be the lowest hanging fruit for electrification in the country.