Regional Rail (RUR) & North-South Rail Link (NSRL)

Re: North-South Rail Link

fattony said:
How are you going to replicate that in even less dense areas that are actively hostile to any mode but automobile?
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Once Gen-Xers age out, I see the population decreasing in the burbs anyway because yes you need a car there with or without the Link. But I do see the density increasing greatly within 128, and that's why I think the focus should be Indigo/128 and not Regional Rail. Done correctly, you are basically adding another 3-5 'subway lines' to the system.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

jklo said:
Once Gen-Xers age out, I see the population decreasing in the burbs anyway because yes you need a car there with or without the Link. But I do see the density increasing greatly within 128, and that's why I think the focus should be Indigo/128 and not Regional Rail. Done correctly, you are basically adding another 3-5 'subway lines' to the system.
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EMUs RT service levels inside 128, but still RER level service to the outer centers.

Maybe coupled with an express/local concept of service, with designated transfer stations with coordinated schedules, so it is easy to jump between the express and local service.
 
Re: Regional Rapid Transit Plan (including the North-South Rail Link)

Ok so i'm reading the actual report now and it's....a joke.
 
Re: Regional Rapid Transit Plan (including the North-South Rail Link)

Who changed the name of this thread? It's very confusing.

If this thread is about the MA Future of Transportation Report, it should be in a different thread?
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

CSTH said:
Can't be emphasized enough. NSRL is not the project. Regional Rapid Transit is the project, and NSRL is a key element of it.
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I changed it based on this. Should I change it back?
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

jklo said:
Once Gen-Xers age out, I see the population decreasing in the burbs anyway because yes you need a car there with or without the Link. But I do see the density increasing greatly within 128, and that's why I think the focus should be Indigo/128 and not Regional Rail. Done correctly, you are basically adding another 3-5 'subway lines' to the system.
Click to expand...

I’d be hesitant towards making such broad generalizations. I’m very agreeable to the idea that we’re seeing a general restructuring of how society organizes itself when it comes to work and life, but I don’t think that necessarily means a drastic change in overall patterns. Every commuter from the burbs replaced by someone living in the urban core makes life easier on every remaining commuter. Every person who can work from home makes their commute 20% easier each day they can work from home - meaning that each day they can work from home allows them to live 20% further away and maintain the same overall weekly commute time (actually, thats not how the math works, but you get what I mean).

Yes, living in the city is far more appealing now, but thats not the only change going on.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

statler said:
I changed it based on this. Should I change it back?
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Ah ok. Thanks for the context. We at TM have been considering trying to rebrand the NSRL as the Regional Rail Link or something to that effect because it's about the system rather than North or South Station, but we haven't settled on anything.

I think the "Plan" in this thread title is what is confusing because it sounds like it's about a specific plan that was released. What CTSH is getting at is really Regional Rail is the project and NSRL is a component. Maybe just change Regional Rapid Transit to Regional Rail (including link), but ultimately they should be two different threads, as you can have & plan for Regional Rail without the Link, but the Link is useless without Regional Rail.
 
Re: Regional Rapid Transit Plan (including the North-South Rail Link)

Gotcha!
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

DominusNovus said:
Yes, living in the city is far more appealing now, but thats not the only change going on.
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I get the feeling that the group that would prefer the "Wife & Kids Burb Living" will find themselves either sucking it up because of jobs/economic opportunity, or will see themselves in some other part of the country.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Shepard said:
YES. And add to that the populated and walkable areas on the south side - including the entirety of the Fairnount line, Needham line, and Worcester Line out to Auburndale... along with Brockton, Stoughton, Canton, Legacy Place, University Ave, Norwood, Walpole, Hyde Park... that's huge.
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I don't want to boast about walpole TOO much because it definitely has a lot of issues in regards to housing, BUT...
Two fairly large TODevelopments are going up right next to the Walpole train station.
I believe neither have any affordability tied to them, and it has pushed back on a 40B development further away for YEARS. But it is overall promising to see some sort of TOD happening in a town that I would never think something like this would be allowed. but yeah we definitely need to think about adding regional land use rezoning to any sort of regional rail policy to be the most effective.
 
Crazy Transit Pitches crackpipe alert. . .

At least if they come to their senses and build on the single alignment that's expandable to 4 tracks without building the whole thing twice, we've ID'd in Congress a *possible* ROW for a new crosstown subway.

Cue up your "Red X" or Green Line Reimagined crayon drawings.


[/ducks]
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

DAVE said:
I don't want to boast about walpole TOO much because it definitely has a lot of issues in regards to housing, BUT...
Two fairly large TODevelopments are going up right next to the Walpole train station.
I believe neither have any affordability tied to them, and it has pushed back on a 40B development further away for YEARS. But it is overall promising to see some sort of TOD happening in a town that I would never think something like this would be allowed. but yeah we definitely need to think about adding regional land use rezoning to any sort of regional rail policy to be the most effective.
Click to expand...


Walpole is an ideal test case for TOD pivots in formerly resistant communities. If next year's Foxboro service trial is successful and they proceed to full-build service, Walpole's schedules will outright double from 16 to 32 round trips daily (conventional peak/off-peak, not even clock-facing RER yet). Besides park-and-ride patronage load-shifting to more appropriately configured Foxboro it'll bring new bus connectivity: more 34E frequencies, the MPO-studied Millis/Medfield-Walpole bus down MA 27, and probably others. They'll see the juicy upside of having a deepening service gravity well, and get a measure from the F'boro schedule doubling of what an RER service doubling would further do for them.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

jklo said:
I get the feeling that the group that would prefer the "Wife & Kids Burb Living" will find themselves either sucking it up because of jobs/economic opportunity, or will see themselves in some other part of the country.
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Why? And what about the group that wants the ‘husband and kids burb living’?
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

F-Line to Dudley said:
Walpole is an ideal test case for TOD pivots in formerly resistant communities. If next year's Foxboro service trial is successful and they proceed to full-build service, Walpole's schedules will outright double from 16 to 32 round trips daily (conventional peak/off-peak, not even clock-facing RER yet). Besides park-and-ride patronage load-shifting to more appropriately configured Foxboro it'll bring new bus connectivity: more 34E frequencies, the MPO-studied Millis/Medfield-Walpole bus down MA 27, and probably others. They'll see the juicy upside of having a deepening service gravity well, and get a measure from the F'boro schedule doubling of what an RER service doubling would further do for them.
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Oh I HOPE for greater 34e frequencies, and signal priority because while the bus only lane after rozzy square, inbound only from 5-9am is great, there is a lot of unnecessary waiting on that route prior to that small section. But I agree that walpole has a lot of potential, meaning it has a lot of potential to fuck it up too.
 
CSTH said:
Very interesting. Presumably this would at least in part be about managing space at North Station?

The tracks already exist. Wonder if it would also include adding a platform at Sullivan Sq to enable OL transfers?
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It won't work because those tracks are a layover spot for both Downeaster sets and Pan Am freights idling during rush hour or overnight. There's a dire space crunch on the northwest side of BET. Less so on the SW side, but the freights wrap-around Lowell-Eastern Route and the Amtrak sets are frequently turned on the wye. Since GLX has cannibalized some of these tracks it's not trivial to accommodate the storage needs elsewhere.


The other interlining proposals--Franklin-via-Fairmount and Haverhill-via-NH Main--are obvious ones. This one's probably a lead trial balloon that'll never have any realistic chance because of the ops snags.
 
CSTH said:
Very interesting. Presumably this would at least in part be about managing space at North Station?

The tracks already exist. Wonder if it would also include adding a platform at Sullivan Sq to enable OL transfers?
Click to expand...

Sullivan would be ideal for OL and bus connections. Union might be an acceptable second choice if Sullivan isn't possible for some reason. Both would be great, but maybe a bit much. If it hit both Orange and Green, then the only people who would NEED a NS bound train would be the people who don't make a subway connection there.

I wonder how many trains per hour would be reasonable to follow this route. Anyone want to take a swing at that?
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

DominusNovus said:
Why? And what about the group that wants the ‘husband and kids burb living’?
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Exactly. Living patterns are very cyclical. And if large city public schools don't shape up, the flight to burbs will re-occur when the younger generation has kids unless they are fortunate enough to be able to afford private schools.
 
If you really want to impress me, route this to Worcester via GJ with a stop in Kendall...
 
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