General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

[themissinglink]

Random question, but, anyone come across a more up to date status of the Franklin Line Double Tracking project? From what I can tell, Phase 2 is still underway. It was supposed to be done in 2020, put on pause, and funding restored beginning of 2022, with the last communication being Poftak putting out a letter saying it's still underway which doesn't instill confidence. Phase 3 was supposed to be design complete in 2020 with the completion of Phase 2. The MBTA's project page is woefully out of date with Phase 2 being projected for a 2020 completion still.

Also, with the Phase 2 completion, the MBTA projected it will allow 35 vs 45 minute headways. Will Phase 3 and essentially fully double tracking the line allow 15 or 20 minutes headways or better? Will any of this allow faster travel on the line? It is ~30 mi and currently looks to take about an hour and 5 minutes or an hour and 13 minutes (guessing this is NEC vs Fairmont line routing), which seems pretty meh to average 30 mph.

I emailed the MBTA about the Franklin Line double track project in May 2023 asking for information. This was their response:

Good Morning,

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the status of the Franklin Line Double Track Project.

Thank you for your follow-up inquiry. We wanted to update you on the progress of the Franklin Line Double Track Project, which is approximately 60% complete. As previously mentioned, the project has been put on hold since March 20, 2021.

The first phase of the project, covering about 4 miles of tracks between Walpole West and Rockwood Road near Norfolk Station, is currently 85% complete. The second phase, involving 3.5 miles of track from Norfolk Station to near Franklin Station, is 55% complete.

Once the project resumes, Keolis estimates that it will require approximately six months to complete all civil and track work. However, mandatory testing and commissioning of the new signal system will add further time.

Although the construction work is currently suspended, the construction permits are not in jeopardy. You may still see vehicles in the right of way performing normal railroad-related operations and maintenance activities.

Please be assured that the Norfolk Conservation Commission is aware of the construction delay and that all environmental control measures have been maintained."

Again, thank you for reaching out to us so we could provide this information.

Sincerely,

Keolis Customer Service

I emailed them again in March of this year because I'm eager for more info about the project. This is what they had to say in March:

Good Evening,

We are in receipt of your submission regarding Franklin Line service.

The Franklin double track project began in 2019 but was put on hold in March 2021. However, in August 2023, the resumption of work began on this project. While we do not have a confirmed completion date available at this time, we will share more information with the public as it becomes available.

Thank you for reaching out to us.

Sincerely,

Keolis Customer Service

It's too bad there hasn't been more movement on the double-track project. Phase 3 in particular is what I'm most curious about, but I don't think there's been any new info about Phase 3 since 2019.

 

[GP40MC]

The new North Station drawbridge is shaping up to be another unfulfilled Big Dig promise:

https://mass.streetsblog.org/2024/0...lude-a-long-promised-walkway-to-north-station

I've always been against attaching a pedestrian walkway to the railroad drawbridge. And I speak as a retired dispatcher who worked the Terminal Desk. This would be a potential nightmare for the railroad and bridge tender in Spring/Summer/Fall attempting to make openings for boats between train movements. There wouldn't be any more quick openings due to people lollygagging on the bridge. From a safety standpoint, I hope the T puts their foot down on this one.

 

[as02143]

'Terrible options' if T budget isn't straightened out, watchdog says

Public transportation is on the verge of an "existential crisis," cities and towns that help fund the system warned, as the MBTA moves ahead with a budget plan that drains its reserves in the face of a looming deficit.

commonwealthbeacon.org

$700 million dollars in service cuts needed to balance the budget book. There'll be no ferry or commuter rail after this year, I think.

 

[Delvin4519]

'Terrible options' if T budget isn't straightened out, watchdog says

Public transportation is on the verge of an "existential crisis," cities and towns that help fund the system warned, as the MBTA moves ahead with a budget plan that drains its reserves in the face of a looming deficit.

commonwealthbeacon.org

$700 million dollars in service cuts needed to balance the budget book. There'll be no ferry or commuter rail after this year, I think.

I already had posted this same exact article in its dedicated thread here: http://archboston.com/community/threads/commuters-ditched-public-transit-for-work-from-home-now-there’s-a-crisis.6858/post-480083

 

[CheapLeak]

I already had posted this same exact article in its dedicated thread here: http://archboston.com/community/threads/commuters-ditched-public-transit-for-work-from-home-now-there’s-a-crisis.6858/post-480083

This is a more appropriate thread for it imo

 

[ant8904]

It's a big enough deal that two parallel discussions can happen at the same time. Both threads are thematically fitting - though I will also note the other thread's naming give a sense it's more about the singular article rather than truly dedicated to the budget crisis that we are seemingly sleepwalking into.

Speaking of sleepwalking, it would be extremely terrible and enraging if this scenario plays out. After witnessing the MBTA reach unbelievable lows in 2022, the pains in 2023, and the frustrations of 2024 - we might finally see a real payoff in 2025 that maintanance work actually translation to experience improvements... only to see service cuts so deep that it may spell no longer "considered a public transportation provider". That implies to me going lower than 2022. All that effort and may well switch from the tracks psychically unable to support respectable speeds and service to financially impossible instead.

And extra enraging that the quiet talking points is probably going to be something like the "MBTA wastefulness". That this upcoming crisis is the same crisis that many prescribe issues to the workforce. Which can be a reasonable talking point - but in the context that if this happens after all the effort to fix the slow zones and labor issues mean it should not be a topic anymore (assuming the T repairs does reach that point, but I've seen enough to presume we'll get there).


Are we really just going to slow walk into this? All under a governor that states to the whole state that she will be fully funding with a party that should be ideologically friendly? Yet will we see an even worse breakdown than the previous debacles under more ideologically hostile administrators - except the equipment and rails will no longer be the culprit?

 

[sneijder]

$700 million dollars in service cuts needed to balance the budget book. There'll be no ferry or commuter rail after this year, I think.

A very scary scenario but not all that surprising. Transit is a big scale-based business. When you force people to shift modes away from transit through poor service, the cost per rider will increase even if you have fewer trains running. It is appalling how the state doesn't take transit/CR as a serious mode of transport though. Imagine saying we have to close I-93 because we ran out of money.

 

[jklo]

When you force people to shift modes away from transit through poor service

It's more WFH than the shutdowns.

 

[Delvin4519]

Zombie reddit is still beating us with the slow zone updates.

10 slow zones between Community College Cambridge Crossing and Downtown Crossing were removed. The giant 10 mph/16 kmh slowzone just south of Sullivan Station is still present in both directions.

Red Line once again takes the crown for the most slow-zoned line. There was a monthlong period where Orange tempoarily held that position after the May Red shutdown.

Speed Restrictions | Performance Metrics | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.

www.mbta.com

 

[RandomWalk]

Knock the T all you want, but the slow zone map improvement from last fall is impressive.

 

[Stlin]

Knock the T all you want, but the slow zone map improvement from last fall is impressive.

That's more a testament to Phil Eng and what his leadership the past 14 months has done. Jeff Gonneville acknowledged the issue while a lame duck GM by ordering the slow zones that his predecessor willfully ignored, but the new leadership lead by Eng is worth every penny of their salaries.

 

[Delvin4519]

Knock the T all you want, but the slow zone map improvement from last fall is impressive.

September 20, 2023 was the worst of the slow zones, with 245 slow zones systemwide.

In 9 months, Eng has chewed his way through 166 slow zones and knocked them out. 6 more months for Eng to finish off 79 left remaining.

15 of the 15 on BL were removed, 8 out of 34 on the OL knocked out. 69 of the 113 on RL cleared, and 74 out of 83 on the GL lifted.

Orange Line had the least amount of progress out of all the lines. Red Line had a large amount of work, Blue Line is almost back to normal, Green Line is similar to Blue but one can only hardly notice anything.

25.3 out of 36.7 miles of slow zones were removed, leaving 11.4 miles of slow zone left over. (18.3km current, 40.7km removed, 59.0km on 2023-09-20).

 

[Delvin4519]

In other news: Eng has nuked the GLTPS contract due to a lack of progress from the contractor. Eng instead invited other vendors who proved that they could deliver faster. Bidding for the GLTPS has gone out and will be open until the end of the summer. Eng has said that they will try to recoup funds that were spent on the nuked contract.

Note: this article is paywalled.

T scraps Green Line crash-prevention contract recommended by NTSB in 2009 - The Boston Globe

Since awarding an $83 million contract in 2019 to the German firm BBR, the T has paid the company $18 million but has not seen any meaningful progress.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[Stlin]

September 20, 2023 was the worst of the slow zones, with 245 slow zones systemwide.

In 9 months, Eng has chewed his way through 166 slow zones and knocked them out. 6 more months for Eng to finish off 79 left remaining.

15 of the 15 on BL were removed, 8 out of 34 on the OL knocked out. 69 of the 113 on RL cleared, and 74 out of 83 on the GL lifted.

Orange Line had the least amount of progress out of all the lines. Red Line had a large amount of work, Blue Line is almost back to normal, Green Line is similar to Blue but one can only hardly notice anything.

25.3 out of 36.7 miles of slow zones were removed, leaving 11.4 miles of slow zone left over. (18.3km current, 40.7km removed, 59.0km on 2023-09-20).

View attachment 51293

Its also impressive that they've actually been able to beat their projections. If you tally the slow zones from the Nov 23 announcements by this date they'd only have removed 61/152, with 91 slow zones remaining. Even with newly introduced slow zones, they're down to 79.

In other news: Eng has nuked the GLTPS contract due to a lack of progress from the contractor. Eng instead invited other vendors who proved that they could deliver faster. Bidding for the GLTPS has gone out and will be open until the end of the summer. Eng has said that they will try to recoup funds that were spent on the nuked contract.

Note: this article is paywalled.

T scraps Green Line crash-prevention contract recommended by NTSB in 2009 - The Boston Globe

Since awarding an $83 million contract in 2019 to the German firm BBR, the T has paid the company $18 million but has not seen any meaningful progress.

www.bostonglobe.com

Also good that he's willing to challenge the status quo. Sucks for the sunk costs, but someone at the T acknowledging and refusing to be caught by that fallacy is refreshing.

 

[RandomWalk]

I wish they still provided routine project updates. I think they stopped around the first of the year.

 

[bakgwailo]

I wish they still provided routine project updates. I think they stopped around the first of the year.

I'd also love some sort of a high level roadmap/direction for the T from state of good repair to actual new improvements or expansion. It can make a huge difference to have some sort of real plan to work towards.

 

[Delvin4519]

The MBTA made signifcant progress on fixing dozens of Red Line slow zones, the MBTA is finally able to restore weekday service on the Red Line back to Fall 2022 service levels. As mentioned in an earlier post, none of the Summer 2023 bus service cuts that slashed weekday and Saturday bus service are getting restored this summer almost 1 year after the new contract. Instead, there is a new unannounced 10% service cut frequency reduction for the 47 bus this summer (billed by the T as "departure times shift due to travel time updates").

Summer 2024 detailed changes (thanks to the GTFS update - no frequency map changes)

Summer 2024 service cuts & frequency reduction:
47 bus - 5 fewer weekday trips (56 -> 51 trips)
Note: Off peak weekday headways are moving from every 20 minutes midday to every 30 minutes midday. This is a loss of 50% of the off peak midday service. Peak service did not get as much of a cut so this is a new, more peak-heavy schedule.

Summer 2024 frequency increases:
Red Line - 9 new weekday trips for Ashmont and Braintree individually (73/72 -> 82/81 weekday trips)
Green Line B Branch - 1 new weekday trip (145 -> 146 trips)
111 bus - 8 new weekday trips (206 -> 214 trips)

-----
Now some comments about the new changes:

If restored track conditions (not improved, only restored) allows restoration of faster travel times and more train frequency, why is the more subway frequency only on weekdays and not also applying to off peak weekend frequency? It's not like the slow zones are fixed on weekdays only and speed restrictions are still in place on weekends. If the tracks allow restoration of trip times back to Fall 2022 service levels on weekdays, then this should result in frequency improvements on weekdays AND weekends, not weekdays only.

COVID resulted in a flattening of transit demand and the T moved the Orange Line to a more all-day, off-peak schedule back in Fall 2021. Slow zones and vehicle shortages reduced 2022-23 subway service. The new GM Eng began rebuilding subway service with new OL cars; and slow zone track repairs on all 4 subway lines, As the slow zones get fixed, weekday peak schedules get restored to restored speeds/frequencies, off peak schedules remain on the reduced slow zone schedules. The T is now backsliding on the all-day, off-peak flatter service pattern post-COVID, with a more peak-heavy service pattern with terrible off-peak headways. Off peak headways are literally "timetabled headways, plan your connections/transfers", not "SUAG and transfer at ease". There should be urgency to restore off peak headways on the subway system, as slow zones get fixed, at the same rate as peak weekday service restorations.

Last time I used the Orange Line was 6pm on a Thursday in May 2024, and there were 6 - 8 minute headways and I never needed to wait more than 6 minutes for a train that day. Then later I passed through the Haymarket station late in the afternoon on June 8th, 2024, and I see a screen saying "Orange Line trains every 10 - 14 minutes", yikes. At that point with off peak double digit headways with almost 15 minutes between trains, one might as well just publish subway timetables for the Orange Line and run the Orange Line on a timetabled schedule off peak.

The T has a growing problem with off peak frequencies despite being in the post-COVID era. The GLX's D and E branches run 11 - 16 minute headways off peak with dozens of bunched trains. It's no wonder why transfers from Kenmore bus transfers to OL northside transfers don't work at all with the Gov'y forced transfer - 3 seat ride, or a 11 - 15 min headway from N. Station. The unfunded BNRD's T7 route from Sullivan/Seaport will also similarly be inaccessible for Kenmore transfer GL riders since the BNRD T7 serving Sullivan, Haymarket, State, and the Seaport, will not serve Gov'y, meaning it can't get westbound GL transfers onto northbound OL transfers to cover the lack of NSRL (BNRD 86 cutback to Harvard), meaning that even if BNRD were to get fully funded, Kenmore and Sullivan would still be a 3 seat ride with a Gov'y transfer, or a lenghy wait for a D at North Station., despite both Sullivan and Kenmore literally being on the subway system and the unfunded BNRD frequent grid adding the T7 to Sullivan/Seaport.

 

[as02143]

This is a more appropriate thread for it imo

Yeah - I think this is going to be the home for the conversation about the T's budget - exactly what gets cut, funded is going to play out over these next 13 months - regardless of the why (fewer downtown workers --> fewer rides --> less revenue).

 

[as02143]

-----
Now some comments about the new changes:

If restored track conditions (not improved, only restored) allows restoration of faster travel times and more train frequency, why is the more subway frequency only on weekdays and not also applying to off peak weekend frequency? It's not like the slow zones are fixed on weekdays only and speed restrictions are still in place on weekends. If the tracks allow restoration of trip times back to Fall 2022 service levels on weekdays, then this should result in frequency improvements on weekdays AND weekends, not weekdays only.
View attachment 51312 View attachment 51315

COVID resulted in a flattening of transit demand and the T moved the Orange Line to a more all-day, off-peak schedule back in Fall 2021. Slow zones and vehicle shortages reduced 2022-23 subway service. The new GM Eng began rebuilding subway service with new OL cars; and slow zone track repairs on all 4 subway lines, As the slow zones get fixed, weekday peak schedules get restored to restored speeds/frequencies, off peak schedules remain on the reduced slow zone schedules. The T is now backsliding on the all-day, off-peak flatter service pattern post-COVID, with a more peak-heavy service pattern with terrible off-peak headways. Off peak headways are literally "timetabled headways, plan your connections/transfers", not "SUAG and transfer at ease". There should be urgency to restore off peak headways on the subway system, as slow zones get fixed, at the same rate as peak weekday service restorations.

Last time I used the Orange Line was 6pm on a Thursday in May 2024, and there were 6 - 8 minute headways and I never needed to wait more than 6 minutes for a train that day. Then later I passed through the Haymarket station late in the afternoon on June 8th, 2024, and I see a screen saying "Orange Line trains every 10 - 14 minutes", yikes. At that point with off peak double digit headways with almost 15 minutes between trains, one might as well just publish subway timetables for the Orange Line and run the Orange Line on a timetabled schedule off peak.

View attachment 51327
The T has a growing problem with off peak frequencies despite being in the post-COVID era. The GLX's D and E branches run 11 - 16 minute headways off peak with dozens of bunched trains. It's no wonder why transfers from Kenmore bus transfers to OL northside transfers don't work at all with the Gov'y forced transfer - 3 seat ride, or a 11 - 15 min headway from N. Station. The unfunded BNRD's T7 route from Sullivan/Seaport will also similarly be inaccessible for Kenmore transfer GL riders since the BNRD T7 serving Sullivan, Haymarket, State, and the Seaport, will not serve Gov'y, meaning it can't get westbound GL transfers onto northbound OL transfers to cover the lack of NSRL (BNRD 86 cutback to Harvard), meaning that even if BNRD were to get fully funded, Kenmore and Sullivan would still be a 3 seat ride with a Gov'y transfer, or a lenghy wait for a D at North Station., despite both Sullivan and Kenmore literally being on the subway system and the unfunded BNRD frequent grid adding the T7 to Sullivan/Seaport.

I'm a bit confused by the implication that there's a three-seat ride. The reliable Kenmore to Sullivan trip has always been a two-seat ride - wait for a GL car that takes you to North or Haymarket (why would one, tho) and then transfer to the OL. If you see something pop-up and make the trip to Park or Gov't - that's always been an option, but, it's not like this is anything new about the system.

 

[TheRatmeister]

I'm a bit confused by the implication that there's a three-seat ride. The reliable Kenmore to Sullivan trip has always been a two-seat ride - wait for a GL car that takes you to North or Haymarket (why would one, tho) and then transfer to the OL. If you see something pop-up and make the trip to Park or Gov't - that's always been an option, but, it's not like this is anything new about the system.

Or take any GL car and transfer at Park/DTX, that's also an option.