Transit Planning $h!tposting (Ideas so bad, they're good)

Stlin said:
If we're crayoning the state rail map across Central MA with abandon... I have two thoughts. Mostly, I think you'd get 90% of the connectivity benefit, if not more, by just running a proper Providence-Worcester-Lowell, if it's speedy enough and timed to meet the Fitchburg at Ayer. I know that as far as MA Intrastate rail goes we're really focused right now on East-West and compass rail, but I really do think a PVD-WoR-Lowell service would complement it beautifully.

I would hope that in the distant future we can get it with a combo platter with DMU Ag Branch service all the way from Mansfield via the Framingham & Fitchburg subs to Leominster, meeting every 30 minute Regional Rail transfers at each crossing line? Juicy interwoven rail network please.
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For the Mansfield to Leominster line, I'm thinking DMUs with station stops of Mansfield (stub track in parking lot) Foxboro Center, Gillette, Walpole, Medfield, Framingham, (platform on the Wye), Framingham Center, Marlborough Junction / Southborough, Northborough, Clinton Union, N. Leominster, Fitchburg) rejoining the Fitchburg Line by running alongside I190 from Pratts Junction to North Leominster - I'm envisioning this along the lines of a 2 car, maybe even low floor DMU dinky, (I know there isn't a FRA compliant one, let me dream) in the vein of those thin European branch lines. the chief appeal to me being these are old railroad towns, and that particular alignment of towns and cities is actually kinda annoying to drive.

Crossing at Clinton Junction, a Providence-Worcester-Lowell line could serve as RI Intrastate, but if it originates in Providence, I'm thinking station stops at Lincoln/Cumberland, Woonsocket, Uxbridge, Northbridge, Millbury, your choice of Worcester Infills, W. Boylston, Clinton Union, Devens, Ayer, Westford, Lowell.
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I don't have good news for you about the travel times. The NYNH&H State of Maine took 1:23 Worcester-Lowell in 1941 with only an Ayer intermediate stop. That's obviously going to be slower with more intermediates. The ROW geometry is really bad for working up any head of steam, and DMU's aren't going to put enough of an acceleration dent in the deficit given that you have fairly wide stop spacing. Providence-Woonsocket with intermediates at Pawtucket, Cumberland, and Manville is projected in the 2009 RIDOT study as taking 27 minutes on upgraded track...pretty good. NYNH&H in 1949 then took 1:00 between Woonsocket and Worcester with intermediates at Blackstone, Millville, Uxbridge, Whitins, Northbridge, Farnumsville, Saundersville, Wilkinsonville, and Millbury. Obviously that can go a little faster with fewer intermediates, but it'll never be fast-fast. But you're still looking at something like 2:45+ on rail for what's a 78-mile expressway trip between the 3 cities. Providence-Worcester may be a viable future rail market especially if Wickford-Providence-Woonsocket intrastate takes off, but the Worcester-Ayer-Lowell leg is where the travel times go totally to spit and are utterly, totally uncompetitive with a coach bus on the highways.
 
Blue Line to Lynn ... via Kendall

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Forgive me for dropping real transit into a shitposting thread, but it was a tossup between the Regional Rail thread where Northern Tier was discussed, or here where running the Fitchburg Line into Lowell was discussed... But I digress. I recently came across, well, this thing on GTFS and just had to look up the schedule.
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Greyhound, sometime during the summer last year, quietly launched a daily Boston to New York service via, of all places, Lowell, Ayer, Fitchburg, Athol, and Greenfield, not to mention the more predictable UMass, Springfield and New Haven. Granted, it does Boston -Greenfield in only 3.5hrs, fully an hour slower than the Rail study benchmarked ethe slowest train option, but admittedly ~45 minutes of that is probably it's diversion up to Lowell since it doesn't take 1.5hrs to drive to Ayer. Without it and their stop dwells, that's approximately competitive with the middle train alts. That said... This actually does provide useful transit, and since Greyhound, a company not known for suffering underperforming routes has kept it going? It may be receiving 5311(f) grants, I can't tell, but now I'll get to why I stuck it in this thread. I know the Northern tier isn't particularly viable for a intercity rail corridor on its own, but we've been serious about the inland route for NE regionals for a while now. What about a northern tier route as a revival of the State of Maine? Amtrak from NYP to North Station, and the on to Portland, as a super-Downeaster and effectively an (extremely long) extension of a Valley Flyer?
 
Stlin said:
Forgive me for dropping real transit into a shitposting thread, but it was a tossup between the Regional Rail thread where Northern Tier was discussed, or here where running the Fitchburg Line into Lowell was discussed... But I digress. I recently came across, well, this thing on GTFS and just had to look up the schedule.
View attachment 75355
Greyhound, sometime during the summer last year, quietly launched a daily Boston to New York service via, of all places, Lowell, Ayer, Fitchburg, Athol, and Greenfield, not to mention the more predictable UMass, Springfield and New Haven. Granted, it does Boston -Greenfield in only 3.5hrs, fully an hour slower than the Rail study benchmarked ethe slowest train option, but admittedly ~45 minutes of that is probably it's diversion up to Lowell since it doesn't take 1.5hrs to drive to Ayer. Without it and their stop dwells, that's approximately competitive with the middle train alts. That said... This actually does provide useful transit, and since Greyhound, a company not known for suffering underperforming routes has kept it going? It may be receiving 5311(f) grants, I can't tell, but now I'll get to why I stuck it in this thread. I know the Northern tier isn't particularly viable for a intercity rail corridor on its own, but we've been serious about the inland route for NE regionals for a while now. What about a northern tier route as a revival of the State of Maine? Amtrak from NYP to North Station, and the on to Portland, as a super-Downeaster and effectively an (extremely long) extension of a Valley Flyer?
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Practically, the only way you're doing New York-Portland is via the Inland Route + a diversion down the Grand Junction + a reverse at North Station, because that's 100% on territory Amtrak has trackage rights and crew qualifications on (they do 2 Grand Junction equipment shuffles per week BET-Southampton with their Downeaster crews). That's actually something NNEPRA actively pines for as a future reach, because the tinker toys snap together pretty elegantly with only the short Grand Junction needing upgrades (and not even any signalling if it's only going to be a 1 RT daily). With the profit margins for NYP-POR thru service being pretty meager, it would have to glom pretty faithfully to its constituent Inland and DE components and ridership overchurn (i.e. differing only in no-Back Bay and North-swapped-for-South Stations) and not create too much additional overhead for Amtrak/NNEPRA in trackage rights fees and crew qualifications. It easily slots under Reasonable Transit Pitches once we get the bread-and-butter Inland service slate running.

I also don't see, even with an upgraded Grand Junction still being intrinsically slow and the 10-min. layover at NS for the ends change, how the Northern Tier could in any way/shape/form be time-competitive to the B&A from New York of all places. That's an awful lot of extra miles (+40) for likely not as much total ridership as you'd get if you stopped in Palmer+Worcester+Framingham. You also wouldn't be able to stop in Greenfield at all on that alignment because the Pan Am Southern Deerfield Branch splits off 1.5 miles before the station for turning east down the Fitchburg Line, and that ends up bypassing almost a third of the total Conn River Line ridership generation.
 
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