Recent content by fatnoah

I'm all over Amtrak stuff and haven't seen anything other than incorrect predictions. That said, the moment anyone puts their butt in a a revenue Avelia Liberty seat, I'm sure it'll be everywhere on social media.

FWIW, at the May 22 board meeting, a "Spring 2025" launch for was indicated. From what I've read elsewhere, the plan is to start with 5 trainsets, so it will be a phase-in. I'm eagerly anticipating the new trainsets but also preparing myself for the inevitable kinks (i.e. random issues &...

Intersection with different numbers of lanes on each side of the intersection were MDCs signature design feature. I think it's nice that DCR is paying homage to that. Realistically, it's probably to maximize the amount of cars that can queue at the traffic signal without backing up to the...

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/local/latest-development-plans-for-state-school-include-grocery-store/article_ba964de4-8258-4144-8cdf-bb303c91c8a0.html

I'm actually curious about just how much that misalignment will impact things. Once we eliminate all areas with curves where coaches will be tilting and/or speed restricted, bridges with speed restrictions, station areas, pretty much all of Metro North territory, etc, how much tangent track...

My anecdotal observation is that this is still true. It still seems to be a frequent occurrence that my Acela is held in favor of a Metro North train, regardless of whether we're on time or not. The magnitude of the impact doesn't seem to be too large though. My additional anecdotal evidence...

FWIW, they are replacing the 4 over-road bridges to the east of the lift bridge as part of a related project, but an in-place replacement is obviously very different than raising the ROW and bridges.

FWIW, it's in the "rumor" category, but there's talk in some more rail-oriented forums of CSX eliminating road freights on the Boston & Albany east of Worcester in favor of a routing north to Clinton, and then to Framingham on the Agricultural Branch. I'm not sure how that would impact yard...

In the interest of "efficiency" maybe it's time to combine the two and bring back the mobile post office, mail trains, and attaching mail freight to passenger trains.

When we lived in Back Bay, my kid definitely preferred walking and/or transit to driving. We'd make it an adventure and get off at random places and check out what's around, which is much more difficult with a car. As a bonus, we were virtually guaranteed to run into a friend from school or...

They've been on Google Maps for a while now. If you get directions from a north side CR route to the Seaport, it'll suggest the ferry as an option. The catch is that GMaps tries to minimize walking transfers, and North Station to Lovejoy is such a transfer, so it'll prefer the "same station"...

Just adding a data point. Had to get a 10:30pm bus at Alewife and hopped on the Red Line at 10:03 with a little concern. I shouldn't have worried. Arrived at Alewife in exactly 20 minutes. I can't remember the last time I got from Harvard to Alewife in that time.

Totally separately, I rode the Orange Line for the first time in about 3 years this weekend, and was completely blown away. I tapped to pay with my phone and the only time the train slowed down was to make station stops. It was like 2002 all over again, but with more convenient payment options.

I've posted it elsewhere, but the document that really makes me want to cry is the original 1940's transportation planning documents. They contain all of the ambitious highway plans, but also very strongly state that the highways are only half of the solution, as an equal investment in rapid...

Are you saying that it's better to have real world experience than Real World experience? Jokes aside, I'm cautiously optimistic for the reasons you mentioned. A big concern I have is lack of investment in infrastructure, and while I'm not holding out for significant investment in transporting...