That's the nature of transit pitches - it's very common for multiple people to independently come up with similar ideas, especially in a 300-plus-page thread! If you look at the very first page of this thread, there are ideas there that we still discuss 15 years later - and there's someone...
I think that's been proposed on here before, and I know Ari Ofsevit has proposed it. It's certainly not easy - you're talking 4-5 miles of new tunnel, almost entirely under water and filled land - but certainly intriguing.
It makes a bit more sense within historical context. South Acton has always been one of the more significant stations on the line - it was the junction for the branch to Marlborough (after the 1930s, Maynard), and has been a short turn terminal since the late 19th century. Littleton never was a...
Those all seem generally logical. My very quick add-ons:
Riverside expansion is tricky because of the proposed development. There is a plausible case for double-decking the storage tracks, though.
The inside of the Needham Junction wye was proposed in the 1945-47 Coolidge Commission plan...
There was also a century less of buried utilities and high-rises to complicate construction. And while the BERy's subway/surface transfer stations tended to be spacious, the downtown stations were often rather cramped, never mind modern needs like elevators and escalators and their machinery...
Wickford Junction was never expected to generate substantial ridership to Boston - it was always intended for high-frequency intrastate service. That never materialized, and now it's a sore thumb.
Valley Road being eliminated would end a nearly-century-old oddity: the station is not and has never been at Valley Road. Valley Road is 450 feet to the west, while Rock View Road is half that distance. It's not a result of names being changed - the road names were in place decades before the...
Also interesting to note: after being reintroduced in December 2024, 57A service is again being cut in favor of better frequency on the full 57.
They're claiming frequency increases from "every 15-20" to "every 10" on the 77 at peak hours as well. However, the 77 currently seems to run as...