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The only thing Biden has that Obama didn’t is that fiscal conservatives in the GOP had been sent packing into the political wilderness even before Covid, and even moreso after. So, GOP opposition to spending will be on the allocation more than the amounts. That is it for Biden. Every other angle...

Anyone got any insight on this Amtrak Connects US proposal? The press release is underwhelming, but I see an additional route between Boston and Albany? http://media.amtrak.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Amtrak-Connects-Us-Fact-Sheet-for-Statement.pdf

This is a technical question, relevant to the Needham discussion tangentially. What are the challenges of large loops in transit? By way of demonstration: if the E line were restored down to Forest Hills, and then extended out to Needham as the LRT option discussed above all the way to the...

Speaking of... would a Boston-Plymouth ferry make any sense? Private or MBTA.

I wouldn’t be able to tell you. But at least all the parking lots give us plenty of room to play with.

I believe North Station is proposed to be entirely underground in some of the proposals, but I'm not 100% and heading to bed right now. As for whether its in this thread or god-mode, that is pretty much the crux of my question: at one point going out from the current plans does it stop being...

That is part of some of the plans already. As for the benefits, its the usual benefits from moving things underground. Frees up land, keeps trains away from people and vehicles, eliminates grade crossings, etc.

Though it may not have been clear, my question was asked in the spirit of burying the stations, as well. So nothing would be skipped, just more would be underground.

Just as a general thought experiment, if the NSRL were under way, and somebody decided that they wanted to push the tunnel portals as far out of Boston as possible, at what point would you cross the line between “crazy” and “F-line hates us just for asking?”

Continuing the discussion regarding the closure of the Plymouth stop in the Commuter Rail thread, where would the ideal location for a Downtown Plymouth station be? Perusing Google and Apple maps, it looks like the old RoW goes further south than the rail trail down to Lothrop street. There’s...

Anyone know what the original plan that took some land from L Knife (the beer distributor) was? Did it just take all their land, or part? Being so close to the highway exit, it looks perfect for a location for a station like the actual Kingston location, even before the disruption of the spur is...

Right. Just trying to get your sense of what you think is going on, best guess.

Just asking for clarity: when you say “should” do you mean in the sense of “it isn’t likely” to be closed for long or “if they had any sense” they wouldn’t close it for long? And what is long-term in your opinion? I’m moving to Kingston within the year, and having 2 different stations to pick...

I was thinking there may be some upside for transiting through Boston from points west, even if it is just being able to one seat to points in Boston north of South Station - a one seat ride from Springfield to a Bruins game is something. But you’re 100% right that the frequency issue is...

I just want to add that since this is a government decision, it has to be analyzed through a political lens as much, if not more, than through an economic lens. And the people in Western Mass aren’t going to just roll over because they’re told they’re ignorant hicks (which is what railing...

Yup, thats what I was referring to when I said terrain and density.

Could anyone ( @F-Line to Dudley ) give a very quick rundown (or direct me to a post where this has been discussed) as to why the Brightline project in Florida seems to be proceeding so much more smoothly than, well, anything we do up here? Terrain? Density? Regulations? Privately run? All...

Well, Western MA gets almost no benefit from NSRL, so even if it is a much better use of money, it still is a bad deal from their point of view.

North and South Stations were connected by a cut and cover rail link during the peaceful 1910s during a major construction effort. Boston’s commuter rail system became one of the most efficient in the nation, though it suffered like many others with the rise of the automobile. Regardless of how...

Northeastern instituted a mandatory athletics fee to pay for a stadium in ‘04 and then decided around ‘09 that they didn’t want a stadium. Kept the fee, of course.