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They just announced the massive 24 day closure of the Braintree branch in September: Link The really interesting thing in the announcement is a stated longer-term goal of raising red line MAS above 40mph which is very intriguing. Does anyone know when the last time the red line ran above 40 (if...

Stockholm- maybe the only metro in the world where you can do a legitimate art tour in the metro (deep stations too)!

I think there’s still some work to be done on the Lechmere viaduct (despite the slow zone on the bridge being lifted, maybe 25mph can be raised? Not sure but I think the tie issue on the old bascule span was never fully rectified) and I remember during a prior shutdown they had tried to turn...

They won’t be at the Type 10 spec until all Type 7s and 8s are gone from the system - since their doors open out they don’t allow level-boarding height platforms, the interim condition is 8” platforms like the rest of the current accessible green line stations (so bridge plates from the train...

Got to try out the new Bluebikes e-bikes today and wow - they are excellent! The pedal assist feels natural and it feels like you’re riding a luxury product which was shocking to me. Not sure how often I’ll feel like paying for the premium, even with a membership it’s not exactly a cheap ride...

The Alewife area is so frustrating to me because it has plenty of housing and office space being built, is near a rapid transit station, is maybe the biggest hub for bike trails in the whole state, has multiple grocery stores right there, and has plenty of easy access to nature, but then there’s...

I don’t think the GLX specs could even apply to the viaduct since the viaduct was a separate project entirely - my guess is that 25mph was always the design speed for the viaduct and the GLX specs were never intended to apply to it even though they imply otherwise. Speaking of those specs...

Yes, sorry I meant westbound from the perspective of the bridge/GLX, which is eastbound by the T’s definition in the tracker (and they should probably stop using east/westbound altogether since the GLX breaks that terminology with Medford/Tufts being west of Heath St). The important thing is...

It’s not reflected at all in the travel times yet today but the T’s slow zone dashboard says the westbound Lechmere viaduct speed restriction has been removed!

There seems to have been some big improvement after 6ish today? Same in the other direction but a bit less drastic of a drop - guess we’ll just have to see what tomorrow looks like.

The Red Line now has the smallest percentage of track under a speed restriction of any line: Currently at 36 minutes of slow zones, it’s lowest since mid-February and less than half of its peak of 82 minutes of slow zones reached on 9/9. Still a long ways to go but the progress has been steady...

Do the platforms need to be raised for the Type 10s to operate? I was under the impression that they need to be raised to get the full level boarding accessibility benefit but is there anything stopping the Type 10s from running on a line before all platforms get raised? I would think raising...

Southbound slow zones are gone today!

That makes sense - they wrapped up this latest round of Braintree branch work two weeks ago and last couple weekend closures have been more about prep work for the Ashmont surge. I’m curious to see how much of the current Ashmont slow zones actually end up being fixed during the surge - there’s...

So as of now the line has: Worcester to Springfield track improvements Ongoing design for the Newton station rebuilds Ongoing design for the Worcester Third Track project Worcester second platform construction West Station (whenever that happens) Initial design for Springfield station trackwork...

In related news, the Brunswick-Rockland service looks like it’s starting up soon! https://www.coastlinerexcursions.com/excursions.html The wording of it seems like one round trip a day though, starting in Rockland which makes it not very useful for people coming from points south - the front...

They‘re here: https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2023-07/July%20AF%20and%20Board%20Meeting_FY24-28%20CIP_Draft_07122023%207.12%204PM.pdf

Some slides on the final CIP as presented today, more funding for Red-Blue and some early action projects on Regional Rail, including medium-term (?) plans for increased service on the inner parts of the lines

They’re doing a non-stop closure of the green line under Haymarket (with the orange line bypassing the station) from June 12th through the 25th and I’m really hoping they would only do such a substantial closure if that would be enough to demo the rest of the garage. Not holding my breath though.

In general, the idea is that the road has multiple speed humps on it, designed (for example) for the humps to be crossed over at 15mph and spaced so that cars can only accelerate to around 25 mph before having to slow down for the next one (don’t remember exact numbers but I think it’s around...