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The mostly likely route seems to be Nashua cutting a deal with the T: we build you a new layover, you help fund the Massachusetts portion. Nashua itself is really achievable - while the track needs a lot of work, it's only 13 miles. Depending on how many trains get extended to Nashua, you might...

It's not yet reflected anywhere else on the website, but today's GM update says that the last four D Branch stations are now accessible after last weekend's work. (Note that these are effectively temporary upgrades - the full reconstructions are now planned to happen in sync with the Type 10...

The MBTA is proposing changes to the service delivery policy, and they sound like legitimately good ways to better quantify how useful service is: https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2024-10/8.%20Service%20Delivery%20Policy%20Updates%20%28All%20Metrics%29%20October.pdf Heavy rail...

Bus lanes going in on 2nd Street in Chelsea and Everett for the 104, which is getting a major frequency boost in December. https://www.mbta.com/news/2024-10-21/mbta-begins-bus-lane-work-new-route-104-bus-service-through-everett-and-chelsea Not only will this serve the 104, but it will also...

The Summer Street Concourse goes as far east as halfway between Otis and Devonshire; this hatch is at the far end. This is one of those rumors that just won't go away. It was never intended for streetcars, nor is it anywhere near tall enough. The existence of the concourse is simply a result of...

As long as it's light rail, I think Central Avenue and Milton stay separate. As seen above, Central Avenue actually outslugs Milton on ridership (I'm not quite sure why), and something like 50-100 riders a day transfer from the 240 there (see 2019 profile). Merging them seems like it would...

There's going to have to be a hard look at Capen Street, Valley Road, Butler, and Cedar Grove. They collectively account for 178 daily boardings (4.6% of ridership), yet are estimated to account for $45M in renovations. Even if that number is massively slashed (as it should be), you're still...

Since Broadway, Washington, and 1A would make raising the tracks near-impossible, and lowering anything is unlikely so close to the shore, the most likely scenario is bridging over the tracks. 2nd, Everett, and Eastern would all be easy to bridge; Spruce might be a little harder due to 1A but...

Definitely looks like they forgot a few layers when exporting!

Kings Highway, Tarklin Hill, North New Bedford, Brooklawn Park, Acushnet (the pre-1958 name)... anything would be better than Church Street, the name of an extremely minor arterial that parallels the rail line for miles.

It's an existing paved pathway. I would be surprised if they attempted to close it.

Symphony (rebid after the initial round came in way too high) and Ruggles phase 2 are both now out for bidding: https://bc.mbta.com/business_center/bidding_solicitations/pdf/A26CN06R%20CMAR%20Symphony%20-%20RFQ%20Public%20Announcement.pdf...

The higher reliability of a grade-separated alignment versus surface running, as well as the ability to support higher frequency (ie multiple through-running branches), are also points in favor of a subway or elevated to Nubian. I've posted previous in the Green Line Reconfiguration thread that...

Maybe I'm reading between the lines here, but I'm imagining that (most) every train would have a meet with a shuttle train at East Taunton - such that each terminal has ~8 direct round trips and ~8 more with transfers.

I believe the numbers they are giving are for both directions - so it's really just 14 round trips going to 16.

As of 2021, the MBTA's plans are for the procurement process to start in 2027, contract awarded in 2029, and arrivals from 2032 to 2036. The new fleet would be 130 (versus 94 current), which should be able to handle frequency increases and RBX. I'm personally a bit surprised that there's not...

Planning took place in the early-to-mid 1990s; at that point, while the Old Colony lines and other CR projects were the top of the priority due to their earlier timelines in the CLF agreement, RBX and GLX were to follow. It wasn't until the early-to-mid 2000s (at which time the North Station...

The North Station turnback is very strangely designed. There are two pocket tracks that each connect only to the nearest tracks, so trains have to cross over twice in the same direction. That takes up extra time and contributes to the very low speeds for trains entering/exiting the mainline...

It will never, ever be the time to build highway expansions to support exurban sprawl.