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I certainly agree. However, we should be clear that the choice of BEMUs for the Fairmount Line has nothing to do with what is best for the Fairmount Line and everything to do with testing BEMUs before committing to them system-wide. While I certainly don't like it, this doesn't seem like a case...

I can't speak to Western Ave & N Harvard, but I know Cambridge St isn't getting touched as part of these improvements, although some minor changes should be made as part of the Route 57 Transit Priority Corridor project. One of the larger intersections that is getting treatment is North Beacon &...

Part of the T's logic for BEMUs is the assumption that costs will go down and performance will increase as battery technology improves. They didn't state this in the podcast but it shows up in other Rail Vision-related materials they've produced. This seems to be a reasonable assumption, but it...

Realistically, Grand Junction will need to be down for some amount of time, and building a temporary replacement connection will almost certainly cost more than it's worth, in both time and money. The emphasis should be placed on turning the amount of time GJ is down from years (which would...

I do think a major reason why we're hearing less about NSRL is that electrification is being viewed more and more as a prerequisite for it. And given the lack of clear electrification plans, it makes more sense to push those first. Both of these projects should be embraced, but it definitely...

The initial IAG and public presentations occurred earlier this week. Fire safety concerns were echoed by about a dozen people, mostly abutters. Basically everyone else was highly supportive of the project and all the improvements that could come on the site. City Council is planning a hearing...

I'm not sure anyone is claiming a 12% service reduction is acceptable. We just don't agree that all service needs to be restored before BNRD starts. Phase 1 of BNRD seems like a very cost-effective way to provide frequent service and likely result in very positive ridership impacts. It would not...

I will agree that the lack of communication by the MBTA here is a cause for concern, but it is not inherently problematic that they start BNRD without restoring all pre-COVID service. The ultimate goal should be to provide all of the service specified by BNRD; the question is how to get there...

This is a great description about the various levels of service that can be provided along GJ, but there's a few points I'd like to respectfully disagree with. First, there is a very really possibility that LRT will block the adoption of a sealed corridor (moving from phase 2 to 3), not just...

To add on here, a moderate amount of this route already has bus priority projects in the works (River St and parts of Western Ave), while the rest of it (besides Everett St) is in MBTA's Bus Priority Vision (map below). If the bus infrastructure upgrades are happening regardless, a traffic-free...

As someone who is not a fan of the outsize influence educational institutions have here, this feels like a major exaggeration of the circumstances. Firstly, we do not know how MIT would react to grade separation proposals along GJ because no formal studies have been performed. As far as we know...

The costs of the proposal here and NSRL are nowhere close to each other. The report shows a maximum cost of $323 million over all alternatives and even if this is viewed as optimistic, running regional rail-style trains along this corridor every 15 minutes for $500 million is very doable. On the...

The area just south of Sullivan and east of 93 isn't exactly urban paradise. I'm not personally familiar with the area, but it seems pretty desolate and full of surface parking. I don't know if yard space is the best use of land that close to rapid transit interchange, but I also doubt anything...

Running along Vassar or Albany St. is barely a detour and would likely add less than 10 seconds to travel time through the area. The additional cost of going around is also likely not huge, given that the tracks would already need to be elevated (or deeply tunneled) over Main St. In general...

These should probably be viewed as an upper bound for costs (assuming competent management/design). Also, a significant amount of value can come from just the West Station to Sullivan/North Station segment, which is already mostly grade-separated, could likely be done with no tunneling, and...

It seems likely that Eversource would be more amenable to elevated rail on this corridor than MIT. Looking at the Siting Board Decision (pages 66 and 71 in particular), MIT was opposed to the construction occurring on Vassar St due to the high density of existing utilities for their microgrid...

Another brief point: Maverick to Aquarium (or State) is a quite poor example of a short trip that is too expensive. The fact that this provides one of only a few direct transportation connections to Eastie from downtown (and the only one accessible without a car), makes it quite valuable...

I don't have strong opinions on distance-based fares, but I did want to push back on the negativity of shorter transit trips becoming cycling trips. While I agree that flat fares make quick cycling trips more attractive relative to transit, having these trips occur on bike is neutral at worst...

Is there any reason for the absolute lack of ambition (at least in terms of service) currently being stated for East-West Rail? The only reason I could think of framing this as one additional round trip to Springfield is to under-promise and over-deliver, but it still seems absurd. Just one...

I'm curious to see how much local push back this gets. Basically everything about this project is great: increases grid reliability, cleans up the industrial lots in poor shape, adds a significant amount of green space and permeable surfaces, fixes narrow sidewalks, and should reduce traffic...