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South Coast Rail was in planning for 25 years and in construction for 4 years. Every single alignment used that section of track. The station was planned for that site beginning in 2018. I'm not really sure what they expected.

The garage is supposedly big enough for 120 buses: https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-11/2021-11-18-quincy-bus-facility-mod-meeting-presentation.pdf_1.pdf Perhaps the 88 is just sufficient for existing service?

The cut was already planned by May 2022. It's strange that Somerville still constructed the islands well after that.

An interesting oddity from the service changes effective today: the cutback of route 85 to Bow Street is now permanent. The cut occurred in July 2023 due to street construction; it was supposed to be short-lived, but was never reversed for reasons that aren't clear. (It was also planned as part...

Part of it is a self-inflicted wound - it appears that internal policy insists on applying tunnel egress standards to non-tunnel stations, requires backup generators at every station, and other cost-bloating factors. But I fully agree - this is not a station that should be horrendously...

December 2025 accessibility update is out. The big news is that the MBTA is in substantial compliance with the 2006 Daniels-Finegold settlement agreement (presumably this is to be certified at Wednesday's meeting). Individual project updates: Additional crossovers on the D Branch, which will...

I think it's possible to integrate some elements of branding (like the T logo) without having the MBTA itself run RTA services. There definitely is a need for state-level coordination of route numbering, inter-system transfers (especially to MBTA Commuter Rail and future statewide services), and...

It's too bad that the project couldn't be coordinated with an effort to remove the awkward hump in Hyde Park Avenue. For southbound traffic, it really inhibits visibility of the Milton Street signal. The hump has a mysterious history. As seen in mssrro's image, it's the result of a...

Also worth noting: tolls on the Mass Pike have stayed far, far below inflation. In 1957, West Stockbridge to Weston was $2.45, equivalent to about $28 today. The current cost is $4.25.

I would assume that data is not fully processed, and that internal teams are working with corrected data. All of the issues noted above are very typical of raw transit data, and are fairly easy to correct en masse.

Unfortunately, the 1960s-1980s era of subway expansion absolutely whiffed on transfer design, as have many of the rebuilds since. (Ashmont and Fields Corner are particularly egregious examples.) It's not just a Boston problem either - every rapid transit project since midcentury seems to have...

Massachusetts should follow Connecticut's lead and renumber all buses statewide into a single system of 3-digit numbers. This is a first approximation of the map; I'm sure it would need tweaked to reflect the actual distribution of routes. 1 to 199: Greater Boston (approximately inside 128) 200...

All of the rail extensions (ie not infills) from the past 35 years: Project Cost (at opening) Cost (inflated) Daily one-way riders Cost/rider South Coast Rail $1,047 million (2025) $1,047 million ~2,000 (2025) ~$524k Greenbush Line $534 million (2007) $776 million 3,741 (2024) $207k Old...

Both GLX and South Coast Rail had property acquisition - it's not as if it's forbidden for transit projects. As far as private property goes, it was pretty typical - slivers along parts of the ROW, and parcels for stations and yards. I just can't think of any remotely plausible projects outside...

That level of displacement is horrific and should not be tolerated even for the most beneficial projects*. The fact that it's been done in Texas is emblematic of a broken system willing to sacrifice its most vulnerable citizens in that way. One of the benefits of transit over highways is that...

The ROW is largely sold off west of where freight service lasted: As much as rail service to a dense node like Medford Square would be nice, the Medford Branch is simply too obliterated - and the Orange Line too important to split - for that purpose. It is worth noting that Medford Square...

2,000 daily riders is not a lot for a billion-dollar spend, and that's assuming that all of those are coming from SCR. It's approximately 10x the capital cost per rider of the GLX, or 7x the projected (and wildly inflated) cost for Red-Blue. The graph they show doesn't inspire confidence in me...

Looks like the existing conditions report (which is quite thorough) is now online: https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2025-11/2025-11-17-longwood-medical-area-bus-circulation-study-existing-conditions-report.pdf

Gee, I wonder if bus lanes that were officially promised years ago but never implemented could help with that.

The rail bridge was the Slade's Ferry Bridge, which had rail on top and road below. Abutments are still there on both sides. The ROW paralleled Wilbur Avenue to the east. A bit west of Riverside Avenue, there's an abandoned battery house (used to supplement the power station at peak hours) in...