Search results

  1. TheRatmeister

    General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

    They'll probably release a new schedule for the Lowell Line whenever it reopens.
  2. TheRatmeister

    MBTA Commuter Rail (Operations, Keolis, & Short Term)

    Map for the new timetable ...and the SCR version: For now I'm taking the lazy route and not adding more symbols and/or text to show the weird RL transfer at Braintree for the last Inbound Kingston train.
  3. TheRatmeister

    General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

    Schedule oddities: They've really ramped up the late night outbound "Get on this other line then change at X to the one you want" trains. Newburyport, Kingston, and Needham all have this now. Kingston has the privilege of the last inbound train doing that but with the RL at Braintree (I have no...
  4. TheRatmeister

    Multi-Family Zoning Requirements for MBTA Communities

    I mean, to some extent this is true, but this is also a major case of "People aren't shopping for things that don't really exist." Make duplexes available and people will buy them.
  5. TheRatmeister

    Multi-Family Zoning Requirements for MBTA Communities

    I would consider this way too vague/broad to be broadly applicable, this is really something that needs to be handled case-by-case by people familiar with the area they're zoning. There are places like Dedham Corporate center, where a quarter mile radius would require the rezoning of areas on...
  6. TheRatmeister

    Fantasy T maps

    Yeah this is what the official MBTA style does, but I'm still finalizing the actual layout of the lines and so I just haven't gotten around to finishing up all the details. There's still some missing station names, missing terminus line blobs, missing outlines over the water and CR, etc. The...
  7. TheRatmeister

    Fantasy T maps

    Getting the UR to make a perfect U is so satisfying that I just need to share it. While I'm here, if there was a station under the Tobin Bridge at Tremont St, should it be called Charlestown, Bunker Hill, Navy Yard, or something else?
  8. TheRatmeister

    If You Were God/Goddess | Transit & Infrastructure Sandbox

    Ah that makes sense, I thought we were talking about effectively bolting a rail layer on top of the existing CAT.
  9. TheRatmeister

    Multi-Family Zoning Requirements for MBTA Communities

    Are you suggesting that the state should impose zoning plans on the towns? Because I will disagree with you there, I don't think that brings any significant benefit outside of maybe simplifying a couple court cases while serving to antagonize both people and local governments.
  10. TheRatmeister

    If You Were God/Goddess | Transit & Infrastructure Sandbox

    My concern is not necessarily that the grade over the CAT is too steep, it's that this area is to some degree infringed upon by all the ramps, and that makes weaving a tunnel through said ramps without exceeding a 3% grade impossible. You'd for sure need to go under the Callahan tunnel ramps...
  11. TheRatmeister

    If You Were God/Goddess | Transit & Infrastructure Sandbox

    The choke point I would be much more concerned about is the Sumner/Callahan interchange. I believe 93S->Callahan has some pretty crazy swings in elevation that you'd need to navigate while also avoiding the Government Center exit and the Sumner ramps.
  12. TheRatmeister

    Multi-Family Zoning Requirements for MBTA Communities

    If we want to contain urban sprawl, perhaps this area should be turned into a green belt. If that is not a significant regional policy, it should be up to the farmers who own the land. If they want to sell to developers who want to build new homes I don't see why government has any business...
  13. TheRatmeister

    If You Were God/Goddess | Transit & Infrastructure Sandbox

    The 2018 study proposed building the platforms within the bore. (And for good reason, when you're this deep it makes construction of the stations significantly easier.) You'd need a bore even bigger than the Seattle one to make that work, I'm not sure if that's possible/feasible.
  14. TheRatmeister

    Multi-Family Zoning Requirements for MBTA Communities

    Adding on to extra emphasize that "Denser housing" doesn't mean 5over1s, apartment buildings, etc. It could be some duplexes/triplexes in a neighborhood that's currently single-family dwellings. If you're worried about the "character" of quiet single-family house streets this is probably the...
  15. TheRatmeister

    New Red and Orange Line Cars

    Given that the PATH exists, probably.
  16. TheRatmeister

    If You Were God/Goddess | Transit & Infrastructure Sandbox

    To suggest an above board reason, it could be that there's a lot more different with the 4 track alt than just "2 bores, scale everything up." Stations could be at different locations, the tunnel depth could be different, or any number of other things could be changed either slightly or...
  17. TheRatmeister

    If You Were God/Goddess | Transit & Infrastructure Sandbox

    The "Total Project Costs" line matches up almost exactly with the 2018 study, so presumably by using that number and condensing contractors costs and tunneling risk down into that category. Even if we only want direct costs, no contingencies or escalation, we're still at $8 billion for the full...
  18. TheRatmeister

    If You Were God/Goddess | Transit & Infrastructure Sandbox

    I am aware of the political climate this study was done under, but ultimately this is the best estimate we have for costs so let's try and get an absolute minimum number based on the basic 2-track CA alignment. Here is the provided tunneling costs (IE: No rolling stock) table from the 2018...
  19. TheRatmeister

    If You Were God/Goddess | Transit & Infrastructure Sandbox

    No, but double-boring, doubling the number of portals, adding a third station, and making the stations twice as large will at minimum get you a hell of a lot closer to 2x the cost. The "full build" would basically be East Side Access but with three 120ft deep stations instead of one, so...

Back
Top