Would it be physically possible to suspend a train line under the tobin or add one to it?
On page 179 of the Go Boston 2030 proposals they mention potentially extending the line into seaport. I think It would make more sense to extend the silverline further into roxbury and through Everett and replace it with light rail.
Very interesting on one of the pages they show a possible Fairmount tunnel to the current silver line tunnel, with the tracks continuing into the seaport.
Proposition Joe said:[...]
Ari posted some articles on the Red-Blue connector recently, extending it to Kendall Square. I would like to hear some thoughts on:
1. Where those proposed extensions of the Blue Line from Kendall would go and how a Grand Junction extension would work out.
2. The usefulness of an extension across the river versus a riverbank extension.
Because extending it to Kendall seems fine but hampers the potential riverbank extension which I have been fond of for quite a while.
Ari's getting into the Crazy Transit Pitch game. Put this on his blog last week but now it's been picked up by Commonwealth Mag
Blue to Kendall
Since we are on Crazy Transit pitches, why not a cut and cover under the Fairmont Line/ROW all the way from Hyde Park to South Station, until the yard where the subway can go its merry way and the above ground ROW stays to South Station - then its the best of both worlds, real Subway service below ground, and keeps the actual rail road intact above. Should be a super simple cut and cover, too. I also remember F-Line writing that it would also be difficult to wholesale convert the ROW to rapid transit/subway as it is still used for freight.
It's been picked up in Commonwealth Mag by Ari.
Crazy Transit Pitch territory for sure. Ari's plan calls for Blue-to-Kendall to be fully integrated into the Volpe site to the extent that the extension must be completely engineered before MIT finishes designing any of its Volpe buildings. That's not going to happen.
I love Ari's general plan for a cut-and-cover Red-Blue connector, but this Kendall connection strikes me as pretty silly. That's a lot of work and a lot of uncertainty to basically duplicate the Red across one station.
Sure, build Red-Blue and leave space for either a future Riverbank extension or a future Cambridge extension, but tying it into the Volpe development now strikes me as a total non-starter.
EDIT: I can imagine MIT leaving a possible ROW through the site (think of how the Silver cuts through Parcel M in the Seaport) but no way they leave space for an entire yard. An underground yard at Ebersol Field, which Ari also suggests, does seem feasible.
Just going one stop over the river doesn't really help all that much but it's a first step. If you want to extend the BL west then do it all the way out to Watertown, through Allston, which is a much better terminal and a corridor with existing demand but plenty of space for urban growth. It's also a better idea than using the GJ as a CR shuttle from West Station to North Station. The next logical step is to extend the BL past Watertown to Waltham but all the development over the old Watertown Branch RR will make that more expensive.
If you're trying to get the BL to Allston with this plan wouldn't you run into issues with getting the BL line across Main St? The building just south of Main St straddles GJR thus preventing elevating the line and the RL is just below the street, so the only option would be to tear down the building or dig a tunnel below the red line. (though this is crazy pitches and I've definitely seen bigger obstacles)
Though I do like the idea of the long term goal for the BL being Waltham.