Crazy Transit Pitches

omaja said:
Finally happy with how the Downtown area of my future MBTA network idea looks.

lPLkt.png


Now to finish off the rest. :)
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I...

I think I'm in love.
 
Commuting Boston Student said:
Well, I specifically mentioned the Esplanade because I planned for diving the line at Soldiers Field Station anyway, and went for an El on the Esplanade because I think if you can package the elevated ROW with some kind of multipurpose walkway/bikeway, it'd be an easier thing to convince the masses to go along with than digging up Storrow/the Esplanade/Storrow AND the Esplanade/"hey give us another several billion in cash so we can bore instead."

Cut-and-cover from there to Watertown shouldn't be that hard, so yeah, most of the problem is Watertown to Waltham. With the right leverage though, I bet we can do it.

I never considered GLX to Waltham, to be honest. My Green Line Expansion-Conversion even WENT to Strawberry Hill. (Huh... GLXC... I like the way it sounds. Is it too late to attach Heavy Rail to the Medford/Somerville projects?) Sending Green there and restoring A-branch service would also bring you damn close to a full ring, too.

That having been said, I do have to complain about converting D to Blue Line service, because I don't see B to Heavy Rail getting done, don't see C or E as a good corridor for Heavy Rail, and don't see Green Line Heavy Rail without at least one of those branches getting converted.

What about Blue to Watertown, Green to Waltham, and a non-train connection between the two? (i.e. trolley, bus)
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I believe that all the light rail lines are spec'd to be upgraded to HRV, including GLX. I'm pretty sure that STEP insisted upon that, as well as insisting upon the Union Sq extension being spec'd for a future extension to Porter and beyond.

Upgrading the B/C/E to HRV can, and probably should, be done at some point. Two car Green Line trains aren't cutting it for service in Brighton and Brookline. The E line is probably the best suited to true LRV service especially after Brigham. The easiest way to HRV the B-line is probably elevated, given Comm Ave's width and the ability to build lower profile elevated lines. Tunneling would be the obvious other option. It could remain a tunnel from Kenmore to Packards, or go elevated at the existing portal.

The Blue/HRV to Watertown and then GLX/DMU/EMU to Waltham via Fitchburg is the plan the I've settled on, but you're right that given enough political leverage/will a rail connection between the two could be done. It would just need to be cut-and-cover.
 
Projects that i hope to see along with projected ridership figure's by 2030 from largest by ridership to small by ridership and this is the whole NE megalopolis...above 35,000 Projected daily riders

Light Rail
Streetcars
Commuter or Regional Rail
Heavy Rail

Second Avenue Subway - 250,000 - 3 Stations - 2 Mi - NY
Gateway Rail Project - 230,000 - 1 Expanded station - 7 mi - NJ/NY
DC Streetcar - 214,000 - 40+ Stations - 37 mi - DC
East Side Access - 190,000 - 1 New Terminal - 6 mi - NY
MOM Rail Network - 180,000 - 24 Stations - 115.7 Mi - NJ
Dulles Metrorail - 135,000 - 11 Stations - 23 mi - VA/DC
Northern Virginia Streetcar network - 106,000 - 26+ Stations - 40 mi - VA
Restored Philly Streetcars - 102,000 - 45 Stations - 36 mi - PA
Expanded Philly Network - 90,000 - 25 Stations - 25 mi - PA
Naval Yard Subway Extension - 86,000 - 2 Stations - 1.5 mi - PA
Purple line LRT - 75,000 - 21 Stations - 16.3 Mi - MD
Southern Hampshire Rail Network - 73,500 - 25 stations - 65 mi - NH
South Coast Rail Network - 73,000 - 30 Stations - 72 mi - MA/RI
Green line Extension to Somerville - 70,000 - 8 Stations - 5.21 Mi - MA
Northern Branch LRT - 68,000 - 9 Stations - 14 mi - NJ
Red line LRT - 64,000 - 20 stations - 14.6 Mi - MD
Hell Gate & West Side Line - 62,000 - 8 stations - 31 Mi - NY
West Shore line - 58,000 - 23 stations - 70 Mi - NJ/NY
New Haven - Springfield Commuter Rail - 55,000 - 12 Stations - 60.5 mi - CT/MA
Eastern Jersey Rail Network - 45,000 - 9 stations - 43.7 Mi - NJ/PA
Blue line Extension - 42,000 - 5 stations - 4.2 Mi - MA
Reading line - 41,000 - 12 Stations - 50 Mi - PA
Allentown line - 40,000 - 26 stations - 63 Mi - PA
West Trenton line - 39,000 - 5 stations - 28.4 Mi - NJ
 
Riverside said:
What are your stations/routes for these two networks?
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For The Hampshire Rail Network i threw in there the long term plans and proposals which are the Extension of the Lowell line to Concord and Newburyport line to Portsmouth. For the South Coast Network , just the New Bedford line and Fall River line with RIDOT long term plans for a Newport Extension added.
 
Nexis4jersey said:
For The Hampshire Rail Network i threw in there the long term plans and proposals which are the Extension of the Lowell line to Concord and Newburyport line to Portsmouth. For the South Coast Network , just the New Bedford line and Fall River line with RIDOT long term plans for a Newport Extension added.
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I take it your including the pre-existing stations for your "station" numbers, right? Like, your 30 stations for the South Coast Rail network includes Back Bay and Route 128 and Stoughton, etc.? Because otherwise I have no idea how you're fitting 30 stations on to those extensions!
 
Riverside said:
I take it your including the pre-existing stations for your "station" numbers, right? Like, your 30 stations for the South Coast Rail network includes Back Bay and Route 128 and Stoughton, etc.? Because otherwise I have no idea how you're fitting 30 stations on to those extensions!
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Its 14 New stations....

New Bedford line
South Station
Back Bay Station
Ruggles
Westwood / Route 128
Canton JCT
Canton Center
Sloughton
North Easton
Easton
Raynham Park
Taunton
East Taunton
Kings Highway
Whales Tooth / Downtown New Bedford

Newport / Fall River line
South Station
Back Bay Station
Ruggles
Westwood / Route 128
Canton JCT
Canton Center
Sloughton
North Easton
Easton
Raynham Park
Taunton
East Taunton
Freetown
Fall River Depot
Battleship Cove
Tiverton
Middletown
United States Naval War College
Newport Waterfront
 
wRkXP.png

We're progressing... Back Bay and Cambridge are now complete.
 
That transit density is insane. You'd essentially have a different stop every block or so along Dartmouth St. in the Back Bay.

Still, I want to get off at Gallilei Station someday...
 
czsz said:
That transit density is insane. You'd essentially have a different stop every block or so along Dartmouth St. in the Back Bay.

Still, I want to get off at Gallilei Station someday...
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I see absolutely no problem with this.

A stop every block period would be great. If not though, how about at least every block on Tremont Street?

e: Not entirely convinced no transfers at Beacon/Arlington/Copley is wise... sell me.

2e: Would this be the appropriate thread for an expanded RI network? I have some ideas about that in need of being put to paper.
 
Omaja - what program are you using for this design work?

I want to do some of my own, but I don't know where to get good maps to start from or generally what programs are best for this kind of thing.
 
czsz said:
That transit density is insane. You'd essentially have a different stop every block or so along Dartmouth St. in the Back Bay.

Still, I want to get off at Gallilei Station someday...
Click to expand...

The commute from Gallilei to Mederios is a real bxch not only do you have to deal with the TSA but then there are the questions from the Inquisition

just remember to say what they want in public and to yourself reply "But it does move"
 
^ This has to be the most brilliant post you've ever written on here.

Commuting: I guess I'm okay with that density if those stops are connected. Independent of one another, they seem really redundant.
 
Omaja, do you envision this as a network of tunnels? all heavy? a mix of light and heavy? Or is it just an exercise in routing?
 
czsz said:
^ This has to be the most brilliant post you've ever written on here.

Commuting: I guess I'm okay with that density if those stops are connected. Independent of one another, they seem really redundant.
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I envision a rapid transit network with enough density that nobody is ever more than a five minute walk from a train station. In part that's because I think it'd be really cool to have that many trains running all over the place, in part because underground stations and tunnels connecting them mean you don't have to walk in the rain if you don't want to, in part because think of what we could do if we started developing under the city in addition to the city itself, but mostly?

I'd rather have way too much redundancy than what actually happens to the Red Line during peak hours and every time there is a fifteen to twenty minutes delay due to a disabled train at Porter Square.

Or a signal error, that's another thing that can happen.
 
czsz said:
That transit density is insane. You'd essentially have a different stop every block or so along Dartmouth St. in the Back Bay.
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Each stop serves a distinct line so depending on the origin/destination, you'd take one of them. It's such a massive employment, entertainment and residential area that I think it warrants significantly dense service levels.

Commuting Boston Student said:
e: Not entirely convinced no transfers at Beacon/Arlington/Copley is wise... sell me.
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Transfers would exist between the two lines, but because they travel along the same route/share track, it isn't a traditional 'transfer', which is why they appear as they do. Chances are, though, if you're transferring between one of the lines, you'd wait until they diverge before switching over.

MBTAddict said:
Omaja - what program are you using for this design work?

I want to do some of my own, but I don't know where to get good maps to start from or generally what programs are best for this kind of thing.
Click to expand...

I'm using Paint Shop Pro for this one because I'm most familiar with it. Photoshop, Illustrator, or anything similar would work.

whighlander said:
The commute from Gallilei to Mederios is a real bxch not only do you have to deal with the TSA but then there are the questions from the Inquisition

just remember to say what they want in public and to yourself reply "But it does move"
Click to expand...

:D

BussesAin'tTrains said:
Omaja, do you envision this as a network of tunnels? all heavy? a mix of light and heavy? Or is it just an exercise in routing?
Click to expand...

It would be a combination of subway and elevated, and a mix of light and heavy rail. I'll do a write up on all of that once I get the map finished.
 
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