Design a Better Boston Back Bay Station

ErnieAdams said:
Is this the reason they seem to be in no rush to connect the current Green Line system to real-time tracking like everything else? It makes sense not to slap together something makeshift if there's something better on the conceivable horizon. But it would be nice of them to communicate something to this effect rather than "we still have to figure it out," followed by years of no further elaboration.
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Real-time tracking doesn't have anything to do with signals. It's a flimsy GPS transponder that costs a few hundred bucks per vehicle. They're outright dragging their asses on that one and deserve all the ridicule it's bringing them. If they can do it on the Silver Line they have zero excuse for not doing it on the Green Line.


EDIT: They can do real-time tracking with the track circuits detecting which block the train is on, which is why the Blue Line has had that little tracking board at Maverick for the last 45 years. But for trolleys...it's the same cheapo bus GPS thingy. And, yes, they have piloted this internally on the Mattapan "laboratory" and still feel wholly unmotivated to deploy it for reals.
 
It'll only work on the surface portions though (where it is needed most, admittedly). For underground they'd have to hook into the existing tracking system.

I wish they would just make the data available and let someone else figure it out. Isn't that the kind of service NextBus is doing for them?
 
Look at that, electronic signs displaying useful information.
 
Nexis4jersey said:
I'm shocked that Boston doesn't have CTBC yet , Septa has it... The NYC Subway has it on the L Train and soon the 7 Train. And most of the NYC Subway has countdown clocks even with the older tech...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4sLpjWVkf8
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Matthew said:
Look at that, electronic signs displaying useful information.
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We actually have something even cooler, but they never moved it beyond the "pilot" phase. At one station on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines, there is a huge LCD TV displaying the locations of all the trains on the line.

Back Bay (hey, what the thread is about!!) actually has one (it's above the elevator on platform level):
orangegps.jpg


The one for the Red Line is cool because instead of a train icon, it actually uses the train's destination, using the established A-B-C codes.
 
Muni has that kind of display too, for their light rail. At least, in the underground stations.
 
datadyne007 said:
We actually have something even cooler, but they never moved it beyond the "pilot" phase. At one station on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines, there is a huge LCD TV displaying the locations of all the trains on the line.

Back Bay (hey, what the thread is about!!) actually has one (it's above the elevator on platform level):
orangegps.jpg


The one for the Red Line is cool because instead of a train icon, it actually uses the train's destination, using the established A-B-C codes.
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The Orange Line also has one such display sharing time with the bus countdowns in Ruggles.
 
Key design change: Improve ventilation at the "outbound" end of the platform so that idling diesels don't fill the waiting room with smoke.

(can this thread deal with an on-topic post?)
 
Arlington said:
Key design change: Improve ventilation at the "outbound" end of the platform so that idling diesels don't fill the waiting room with smoke.

(can this thread deal with an on-topic post?)
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The MBTA likes to keep saying this one is "in the pipeline", but frankly I don't think they do jack shit to bring any progress.
 
BostonUrbEx said:
The MBTA likes to keep saying this one is "in the pipeline", but frankly I don't think they do jack shit to bring any progress.
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No, it's high-priority. The EPA is nonplussed with them over Back Bay, and so is Amtrak. Actually, so are their own unions for the employees who have to work at that station. It's in-design, but they've got to save their small funding allotments before they can do any work. And the deteriorating leaky roof has surpassed the ventilation as a more immediate repair concern.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
No, it's high-priority. The EPA is nonplussed with them over Back Bay, and so is Amtrak. Actually, so are their own unions for the employees who have to work at that station. It's in-design, but they've got to save their small funding allotments before they can do any work. And the deteriorating leaky roof has surpassed the ventilation as a more immediate repair concern.
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In fact, if I recall correctly, someone took an air quality measurement down in Back Bay, and his one sampling was enough to get the place declared as the #1 Worst Air Quality in America.

I might be exaggerating a little, but we're definitely pretty close to #1 if we're not the 'winners'.
 
When I frequently used the commuter rail through Back Bay, a lot of people complained that the station is disgusting and/or poorly designed. It may not be as glamorous as South Station, but it is overall a decent, utilitarian facility in a fantastic location. If anything, I would like somebody to shed some light on why the ventilation system in the 5 and 7 tunnel remains unused. It looks like a fairly heavy duty piece of equipment that, if the smog in the upper concourse is any indication, is disabled or broken. I read somewhere that neighbors complained about their building getting filled with diesel fumes if the fans are turned on, but I don't see anybody living near the 5&7 tunnels other than pigeons...
 
Has this ever been posted here?

amtrak-philly.jpg


Interesting that the "Super Express" would stop at 128 alone outside of city centers, and not at all at Back Bay.
 
czsz said:
Has this ever been posted here?

amtrak-philly.jpg


Interesting that the "Super Express" would stop at 128 alone outside of city centers, and not at all at Back Bay.
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The old one didn't have it stopping at 128 which I think is a joke....it stopped at Back Bay and South Station. The Map also leaves out the future lines to Albany replacing the lower Empire Service. The Regional line to Scranton and Binghamton , Harrisburg via Reading and Allentown , Ocean City via Dover , New Haven - Brattleboro line.
 
czsz said:
Has this ever been posted here?

amtrak-philly.jpg


Interesting that the "Super Express" would stop at 128 alone outside of city centers, and not at all at Back Bay.
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I love how the "Super Express" goes nonstop DC to Philly, non stop Philly to NYC, and then stops at Route 128.

They could have picked literally any other station on the NEC - including Westerly, Old Saybrook or New Rochelle - and it would have been a better choice than Route 128.

However, I am pleased to see that, assuming this isn't just an unfortunate graphical error, the Shoreline Express bypasses Route 128 and this means Amtrak is finally no longer considering either it or BBY as "all trains stop."
 
can we just blow up back bay and rebuild it as a huge megastation and route the nec through the orangeline to northstation and then eliminate south station completely
 
deh74 said:
can we just blow up back bay and rebuild it as a huge megastation and route the nec through the orangeline to northstation and then eliminate south station completely
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What? No! That's a terrible idea!

Why would you want to eliminate South Station?
 
Commuting Boston Student said:
What? No! That's a terrible idea!

Why would you want to eliminate South Station?
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1. Eliminate the Back Bay curve
2. Either one less stop
or
3. Potential for a more centrally located 'Central Station'


I would say South Station could still be useful for non-thru-route trains, though (particularly Old Colony lines and Indigo 'Rapid Transit' Line).
 
BostonUrbEx said:
1. Eliminate the Back Bay curve
2. Either one less stop
or
3. Potential for a more centrally located 'Central Station'


I would say South Station could still be useful for non-thru-route trains, though (particularly Old Colony lines and Indigo 'Rapid Transit' Line).
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You're replacing it with a worse curve AND a steeper grade to meet the Orange Line and follow its tunnels - assuming you even can follow the Orange Line (and I don't think you can.)

I guess you pick up 'Central Station' under DTX/State, which might inspire those two stations to be renovated, or it might just result in an even more confusing warren of tunnels under downtown.

Fairmount, Plymouth/Kingston, Middleboro/Lakeville and Greenbush all have no way of accessing Back Bay without a time-expensive reverse move, and assuming your new portal closes off access to the curve, they have no way of accessing Back Bay period. And, with Fairmount stub-ended like that, kiss RER-style service inside of 128 (Readville-Woburn) goodbye.

Oh, and you've also rendered the Southampton Yards totally inaccessible to Amtrak.
 
There's no way you can send commuter or Amtrak trains through the Washington Street Tunnel the Orange Line uses... the clearance isn't even there for Red Line cars.
 
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