Fall River/New Bedford Commuter Rail (South Coast Rail)

jklo said:
If you are going one way, sure. But you need trains to be able to go back. I was under the impression that the FRA is strict about flipping the switch to switch tracks. Like the pushback on the Newton stops.
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What??? There's no rule against using crossovers for meets/overtakes, no FRA frowny-face. It's done all day every day across the country. And it's completely, totally safe with the signal system they have.

And what pushback on the Newton stops? They clog up traffic as single-side platforms, and the T got blasted for trying to design the replacement Auburndale as yet another single-side platform (on the *worse* side for traffic management, no less). It wasn't some arcane rule or federal oversight that upended those plans; it was the T presenting a transparently rock-stupid design and getting called out on it by the public.

The Worcester Line needs a higher-density signal system and more sets of crossovers to mix bi-directional :15 local service with express overtakes, but it can indeed be done on 2 tracks so long as the stations all have 2-track platforms. The T's own in-house Rail Vision explicitly proposes exactly that here.
 
JeffDowntown said:
In the Netherlands example above there is some quad track in the very core of the network, but most of the high frequency is done on dual track only. Extensive use of preventative maintenance (no dead trains on the tracks), lots of track and train sensors, and big data based analytics to continuously monitor performance and prevent even minor delays (which tend to cascade). 92% on-time performance (within 3 minutes). Simultaneous arrival/departure, cross-platform transfers between lines, are a common feature.

It is basically about wanting to make the trains run on time, then using readily available tools and technology to do it.
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Yep. Even in the core of Amsterdam, there are only dual tracks to reach Amsterdam Centraal from Schiphol, one per each direction, for a decent large strech from halfway from Schiphol to Amsterdam, until almost to Amsterdam Centraal. Most of the quad tracks run either from Haarlem -> Amsterdam CS, or Schiphol -> Amsterdam Zuid; primarily for access to the rest of the country. The section of track from Amsterdam Centraal to Amsterdam Bijlmer is also only dual track, one per direction. Both of these dual track corridors run high frequency service of 6 minute intervals or better for combined sprinter and intercity train services during peak periods (Amsterdam CS -> Eindhoven; Amsterdam CS -> Schiphol).

Also, timetables are clockface scheduling in the Netherlands. The MBTA Commuter Rail isn't even consistent with it's clockface scheduling. Evening MBTA CR trips are whenever and irregular 2.55 hour intervals and hard to memorize. Daytime MBTA CR trips shift completely during rush hour so the departure times past the hour shift outright between midday and rush hours. Here's the Middleborough Line schedule: https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/...-02-cr-fall-winter-middleborough-line.pdf.pdf
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
The current grant should shrink BOS-SPG travel times down to about 2:05 by uprating the track speed. On a Friday afternoon that's par or slightly better than the increasingly horrible car commute.
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Heck, at this point that's within typical range for the AM eastbound commute four days per week (M-Th), PM westbound commute five days per week (M-F), and PM eastbound ("reverse") commute four days per week (Tu-F). If you plug in driving directions for Springfield Union to South Station, departing at 6:15 am on Tuesday, Google says "typically 1 hr 50 min to 3 hr 20 min." Yikes!
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
What??? There's no rule against using crossovers for meets/overtakes, no FRA frowny-face. It's done all day every day across the country. And it's completely, totally safe with the signal system they have.
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But it's a time killer.
 
jklo said:
That's correct. But it also shows that more than 4 tph on the Worcester Line just isn't realistic.
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Based on what? Infrastructure constraints? Downstream slot availability on the NEC? Demand?
 
#bancars said:
some disputes over parking minimums near the new stations:

newbedfordlight.org

Councilors say zoning change near commuter rail stations would go too far - The New Bedford Light

City councilors say they want walkable neighborhoods with fewer cars. Just not quite as few cars as city planners are aiming for.
newbedfordlight.org newbedfordlight.org
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This is unfortunate. Going to 1.25 is ridiculous. They even say in the article “most” new bedford residents have “at least” 1 car, that means not all do. The absolute maximum allowed should be 1 car per unit near transit. Thats even too much but going to 1.25 is ridiculous.
 
stick n move said:
This is unfortunate. Going to 1.25 is ridiculous. They even say in the article “most” new bedford residents have “at least” 1 car, that means not all do. The absolute maximum allowed should be 1 car per unit near transit. Thats even too much but going to 1.25 is ridiculous.
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people want affordable housing, but they also want 75+% of the residential land to be dedicated to empty asphalt instead of building more units. :censored:
 
jklo said:
That's correct. But it also shows that more than 4 tph on the Worcester Line just isn't realistic.
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How? Present some goddamn evidence for a change. As helpfully pointed out the last time you concern-trolled about TPH, the state's own Rail Vision is proposing exactly that...>4 TPH at minimum. The onus is on you to present something concrete that says they can't do that...that says that their own study is wrong. Just saying that you feel it so over and over and bumping the thread to re-state it after 3 weeks of quiet doesn't count as evidence in your favor.
 
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stick n move said:
This is unfortunate. Going to 1.25 is ridiculous. They even say in the article “most” new bedford residents have “at least” 1 car, that means not all do. The absolute maximum allowed should be 1 car per unit near transit. Thats even too much but going to 1.25 is ridiculous.
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It's unfortunate, but it's hard to convince people to ditch the car living in a city/region that has been developing around the car for nearly 80 years. Especially when the transit options are so limited, walkability is a mixed bag, and many of the basic needs aren't within walking distance. I love the idea of building dense around the stations, but infrequent 90 minute commuter service to Boston and limited bus connections (with no Sunday service at all) aren't going to entice people out of their cars. Again, especially if there's not enough within walking distance.
 
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Lrfox said:
It's unfortunate, but it's hard to convince people to ditch the car living in a city/region that has been developing around the car for nearly 80. Especially when the transit options are so limited, walkability is a mixed bag, and many of the basic needs aren't within walking distance. I love the idea of building dense around the stations, but infrequent 90 minute commuter service to Boston and limited bus connections (with no Sunday service at all) aren't going to entice people out of their cars. Again, especially if there's not enough within walking distance.
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Hasn't the TOD in Weymouth Landing sort of flopped for these exact reasons. Sure, there's a few bars and restaurants, but there's no supermarket, gym, etc. in walkable distance.
 
Church Street station near completion on December 24:
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