F-Line to Dudley
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Re: Allston Interchange / Throat
They're staying in Allston, but going exclusively by truck. Tried to keep their rail siding, but got fed up with Harvard and just took the check.
That's the deal. ~20 minute all-day headways, same as what the Fairmount Line was supposed to get. On the Worcester Line this would presume a station lineup of: South Station; Back Bay; Yawkey; West; Boston Landing; Newton Corner; Newtonville; West Newton; Auburndale; Riverside. Newton Corner would be another key infill because of the bus transfers, and Riverside would be off the Riverside spur at a Green Line superstation with small layover yard.
There's going to be a LOT of bus route reconfiguration inspired by this. As prior, nearly all the Pike buses won't need to use the Pike at all except for maybe an oddball keeper with high-demand unique catchment. And if the rail headways are strong, a lot of local routes can be re-drawn and/or have their headways upscaled to take advantage.
Really, the whole west region of the Yellow Line becomes a canvas for a major reboot once you do this. It's that major. Especially around the infill at Newton Corner, since that will create some priority to bring Watertown-terminating routes down the block. For example, the 71 would be very easy to extend 2200 ft. down Galen because the former Green Line "A" branch trunk electrical feed is still active below the street as a 600V DC interconnect between the B Line and the trackless trolley network. You'd literally just need to erect trolley poles and plug them in.
Note also that the T's last bus facilities study from a decade ago called for a new west region garage to help pump up the frequencies of these routes and relieve Charlestown of some territory. At the time they were looking at Riverside or a rebuilt Watertown Yard. With the TOD that's going on around Riverside they're probably leaning more to Watertown.
Very possible. You have a converging of multiple factors, including the west region bus garage (if they ever act on it...have to see what the latest ongoing facilities study works up). The time will be ripe for a major network reboot of some sort.
Now, keep in mind that even though we're talking EMU's for Fairmount + Riverside and Orange/Green extensions swallowing Needham that "Indigo" rail is meant to be a systemwide thing, including on the northside where electrification is going to be many years further away than down south. While the T isn't going to be buying DMU's any time soon (the market for FRA-compliants has gone ice cold, for one)...if efficient Regional Rail practices are implemented the T can and will be running 128 shuttles to Waltham/Polaroid at a new Fitchburg Line infill, to Salem/Peabody Sq., and to Reading if all thru Haverhill trains were re-routed to the Lowell Line. The schedule margins are a bit more threadbare on diesel for doing turnarounds at 20-minute headways, and it helps to keep the stop density a bit less packed. But an F40 junker pulling 4 partially-filled single-level coaches has plenty of pep for making the stops and running a reliable service. It's a little more ops cost inefficiency up-front, but since there's going to be a considerable bridge era before the northside can get wired up (or for the DMU market to regroup) it's better to get the service--and service practices--established sooner with what you're got.
For bus reconfigs, you then have to take a close look at how Waltham Center bus hub fares with a much more flush supply of Fitchburg headways. Or the new infill proposed for 128/US 20/MA 117 and any 128 biz shuttles that may be trawling between there and Riverside or Anderson RTC. Fitchburg Line's pretty much ready-made for an "Indigo" shuttle with just that one office park-serving infill (which would immediately become a 'superstation' for the 70 bus terminus). That will most definitely influence the west region bus reboot.
The Grand Junction is not going to be eliminated until the T presses forward with plans to build the NW quadrant Urban Ring as BRT or LRT. Absent a concrete plan for a mode change, it is going to remain connected to the RR network and any plan for the Pike has to preserve the junction.
Now, to go forward with the Urban Ring and taking it off the RR network, these are pretty much the only prerequisites:
They're staying in Allston, but going exclusively by truck. Tried to keep their rail siding, but got fed up with Harvard and just took the check.
That's the deal. ~20 minute all-day headways, same as what the Fairmount Line was supposed to get. On the Worcester Line this would presume a station lineup of: South Station; Back Bay; Yawkey; West; Boston Landing; Newton Corner; Newtonville; West Newton; Auburndale; Riverside. Newton Corner would be another key infill because of the bus transfers, and Riverside would be off the Riverside spur at a Green Line superstation with small layover yard.
There's going to be a LOT of bus route reconfiguration inspired by this. As prior, nearly all the Pike buses won't need to use the Pike at all except for maybe an oddball keeper with high-demand unique catchment. And if the rail headways are strong, a lot of local routes can be re-drawn and/or have their headways upscaled to take advantage.
Really, the whole west region of the Yellow Line becomes a canvas for a major reboot once you do this. It's that major. Especially around the infill at Newton Corner, since that will create some priority to bring Watertown-terminating routes down the block. For example, the 71 would be very easy to extend 2200 ft. down Galen because the former Green Line "A" branch trunk electrical feed is still active below the street as a 600V DC interconnect between the B Line and the trackless trolley network. You'd literally just need to erect trolley poles and plug them in.
Note also that the T's last bus facilities study from a decade ago called for a new west region garage to help pump up the frequencies of these routes and relieve Charlestown of some territory. At the time they were looking at Riverside or a rebuilt Watertown Yard. With the TOD that's going on around Riverside they're probably leaning more to Watertown.
Very possible. You have a converging of multiple factors, including the west region bus garage (if they ever act on it...have to see what the latest ongoing facilities study works up). The time will be ripe for a major network reboot of some sort.
Now, keep in mind that even though we're talking EMU's for Fairmount + Riverside and Orange/Green extensions swallowing Needham that "Indigo" rail is meant to be a systemwide thing, including on the northside where electrification is going to be many years further away than down south. While the T isn't going to be buying DMU's any time soon (the market for FRA-compliants has gone ice cold, for one)...if efficient Regional Rail practices are implemented the T can and will be running 128 shuttles to Waltham/Polaroid at a new Fitchburg Line infill, to Salem/Peabody Sq., and to Reading if all thru Haverhill trains were re-routed to the Lowell Line. The schedule margins are a bit more threadbare on diesel for doing turnarounds at 20-minute headways, and it helps to keep the stop density a bit less packed. But an F40 junker pulling 4 partially-filled single-level coaches has plenty of pep for making the stops and running a reliable service. It's a little more ops cost inefficiency up-front, but since there's going to be a considerable bridge era before the northside can get wired up (or for the DMU market to regroup) it's better to get the service--and service practices--established sooner with what you're got.
For bus reconfigs, you then have to take a close look at how Waltham Center bus hub fares with a much more flush supply of Fitchburg headways. Or the new infill proposed for 128/US 20/MA 117 and any 128 biz shuttles that may be trawling between there and Riverside or Anderson RTC. Fitchburg Line's pretty much ready-made for an "Indigo" shuttle with just that one office park-serving infill (which would immediately become a 'superstation' for the 70 bus terminus). That will most definitely influence the west region bus reboot.
The Grand Junction is not going to be eliminated until the T presses forward with plans to build the NW quadrant Urban Ring as BRT or LRT. Absent a concrete plan for a mode change, it is going to remain connected to the RR network and any plan for the Pike has to preserve the junction.
Now, to go forward with the Urban Ring and taking it off the RR network, these are pretty much the only prerequisites:
- Enough north vs. south equipment independence that swaps can reduce from 1-2x daily over the GJ to 2-3x weekly over the Worcester-Ayer bypass. Amtrak swaps Downeaster sets roughly twice a week, so if all the T's needs can be satisfied by lashing up with Amtrak they're fine.
- Majority-EMU fleet southside, which is accomplishable by electrifying Providence + RIDOT Providence-Westerly + Worcester + Fairmount, and pushing Needham off to Orange/Green as quickly as feasible. The remaining diesel lines only make up about 30% of the southside's fleet requirements:
- Franklin/Foxboro -- Foxboro very easily electrifiable; would knock another 5%+ off vehicle requirements since handles heaviest-ridership portion of Franklin main out to Walpole. Forge Park technically easy to wire but needs solve for its tiny layover before service levels can do the expense justice.
- Stoughton -- Substation placement dependent on South Coast Rail's fate; do not electrify until that's clear.
- Old Colony -- Last-priority until Dorchester-Quincy single-track pinch fixed.
- RIDOT Woonsocket-Wickford -- P&W main a tall freight clearance route; not an electrification candidate. Tiny equipment requirements.
- Widett Circle layover + Readville Shops. If Readville Shops can fully service coaches so that only diesel locomotives have to swap north, even better. If diesels are the only equipment that has to rotate each week, at 30% of southside schedules that's few enough moves to tack onto the regular Amtrak swaps. Occasional coaches (example: re-balancing of bi-levels, exchange of bike cars) can also make the trip as-needed.
- Work equipment independence. Southside needs enough work equipment and access to track materials that it doesn't have to keep borrowing trackmobiles from the shed at Alewife, rock ballast from the pile in Everett, ties from the piles at BET, etc. The various Readville yards have enough acreage to absorb some of these functions.
- Upgrades to the Worcester-Ayer line. It's crud, negligently maintained 10 MPH track right now...so it takes an excruciating 5 hours to make a SS-WOR-AYR-NS trip. MassDOT is strongly rumored to be buying the branch soon from Pan Am with the intent of upgrading it to keep the peace between Pan Am and CSX, who both use it and are constantly butting heads over it. 30 MPH passenger speeds would lop 2 hours off the round-trip and bring the crew hours in the ballpark to what a week's worth of Grand Junction moves costs.
