General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

GTFS schedules for Fall 2023 have now had their initial release.

The MBTA frequency map has an update to it.

Weekday changes aren't shown on this map as weekday service is higher than Sunday service, and plotting rush hour routes gets complicated due to school trips and school vacation weeks, and the midday gap in commuter routes.

Frequency increase (on the map):
* none

Frequency decrease (on the map):
* Orange Line down from 106 to 86 Sunday trips (Every 10 - 12 minutes -> Every 12 - 15 minutes) (< 101 trips) (Weekday service up from 116 to 125 trips), 23.2% service cut
* Green Line D down from 105 to 100 Sunday trips (Every 10 - 12 minutes -> Every 12 - 15 minutes) (< 101 trips), 5% service cut

Routing change (on the map):
* Route 238 eliminates the variant service and will instead follow regular routing.

1692756915309.png


Comparison with Amsterdam (again):
https://imgur.com/a/Fdvm9rJ
https://imgur.com/a/d6TERUJ

Old maps: Summer 2023 (2023 Q3), Spring 2023 (2023 Q2v2), Pre-slow zone map (2023 Q2), Original map (2023 Q1) (Oldest map available)

Other Fall 2023 Q4 changes that do not appear on the map:
* Green Line E down from 118 to 117 Sunday trips (Weekday and Saturday service change from 144 and 121 trips to 148 and 120 trips, respectively), 0.8% service cut
* Green Line B down from 116 to 114 Sunday trips, 1.7% service cut
* Blue Line up from 102 to 108 Sunday trips (Weekday and Saturday increase from 162 and 106 trips to 169 and 112 trips, respectively)
* Mattapan Line up from 92 to 93 Sunday trips (Weekday and Saturday increase from 146 and 96 trips to 147 and 97 trips, respectively)
* Red Line up from 103 to 117 Sunday trips (51/52 to 58/59 trips branches), (Weekday and Saturday service increase from 63/64/127 and 53/54/107 to 70/71/142 and 60/61/122 trips respectively)
* SL3 down from 88 to 85 Sunday trips , 3.5% service cut
* 69 down from 28 to 26 Sunday trips, 7.7% service cut
* 86 down from 26 to 24 Sunday trips (Saturday 38 to 36), 8.3% service cut
* 83 down from 20 to 19 Sunday trips (Saturday 33 to 31), 6.4% service cut
* 137 down from 18 to 17 Saturday trips, 5.8% service cut
* 77 down from 77 to 72 Saturday trips, 6.9% service cut
* 111 down from 205 to 204 Weekday trips, 0.5% service cut
* 57 down from 110 to 107 Weekday trips, 2.8% service cut
* 504 down from 39 to 35 Weekday trips, 11.4% service cut
* Various bus routes have school trips once again, I cannot filter them out easily from those with service increases. The claim from the MBTA for service increases on the 7, 9, 11, 31, 70, 86, 116, 117, 216, 220, 222, 225, and 230, seem to be correct.

EDIT: Wed. Aug. 23, 2023 6:14 p.m.: MBTA PDF schedules for Fall 2023 just dropped!
 
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www.nbcboston.com

MBTA to shut down part of Red Line for repairs in October

The MBTA announced Thursday that it plans to suspend service on part of the Red Line for repairs for two weeks in October. The T said in a press release that it will shut down the Ashmont Branch between JFK/UMass and Ashmont stations and the Mattapan Line between Ashmont and Mattapan stations...
www.nbcboston.com www.nbcboston.com

Red Line Ashmont Branch and Mattapan HSL both shutting down for 2 weeks for repairs in October. 10/14 to 10/29 the dates in question.
 
Mattapan line shutdown seems a bit out of left field. Don't remember reading about track issues/slow zones on it before.
 
Here's the story on Comm. Mag. I just deleted those other two stories that were from the same link. :)


commonwealthmagazine.org

MBTA to shut down portion of Red Line for 16 days

WITH SLOW ZONES continuing to expand across the MBTA subway system, the authority is preparing to shut down a troubled section of the Red Line for 16 days
commonwealthmagazine.org commonwealthmagazine.org
 
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#bancars said:
This was a fun read. Ward Maps is a treasure!

www.bostonglobe.com

Change is what cities do â and nothing drives that change like mass transit - The Boston Globe

A city’s defined not just by its boundaries but how it moves within them.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
Click to expand...
Beaucher has curated a show of local transit maps, “Getting Around Town: Four Centuries of Mapping Boston in Transit.” It opens at the Boston Public Library’s Leventhal Map & Education Center Sept. 9 and runs through Apr. 27. The show includes some 125 items — not just maps, but also guidebooks, pamphlets, and other ephemera.
Click to expand...
Oooooooooh!
 
Screenshot_20230826_120958_X.jpg


It's funny how the Ashmont closure is widely publicized but these frequent closures of the braintree line get much less attention. These closures have been going on for a while.
 
It's probably because Braintree is a weekend closure" but Ashmont is multi-week closure that has a similar sound to "ripe the band-aid". Both again, I hope we actually see a payoff - a full and undeniable one too. The OL shutdown might have given us a payoff (maybe OL would would be RL bad or worse if it wasn't done), but the fact it is slower now than before the shutdown makes it full of asterisks and clauses.

I also find it interesting they are explicitly noting 12 hour shifts. I think it does give hope they are serious in using the time. One thing the Orange Line shutdown never answer (officially, I did asked a friend who works for the MBTA as a project manager, but given I'm just a random internet dude, it doesn't matter that much to say it), was did they actually took advantage of the 24 hour day by doing triple shifting rather than just free to do repairs during the daytime. That note clearly communicate they plan to use the time to the hour.
 
Slow zones on the Orange and Red lines are pretty much back to square one at the initial slowzone order where they were in March and April 2023. All progress since March and April 2023 undone and reverted back to the slowest speeds of this year.

If not there yet, then by next week at the current rate. Right at back to school time perfectly.

Also, bus service frequency reductions on the 137, 57, 504, 69, 77, 83, and 86 buses take effect today. Most of these service frequency cuts are concentrated in the Brighton and Cambridge areas, which will now see reduced bus service. Orange Line and Green Line branches will have reduced weekend service as well, beginning today.

For the "glass half full" optimists, at least the Blue Line is okay, and a new OL railcar trainset will enter service soon-ish.

1693143609984.png
 
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Hello Everyone,

This is probably the wrong thread to ask this question.

But I was wondering why a portion of the eastbound platform on the Green Line at Government Center is fenced off?

Thank You
 
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Green Line tunnel at Haymarket to close for 25 days from mid September to mid October.

Trains every 20 - 30 minutes on the GLX when North Station is the terminal, but..... GLX stations don't have realtime predictions heading southbound until Gilman Sq. or East Somerville. ProximiT only updated today or yesterday, or it's because my phone is too old.

Had this screen running for 15 - 20 mins. Ball Sq., only has predictions counting from 11 seconds if there are predictions.

IMG_1928.png
 
I really wish they would just run a shuttle bus from Union Square to Lechmere and encourage most who could do the walk to just go over to East Somerville and then run all the service to Medford/Tufts. The headways would still be bad but it wouldn't be as unusable as now, and even with the shuttle to Lechmere or the further walk, Union Square would still be better served.
 
I was thinking about something this morning. How is it that the Commuter rail which has just as extensive of a rail network if not more expansive than the subway, does not have all of these track issues?
 
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beck4537 said:
I was thinking about something this morning. How is it that the Commuter rail which has just as extensive of a rail network if not more expansive than the subway, does not have all of these track issues?
Click to expand...
Do we know CR doesn't have issues that are simply undiscovered? If you don't look you don't see the problems.

Or is it because CR is under FRA regulations, perhaps making inspection and repair (or speed restriction) more rigorously enforced?
 
Blue Line to Lynn said:
I really wish they would just run a shuttle bus from Union Square to Lechmere and encourage most who could do the walk to just go over to East Somerville and then run all the service to Medford/Tufts. The headways would still be bad but it wouldn't be as unusable as now, and even with the shuttle to Lechmere or the further walk, Union Square would still be better served.
Click to expand...
Seems like they will be closing the Union branch from September 18- Oct 12 for the squire bridge work which lines up with the Government Center Garage Closure which means that the headways will be between 10-16 minutes on the Medford Branch.
 
beck4537 said:
I was thinking about something this morning. How is it that the Commuter rail which has just as extensive of a rail network if not more expansive than the subway, does not have all of these track issues?
Click to expand...

Don't take this as more than vague speculation but:

- I don't think the wear is anywhere near as significant on most of it - wider radius curves + far less volume on much of it.

- A lot of it has some other entity that's got legal rights to use it and does, and will probably cry foul if the state isn't keeping up it's responsibilities. Amtrak, freights, etc.

- I believe Keolis does a lot of the work/a lot of the work is done through Keolis, their name is on a lot of work announcements. Are they facing the same staffing issues the MBTA is? I feel like I haven't seen reports of CR trains getting canceled for lack of crews - while that doesn't mean their track crews are also well staffed, it's notably different from the MBTA.

- I certainly don't have a number, but I feel like there have been a lot of different trackwork projects over the past 10-15 years or so all over the place and like I've seen lots of different announcements go by regarding them. (plus basically every line getting a new/majorly upgraded signal system) They also often seem to be at larger scales than we often see for subway track work - for example, the Haverhill Line got about 30 track-miles replaced in 2021 and you can find a project in of that kind of scope in many years.
 
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