General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

ant8904 said:
I have to point this one out. If I'm reading this correctly, the North Station to Lechmere is likely that slow zone on the viaduct. One spot I know a lot of us on this board have noticed a lot. If that's the one, it would be kinda fitting if it becomes one of the last slow zones they will fix. We still have no idea why the viaduct continue to defy being fixed.


In terms of pure minutes, it is too bad we won't see repairs come to the JFK/UMass to Braintree until next September.

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Why do they need 6 days to fix one slow zone on the C line?
 
ant8904 said:
In terms of pure minutes, it is too bad we won't see repairs come to the JFK/UMass to Braintree until next September.
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With what they said in the meeting about scheduling repairs to coordinate with surrounding roadworks and availability of alternative transportation, I bet they’re putting off the Braintree Branch for that long so that SCR will be active and bringing more frequent commuter rail service to Braintree and Quincy. The two could be potentially getting service equal or better than Salem/Beverly if they temporarily have all Old Colony lines stop.
 
Koopzilla24 said:
With what they said in the meeting about scheduling repairs to coordinate with surrounding roadworks and availability of alternative transportation, I bet they’re putting off the Braintree Branch for that long so that SCR will be active and bringing more frequent commuter rail service to Braintree and Quincy. The two could be potentially getting service equal or better than Salem/Beverly if they temporarily have all Old Colony lines stop.
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South Coast Rail's completion deadlines keep slipping with wide uncertainty as to whether it'll actually launch in Summer 2024, so it's not reliable at all to plan anything around on other modes. The latest rumor on RR.net is that the Franklin Line Double Tracking project is being paused until further notice so its track gangs can be reassigned to SCR to staunch the bleeding there on construction delays. It's incredibly unlikely that any Red Line work schedules are being drawn up with dependencies on SCR. It's simply too iffy at this stage.

Plus it's not going to increase service any on the mainline. There'll be a light redistribution of slots, but it's functionally useless for providing more backstop service inside 128.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
South Coast Rail's completion deadlines keep slipping with wide uncertainty as to whether it'll actually launch in Summer 2024, so it's not reliable at all to plan anything around on other modes. The latest rumor on RR.net is that the Franklin Line Double Tracking project is being paused until further notice so its track gangs can be reassigned to SCR to staunch the bleeding there on construction delays. It's incredibly unlikely that any Red Line work schedules are being drawn up with dependencies on SCR. It's simply too iffy at this stage.

Plus it's not going to increase service any on the mainline. There'll be a light redistribution of slots, but it's functionally useless for providing more backstop service inside 128.
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The rail work is mostly completed on the South Coast Rail project. Delta Corp is De- Stressing welded rail and removing joints. Most of the remaining work is related to signals, stations and punch lists such as drainage, interlocking work such as switch heaters etc. Also, Crossings are being improved with pre cast concrete as opposed to asphalt between the rails. Padelford and Malbone Streets are done. Myricks Street in Berkeley is being installed this weekend. This is on the New Bedford Line.
 
Koopzilla24 said:
With what they said in the meeting about scheduling repairs to coordinate with surrounding roadworks and availability of alternative transportation, I bet they’re putting off the Braintree Branch for that long so that SCR will be active and bringing more frequent commuter rail service to Braintree and Quincy. The two could be potentially getting service equal or better than Salem/Beverly if they temporarily have all Old Colony lines stop.
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Haven't they been busing the Old Colony lines while they do work on the Braintree Line in recent closures?
 
737900er said:
Haven't they been busing the Old Colony lines while they do work on the Braintree Line in recent closures?
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Aren't most of the slowzones on the northbound track further away from the CR tracks? It's 27 minutes southbound from Andrew to Braintree, but 31 minutes northbound from Braintree to Andrew.
 
Teban54 said:
The lifting of speed restrictions is still very recent, so I suspect there will be corresponding schedule changes in the upcoming Winter 2024 schedule.
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Have they hired enough dispatchers, though, to be able to increase headways. Afaik that has been the real limiting factor on the Red, at least.
 
New escalator at the renovated Kendall headhouse already out of service (11.11.23):

20231111_112242.jpg
 
#bancars said:
New escalator at the renovated Kendall headhouse already out of service (11.11.23):
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As stupid as it sounds... They turned it off to save electricity costs perhaps and someone forgot to turn it back on?
 
bigeman312 said:
I picked this stretch because it is historically the lowest ridership two week stretch on the Red Line every year. I examined the data before posting my comment. Would you like a source?
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Ahh, all good. I'm surprised it isn't sometime during the summer, to be honest, with the majority of the Harvard and MIT student bodies out and people tending to go away.
 
jklo said:
As stupid as it sounds... They turned it off to save electricity costs perhaps and someone forgot to turn it back on?
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Then why would they block it off? They could just leave them turned off like normal stairs.
 
nbcoram said:
Ahh, all good. I'm surprised it isn't sometime during the summer, to be honest, with the majority of the Harvard and MIT student bodies out and people tending to go away.
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Well, those students are probably also not around during that end of year window. Plus, people do travel in the summer, but spread across 10 weeks. Lots of people also travel during the holidays. I'm not surprised by the data.
 
bankerandtradesman.com

Healey Makes Tibbits-Nutt Permanent MassDOT Secretary

One of the state's top transportation experts is now Massachusetts' top transportation official, a move one advocate praised as "an inspired choice."
bankerandtradesman.com bankerandtradesman.com

Looks like a lot of people are very happy about this.

Tibbits-Nutt had entered the administration as MassDOT undersecretary, but was elevated to the senior role when then-Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca was forced out this summer. At the time, several observers had judged the permanent secretary role was Tibbits-Nutt's to lose.
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Aprehensive_Words said:
bankerandtradesman.com

Healey Makes Tibbits-Nutt Permanent MassDOT Secretary

One of the state's top transportation experts is now Massachusetts' top transportation official, a move one advocate praised as "an inspired choice."
bankerandtradesman.com bankerandtradesman.com

Looks like a lot of people are very happy about this.
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Not discrediting her, but there's a good amount of fluff in this writing, I have to say... The former secretary was not "forced out," and as far as we are aware, there was nothing going wrong or sour with Fiandaca's leadership (with Tibbits-Nutt as their deputy, I should note...) and a lot of things under Tibbits-Nutt's "watch" the past two months couldn't really have been impacted by any changes she made recently - really just keeping the wheels moving was all that was needed.

She has a great resume/background, and she's a good choice, just strange to see accolades falling on someone so soon.
 
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