General MBTA Topics (Multi Modal, Budget, MassDOT)

Highlights from the Huntington Ave Meeting:
  • Median vs Side running has not yet been determined
  • Transit lanes will be designed for trains and buses wherever possible
  • Platforms will be 225ft to accomodate double type-10s.
  • Design process to be largely completed by 2024
  • Stated beginning of construction was set at 2027 though? Super unclear.
  • Hyde Sq will not happen until after this project is complete, but the design will not preclude such an extension
  • Stop consolidation is on the table, but will be weighed against the needs of local senior centers and the VA.
  • Back of the Hill is almost certainly getting the axe, the grade is too steep for platforms.
  • There is a type-10 mockup coming, it is currently in production
Questions and comments:
  • Lots of concerns about the Huntington/South Huntington intersection
  • Questions about TSP on the 66 going into Brookline
  • Will outdoor dining at Brigham Circle be affected (A: The goal is no)
  • One guy really annoyed at the Hilton using River Rd for dining
  • Will the type 10s squeal?
  • Some disbelief and skepticism that the type 10s will actually fit through Boylston
  • Lots of other questions about the type 10s in general.
 
Somewhere along the line, I came under the impression that the turning radius at the Heath St curve is too tight for the Type 10s. Is my impression wrong?
 
Balerion said:
Somewhere along the line, I came under the impression that the turning radius at the Heath St curve is too tight for the Type 10s. Is my impression wrong?
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The Type-10s will work on the Park St loop which has a 47' radius, and the Heath St curve is a more like ~50'.

But given that the whole area is about to be redesigned I wouldn't be surprised if the loop is reconfigured to be less tight.
 
TheRatmeister said:
The Type-10s will work on the Park St loop which has a 47' radius, and the Heath St curve is a more like ~50'.

But given that the whole area is about to be redesigned I wouldn't be surprised if the loop is reconfigured to be less tight.
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I believe the issue, as F-Line had previously stated, is that the Type 10s can’t physically fit within the inner loop of Heath St. I believe they can on the outer loop without stretching into the road but I could be wrong.
 
KCasiglio said:
Im thrilled that this is at least on their radar but hate that such a layup is “yeah we’ll start really thinking about it in a few years”
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To be fair, I think a new extension (even just by 1-2 stops) will need to go through a lot more processes than replacing infrastructure on an existing route.
 
Teban54 said:
To be fair, I think a new extension (even just by 1-2 stops) will need to go through a lot more processes than replacing infrastructure on an existing route.
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No doubt! But if this is something the MBTA/city wants to do, then start that process. It’s going to be cheaper in the long run to fold the extension in as a..well, extension, of the Huntington rebuild.
 
Teban54 said:
To be fair, I think a new extension (even just by 1-2 stops) will need to go through a lot more processes than replacing infrastructure on an existing route.
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I would honestly consider this to be much closer to an extension from Brigham Circle to Heath St than a replacement of existing infrastructure. I wouldn't be surprised if literally nothing from the current line is left where it originally was by the time it's done.

KCasiglio said:
No doubt! But if this is something the MBTA/city wants to do, then start that process. It’s going to be cheaper in the long run to fold the extension in as a..well, extension, of the Huntington rebuild.
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Agreed, I would have liked to see the city extend the study area down to Hyde Sq.
 
BosMaineiac said:
I believe the issue, as F-Line had previously stated, is that the Type 10s can’t physically fit within the inner loop of Heath St. I believe they can on the outer loop without stretching into the road but I could be wrong.
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A 2-car train of Type 10s at 225' long won't fit on either the inner or outer loops at Heath Street. This presentation from 2018 gives the length of the inner loop platform as 131'. The outer loop isn't used in revenue service as the platform is not accessible, but some rough estimating using the Google Maps "Measure distance" tool puts it at about 175'.
 

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StreetsblogMASS said:
Planning is underway for a new dedicated transitway for the E branch – which could be shared by the 66 and 39 buses as well.

The project needs to be done by 2027 for the new Type 10 trains:

mass.streetsblog.org

Huntington Ave. Redesign Will Eliminate Last Mixed-Traffic Segment of the Green Line By 2027 - Streetsblog Massachusetts

On Tuesday evening, officials from the City of Boston and the MBTA officially kicked off a planning effort that will ultimately redesign Huntington and South Huntington Avenues in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood. The project will likely eliminate the last segment of the Green Line where...
mass.streetsblog.org mass.streetsblog.org
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Damn now we lose the Huntington St fast lanes! /s

About time to have a dedicated transitway for the rest of the E, excited to see how this works out. maybe improves headways not having to deal with dickheads on the road.
 
It will be a bit sad to lose that last bit of street running. It's quaint. It looks neat. It feels very old time-y Boston, especially running along those row homes.

But also, thank god, separate the tracks, speed up the trains, do it, do it now
 
ritchiew said:
It will be a bit sad to lose that last bit of street running. It's quaint. It looks neat. It feels very old time-y Boston, especially running along those row homes.

But also, thank god, separate the tracks, speed up the trains, do it, do it now
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Yeah I always loved the look off those cars, only just a bit more than weaving through the people who were too scared to drive on the tracks.
 
thepixelnation said:
Yeah I always loved the look off those cars, only just a bit more than weaving through the people who were too scared to drive on the tracks.
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Will it be like Columbus ave where between the stations there is no physical barrier or will it be like the rest of the E branch where it’s completely separated?
 
cubbe8 said:
Will it be like Columbus ave where between the stations there is no physical barrier or will it be like the rest of the E branch where it’s completely separated?
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Given the limited space I have to imagine there won't be any room for physical barriers between stations, that space would be better used to make the sidewalks or cycle lanes wider.
 
TheRatmeister said:
Given the limited space I have to imagine there won't be any room for physical barriers between stations, that space would be better used to make the sidewalks or cycle lanes wider.
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So street running will remain!
 
cubbe8 said:
Will it be like Columbus ave where between the stations there is no physical barrier or will it be like the rest of the E branch where it’s completely separated?
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In addition to the space issues mentioned above, first responders made a physical barrier on Columbus a non-starter. I’d be shocked if they had suddenly changed their view on that in the interim.
 
Commuter Rail schedules have been posted.

The Fairmount Line will have 26 trips on weekends. Notabily 30 minute headways are only from 9:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 1:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. On weekdays 30 minute headways from 6:15 to 10:15 a.m. and from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. There are 50 minute gaps in service on the Fairmount Line middays.


With the new schedule releases, the MBTA Frequency map can now be updated to reflect its changes. No other lines changed their weekend frequencies as far as I could find/am aware of.

Old maps: Spring 2024 pre-CR changes (2024 Q2) Winter 2024 (2024 Q1) Fall 2023 (2023 Q4) Summer 2023 (2023 Q3), Spring 2023 (2023 Q2v2), Pre-slow zone map (2023 Q2), Original map (2023 Q1) (Oldest map available)

Map changes: Fairmount Line moves from Every 1 - 2 hours to Every 30 - 60 minutes.

1715116211590.png
 
Delvin4519 said:
The Fairmount Line will have 26 trips on weekends. Notabily 30 minute headways are only from 9:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 1:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. On weekdays 30 minute headways from 6:15 to 10:15 a.m. and from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. There are 50 minute gaps in service on the Fairmount Line middays.
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The headway gaps are likely for fitting in freight slots, since the late-morning off-peak is when the Readville yard-stocker job runs on the Franklin Line, with somewhat variable departure times from Walpole (depending on how much work the train has to do in Walpole Yard). The return trip runs in the mid-evening, also when the passenger headways are longer. There's even a couple slots in that period where trains turn at Fairmount and drop Readville altogether.

This is going to have to be a concession until the state moves forward with plans to relocate the Readville platform off the Franklin-Fairmount Connector and reconfigures the interlockings so the freights miss the new platform. You can't have the single-track Connector occupied by too many reversing passenger trains when CSX could be running at any point during that 3-hour midday period.
 
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