Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

[The EGE]

Two types of futureproofing, a bit confusing.

All GLX platforms are designed to be raised to 14 inches above top of rail, to allow level boarding on Type 9 and Type 10 cars once the 7s and 8s are gone. (The folding doors on the older cars would hit the higher platforms.)

All (save already-long Lechmere) are being built to 225', sufficient for two-car Type 10 trains or three-car trains of current stock. They are also designed to be extended to 300'. That's unlikely to be needed, given that 225' is sufficient for the Type 10s; it may have been a decision made before it was firmly decided to have the Type 10s be longer than the current LRVs. I have some discussion about platform sizes in Appendix H of my thesis. My argument there is that 225' should be the standard platform size; anything longer will require some very difficult modifications at some older stations, while not providing any real benefit.

 

[Brattle Loop]

Two types of futureproofing, a bit confusing.

All GLX platforms are designed to be raised to 14 inches above top of rail, to allow level boarding on Type 9 and Type 10 cars once the 7s and 8s are gone. (The folding doors on the older cars would hit the higher platforms.)

Confirming that I'd misread your initial post I quoted. It wasn't so much confusing as that I foolishly didn't stop to check I'd parsed the sentence correctly and so thought the futureproofing reference was about the length (which I was looking for information about) rather than the height. That said, I hadn't realized they were futureproofing for future raisings for level boarding, which is a very good thing and I'm glad I know that now.

I have some discussion about platform sizes in Appendix H of my thesis. My argument there is that 225' should be the standard platform size; anything longer will require some very difficult modifications at some older stations, while not providing any real benefit.

Off-topic with regards to platform lengths (though I think your argument about standard platform size is a good one), but germane to this thread, in your thesis's discussion of curve radii you mention my namesake, the Brattle Loop, as a problem for more off-the-shelf cars, and would probably have to be removed if they moved to more universal cars. I don't disagree with that, but I'm curious as to how that meshes with contentions from F-Line (among others) that future system expansion (mainly an LRT Urban Ring, but I think F-Line's also mentioned just normal schedule-keeping on the GLX) would depend on the Brattle Loop being available. Or is that something where there's not really any easy choices? (Mainly I'm just a sucker for more discussion of that weird loop, I picked my username for a reason.)

 

[The EGE]

Off-topic with regards to platform lengths (though I think your argument about standard platform size is a good one), but germane to this thread, in your thesis's discussion of curve radii you mention my namesake, the Brattle Loop, as a problem for more off-the-shelf cars, and would probably have to be removed if they moved to more universal cars. I don't disagree with that, but I'm curious as to how that meshes with contentions from F-Line (among others) that future system expansion (mainly an LRT Urban Ring, but I think F-Line's also mentioned just normal schedule-keeping on the GLX) would depend on the Brattle Loop being available. Or is that something where there's not really any easy choices? (Mainly I'm just a sucker for more discussion of that weird loop, I picked my username for a reason.)

Still arguably on-topic given that the Brattle Loop would be used for GLX and other northside lines. At this point, it looks like the MBTA isn't planning any major curve modifications, and will be buying yet another unicorn fleet capable of handling sub-50-foot-radius curves. In that case, Brattle Loop will be usable as-is for the foreseeable future.

 

[Arlington]

Radii were in another appendix on EGE's thesis:

...I spent an whole appendix of my thesis speccing out various minimum-radii possibilities. tl;dr:

• 45 feet is the new minimum after Lechmere is gone
• 49 feet just needs mods to a couple yard curves.
• 60 revenue/50 nonrevenue is possible if you move some columns at Park Street (and eliminate the inner loop) and deal with Heath Street.
• 60 everywhere means lots of nonrevenue stuff modified, of which Brattle and Kenmore loops are the trickiest.
• 66 everywhere (20 meters, the smallest off-the-shelf available) requires some changes to GC as well.

 

[Brattle Loop]

At this point, it looks like the MBTA isn't planning any major curve modifications, and will be buying yet another unicorn fleet capable of handling sub-50-foot-radius curves. In that case, Brattle Loop will be usable as-is for the foreseeable future.

Good for system flexibility, bad for ease of procurement, I suppose. Makes sense, though, it'd be a lot of fairly-problematic mods to a couple of the turnback loops, which even if they were willing to do it'd probably need them to have done that first before moving (slowly) forward on the Type 10s. Hopefully those can be as close to generic LRVs as possible (but this is the T, so I wouldn't bet on it).

 

[stick n move]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1471616358622318601

 

[jarvismj]

I was with my wife heading to CambrideSide the other day and saw this. Don't worry, she was driving. Not going to lie, that Type 8 looks small, but the photo above that shows what appears to be four cars on the platform so that would make sense.

 

[Brattle Loop]

I was with my wife heading to CambrideSide the other day and saw this. Don't worry, she was driving. Not going to lie, that Type 8 looks small, but the photo above that shows what appears to be four cars on the platform so that would make sense.

Per the GLX documents the Lechmere platform is about 339 feet long. Type 8s are something like 74 feet long, so there's easily enough room for four of them (though not five). That's just about as long as a three-car Type 10 set would be, so some decent future-proofing by the T there.

 

[stick n move]

Man I love seeing a new elevated section of rail transit in the city. Elevated lines that run directly on top of streets suck as far as street life below, but elevated lines in their own ROW are awesome. Theyre grade separated so theyre fast like a subway, but youre not sitting in a dark tube while you ride to work. Cant wait to see the views of the back bay and cambridge from this viaduct. I wish we had more ROW separated elevated lines in the city.

 

[Charlie_mta]

Man I love seeing a new elevated section of rail transit in the city. Elevated lines that run directly on top of streets suck as far as street life below, but elevated lines in their own ROW are awesome. Theyre grade separated so theyre fast like a subway, but youre not sitting in a dark tube while you ride to work. Cant wait to see the views of the back bay and cambridge from this viaduct. I wish we had more ROW separated elevated lines in the city.

Should be able to get some great views of East Cambridge, my original hometown.

 

[BeyondRevenue]

I was with my wife heading to CambrideSide the other day and saw this. Don't worry, she was driving. Not going to lie, that Type 8 looks small, but the photo above that shows what appears to be four cars on the platform so that would make sense.View attachment 19830

Nice pic. This real-state, at-grade view shows something rarely shown in pre-build renders: A big featureless concrete wall.
With the sun coming at that angle, you really see how East Berlin it all is. As happy as I am to see the GLX almost done (and I AM), and as much as I'm looking forward to taking it, I think we could have done some killer ironwork fencing instead. Lesson learned going forward? Maybe highway grade steel specs aren't always the way to go. Those footings are like what we say about my fat housecat -- she thicccc. They look like scaled up Legos!
Am I wrong to want the MBTA to actually sell that space to advertisers? I mean I wouldn't have to see the ads while riding so.... win! At the least we could put up some murals frames or trellis space for some vines!

Also, sidebar your honor, wouldn't the old Lechmere yard be an ideal spot for a low speed rotary around a park ringed by mixed use development? Ladies? Amirite? You hear what I'm sayin'?

 

[Charlie_mta]

Nice pic. This real-state, at-grade view shows something rarely shown in pre-build renders: A big featureless concrete wall.
With the sun coming at that angle, you really see how East Berlin it all is. As happy as I am to see the GLX almost done (and I AM), and as much as I'm looking forward to taking it, I think we could have done some killer ironwork fencing instead. Lesson learned going forward? Maybe highway grade steel specs aren't always the way to go. Those footings are like what we say about my fat housecat -- she thicccc. They look like scaled up Legos!

With more funds they could've done a more attractive overpass, such as more tapered columns, maybe some trapezoidal steel girders instead of I-beams, etc. But money was tight and they had to VE everything they did. One thing they could change for relatively little money is the green color of the beams. A darker color would look better.

 

[bigpicture7]

Nice pic. This real-state, at-grade view shows something rarely shown in pre-build renders: A big featureless concrete wall.
With the sun coming at that angle, you really see how East Berlin it all is. As happy as I am to see the GLX almost done (and I AM), and as much as I'm looking forward to taking it, I think we could have done some killer ironwork fencing instead. Lesson learned going forward? Maybe highway grade steel specs aren't always the way to go. Those footings are like what we say about my fat housecat -- she thicccc. They look like scaled up Legos!
Am I wrong to want the MBTA to actually sell that space to advertisers? I mean I wouldn't have to see the ads while riding so.... win! At the least we could put up some murals frames or trellis space for some vines!

Also, sidebar your honor, wouldn't the old Lechmere yard be an ideal spot for a low speed rotary around a park ringed by mixed use development? Ladies? Amirite? You hear what I'm sayin'?

The Ink Block developers solved this nicely on the other side of downtown Boston

A Photo Tour of the Amazing Artwork at Underground Ink Block!

Underground at Ink Block is an 8-acre underpass space located between Bostons South End and South Boston neighborhoods that has been transformed into an active urban park, cultural attraction and parking amenity.

www.bostoncentral.com

WBUR feature:

Take A Look At The 8 New Murals Inside Boston's Underground At Ink Block

The initiative finds a way to make the otherwise forgotten, somewhat awkward yet grandiose space created by the elevated highways a useable park. At the same time, it imagines something greater for Boston's street art scene.

www.wbur.org

I think something like that would go well here.

 

[BeyondRevenue]

If the concrete was a couple feet lower:

 

[jlichyen]

Any possibility of using the space under the elevated for shops or playgrounds? Or will it just be relegated to a parking lot?

 

[Zash]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1471616358622318601

Apologies for the poor wording since I'm not fully aware of the correct terminology, but the Medford branch will be part of the E line, correct? If that's the case, why are they running the new trains (the type 10s I believe) there as test trains? I was under the assumption that the type 10s won't run on the E line, but I could be entirely mistaken.

 

[Blackbird]

Apologies for the poor wording since I'm not fully aware of the correct terminology, but the Medford branch will be part of the E line, correct? If that's the case, why are they running the new trains (the type 10s I believe) there as test trains? I was under the assumption that the type 10s won't run on the E line, but I could be entirely mistaken.

If they were running them to Union, then they were doing them as an extension of the D. The E will go to Tufts with both passing through Lechmere before splitting.

 

[Ruairi]

Apologies for the poor wording since I'm not fully aware of the correct terminology, but the Medford branch will be part of the E line, correct? If that's the case, why are they running the new trains (the type 10s I believe) there as test trains? I was under the assumption that the type 10s won't run on the E line, but I could be entirely mistaken.

both those photos are on the D line to union. Lechmere will be D and E

 

[Equilibria]

Apologies for the poor wording since I'm not fully aware of the correct terminology, but the Medford branch will be part of the E line, correct? If that's the case, why are they running the new trains (the type 10s I believe) there as test trains? I was under the assumption that the type 10s won't run on the E line, but I could be entirely mistaken.

The train in the picture is a Type 9, and they run on all the lines.

 

[Ruairi]

Any possibility of using the space under the elevated for shops or playgrounds? Or will it just be relegated to a parking lot?

I haven't investigated too much but it looks like the space under the tracks will be for bike storage as well as station entrances. It doesn't look like there'll be too much dead space.