HarborTram

[Corey]

I hope nobody is bothered by opening a dead thread... A few slow days at work allowed me to integrate some feedback on the idea and work out this "dream" system of street-running trams to complement the T. See the google map link below the image for actual street routes.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U....382704,-71.034422&spn=0.015216,0.038495&z=15

Very nice!

Can you extend it north to Portland, Maine as well?

 

[kennedy]

Beautiful job! When you envision your tram system, do you see it as a complement to or a replacement of the Silver Line?

 

[Shepard]

Thanks Kennedy!

In terms of the SL, this is a replacement for local service.

The airport stops will be taken on by a South Station shuttle bus that jumps right into the tunnel.

The "D Street" line would actually take over the SL tunnels (if I had thought more, those station names could easy use current SL stop names). The "City Point" line would run surface over Summer Street.

 

[JohnAKeith]

I think they should consider extending the SL to the North End, regardless of what else is done. It would run up and down the Greenway from North Station to South Station, enabling those coming from the North Shore to take the commuter rail into North Station and switch to the SL to South Station, then switch to the other SL and take it to the airport.

Also, it would really help North End / West End / Waterfront residents get to the other part of town.

Maybe there wouldn't be enough need?

 

[ablarc]

A tram can stop as often as a bus.

 

[Shepard]

I'm interested to know if people here think this is a viable street-running technology. I just found this company, that produces rolling stock which, in their words:

incorporate flywheel energy storage, allowing electric tramway systems without overhead wires and railcars powered by small prime movers running on gas, diesel or hydrogen - all with very high energy efficiency and very low emissions of pollutants and noise.

On their homepage they show rather small people-movers, but dig deeper and it turns out they have longer, low-floor models.

I looked at this and thought that it might be an interesting option for trams without overhead wires or buried third rails...

 

[choo]

I think its is a good idea. But if how to do you charge the flywheel? It would need to dock for a while. So it is a gas train?

 

[aquaman]

Could a system be developed whereby a train boosts its batteries when it pulls over over a recharge dock at each stop? There could be a sensor built into the recharge dock so that it will not power up unless a train pulls over it (thereby avoiding electrocutions when the inevitable drunk stumbles onto it). While the train the train brakes, energy recapture technology could help recharge a central battery (like in certain cars) and while sitting at the station for, say, 20 seconds, its battery could get topped off by the recharge dock. Don't know if it's commercially feasible, but it's an idea.

 

[JohnAKeith]

I don't understand what a "HarborTram" is - it's a dedicated bus line or something like the tram at Universal Studios? It runs on rubber wheels? How fast can it go? What other cities have these?

I am seriously thinking that we need a monorail from South Station to North Station. The idea would be for people traveling through the city; yes, it would be in place of a North-South rail link. Sorry.

Going along the route of the Greenway, it would have one rail going North and take up one lane of what is now northbound car traffic. Likewise, going South. It would be high enough that traffic could continue below, in theory.

There would be two stops on the way: one at the Chiofaro building / Aquarium. It would be built so that it could be connected as a sort of intermodal station, connecting to the Blue Line below and directly connected to the new Chiofaro building by a covered walkway.

Further up the street, it would cross the Greenway before it gets to the North End pavilions and run parallel to the Southbound train. It would stop near Haymarket station or near Faneuil Hall. Perhaps it could become part of the ex-Raymond Government Center garage project. Then, it would decline in height on the way to North Station, along the side of Beverly or the other street, built so as to allow new buildings on those parcels. It would meet up with the North Station Orange and Green line station with direct access to the train depot.

Why not?

 

[NJBostonFan]

For HarborTram, do you think an Alstom Citadis with ground-level power would work?