Regional Rail (RUR) & North-South Rail Link (NSRL)

Re: North-South Rail Link

HenryAlan said:
Yep. And if we want a direct connection between West Station and North Station, it actually already exists on the surface, so why would we tunnel for that? A full build out West to North would involve some underpasses for car traffic, a second track and some signalling upgrades. No tunnel is required for establishing that service pattern.
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Before somebody goes berserk, I'm not advocating abandoning the NSRL. But I think a Plan B even if more imperfect isn't a bad option. West station to North Station I assume involves the Grand Junction Railroad and bridge at BU which isn't going to be able to handle the traffic so obviously some $$$ would be needed to upgrade. But if you improved that section, be it tunneling, overpasses or whatever, once you get to Beacon Yards you could then send the train over to Back Bay and South Station. I'd be curious what a study of this option showed, especially since using this right of way has already been discussed by the state previously for Worcester to North Station service IIRC.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Who does a NS-BB/SS line via Grand Junction serve?

If you're coming from the North Side and want to get to SS, it would be quicker to transfer to OL at NS.

If you're coming from the South Side and want to get to NS, it would be quicker to transfer to OL at BB.

It doesn't free up any operational flexibility at NS or SS, as the consist would still be required to reverse direction.

Doing it via West Station does give an Allston-NS route that's faster than the Green Line, but upgrading the Green Line (especially the BU Comm Ave stretch) with signal priority, better stop spacing, and high-level boarding seems like a much better bang for your buck and is already in the works.

Worcester to North Station via Grand Junction with no service to Back Bay even seems more useful than this proposal.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

bigeman312 said:
Who does a NS-BB/SS line via Grand Junction serve?

If you're coming from the North Side and want to get to SS, it would be quicker to transfer to OL at NS.

If you're coming from the South Side and want to get to NS, it would be quicker to transfer to OL at BB.

It doesn't free up any operational flexibility at NS or SS, as the consist would still be required to reverse direction.

Doing it via West Station does give an Allston-NS route that's faster than the Green Line, but upgrading the Green Line (especially the BU Comm Ave stretch) with signal priority, better stop spacing, and high-level boarding seems like a much better bang for your buck and is already in the works.

Worcester to North Station via Grand Junction with no service to Back Bay even seems more useful than this proposal.
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I'd say two things. 1) You give North and South commuters a one seat ride to Back Back, West Station and North Station, thus connecting those hubs and job clusters. 2) More importantly you make it easier to move the trains around from one side of the system to the other. Using the existing route more or less that's in place now but with more capacity than an old bridge and a single track crossing several streets in Cambridge. The stretch from SS to Beacon Yards would by and large be unchanged.

Beyond that, yes you would allow Worcester to North Station as well as a side benefit.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Oh I totally see the advantage of opening up the Grand Junction for revenue service, and better non-revenue moves. The aspect I'm questioning is the reverse move NS-WS-BB service pattern. Worcester-NS would be a cool, useful thing to implement.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Sheesh, I had no idea that I was a septugenarian.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Seems that to me, that this plan is just a pipe dream that is going nowhere.

If they really wanted to do it, then, the opportunity was there when the Big Dig was being done. They blew it!
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

That piece is actually insulting. It makes no attempts to actually address the benefits of the NSRL, nor does it acknowledge the major systemic issues that are unaddressable without a link. (Has the author ever been on the core Orange Line during rush hour?)

Which brings up another point-- what expertise does this person have that makes her qualified to get an opinion on this matter published? This reeks of the "my-opinions-are-as-valid-as-your-facts" anti-intellectualism that seems to be everywhere now.

It's provincial attitudes like this that make me cynically hope that Amazon goes anywhere else, simply so that these people will be stuck with a city that continues to fade into obscurity.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Riverside said:
Which brings up another point-- what expertise does this person have that makes her qualified to get an opinion on this matter published? This reeks of the "my-opinions-are-as-valid-as-your-facts" anti-intellectualism that seems to be everywhere now.
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Their expertise, in this case, is that they are a Boston Herald op-ed page refugee. Any self-respecting Herald veteran, having of course been inflamed with Howie Carr-itis for decades now, sees any public works project as a horrendous "boondoggle." Boondoggle boondoggle boondoggle boondoggle--learn it, love it, live it. It's nice to have fetishes, isn't it?
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Riverside said:
That piece is actually insulting. It makes no attempts to actually address the benefits of the NSRL, nor does it acknowledge the major systemic issues that are unaddressable without a link. (Has the author ever been on the core Orange Line during rush hour?)

Which brings up another point-- what expertise does this person have that makes her qualified to get an opinion on this matter published? This reeks of the "my-opinions-are-as-valid-as-your-facts" anti-intellectualism that seems to be everywhere now.

It's provincial attitudes like this that make me cynically hope that Amazon goes anywhere else, simply so that these people will be stuck with a city that continues to fade into obscurity.
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Call it what you will. If it was to be done, it should've been done eons ago.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Jahvon09 said:
Call it what you will. If it was to be done, it should've been done eons ago.
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So a good idea that wasn't done in the past becomes not possible because... it wasn't done in the past? Fhwat?
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

chmeeee said:
So a good idea that wasn't done in the past becomes not possible because... it wasn't done in the past? Fhwat?
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Exactly. Jahvon9's argument is ridiculous.

I'm just glad Obama never said "Well, the last administration had Bin Laden cornered in Tora Bora but blew it, so that should end that pipe dream...."
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

shmessy said:
Exactly. Jahvon9's argument is ridiculous.

I'm just glad Obama never said "Well, the last administration had Bin Laden cornered in Tora Bora but blew it, so that should end that pipe dream...."
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As the old saying goes;I will believe it when I see it. Born at night, NOT LAST NIGHT.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Riverside said:
That piece is actually insulting. It makes no attempts to actually address the benefits of the NSRL, nor does it acknowledge the major systemic issues that are unaddressable without a link. (Has the author ever been on the core Orange Line during rush hour?)

Which brings up another point-- what expertise does this person have that makes her qualified to get an opinion on this matter published? This reeks of the "my-opinions-are-as-valid-as-your-facts" anti-intellectualism that seems to be everywhere now.

It's provincial attitudes like this that make me cynically hope that Amazon goes anywhere else, simply so that these people will be stuck with a city that continues to fade into obscurity.
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Not saying this as a slam against millenials, but as I read it, I kept thinking that the author was incredibly immature. Turns out she's much older, but predominately a Herald op/ed writer, so, no surprise at the opinion trumps facts writing style.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

Can't wait for the term 'millennial' to die outright. Millennials now comprise people in their thirties. We are more progressive, and care more about public transit and infrastructure.

It seems to me that it's a safer assumption to make that some old, out of touch person who doesn't ride the train every day would be the person spouting this garbage. I know you didn't mean to take a swipe, so in the future please consider just not mentioning it.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

cadetcarl said:
Can't wait for the term 'millennial' to die outright. Millennials now comprise people in their thirties. We are more progressive, and care more about public transit and infrastructure.

It seems to me that it's a safer assumption to make that some old, out of touch person who doesn't ride the train every day would be the person spouting this garbage. I know you didn't mean to take a swipe, so in the future please consider just not mentioning it.
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Just to clarify a bit, I've read a lot of stuff lately written by people in their 20s that follows a similar style to this piece and am pretty fed up with it. But you are of course correct that we shouldn't generalize or jump to uninformed opinions based merely on questions of style.

Now get those damn kids off my lawn!
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

HenryAlan said:
Just to clarify a bit, I've read a lot of stuff lately written by people in their 20s that follows a similar style to this piece and am pretty fed up with it. But you are of course correct that we shouldn't generalize or jump to uninformed opinions based merely on questions of style.

Now get those damn kids off my lawn!
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old.jpg
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

chmeeee said:
So a good idea that wasn't done in the past becomes not possible because... it wasn't done in the past? Fhwat?
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Getting the Feds to cough up the $15-$20B needed to fund the link is going to be nearly impossible now. Especially with them being beyond broke. And face it, that's what it's going to cost to do it and to be worth doing. That's sort of why I was kind of looking into alternatives.

I don't think SSX is happening either so my guess is that you will see the status quo for some time.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

jklo said:
Getting the Feds to cough up the $15-$20B needed to fund the link is going to be nearly impossible now. Especially with them being beyond broke. And face it, that's what it's going to cost to do it and to be worth doing. That's sort of why I was kind of looking into alternatives.

I don't think SSX is happening either so my guess is that you will see the status quo for some time.
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That's what everyone said about replacing LaGuardia, too. Everything is impossible until it's done.
 
Re: North-South Rail Link

The status quo won't work due to capacity constraints bumping up against increasing ridership demands. Yes, we can do some things for less, such as starting on the Transit Matters regional rail plan. But eventually, we'll max out on the organization and electronics improvement options, leaving a need for the more expensive concrete solutions.
 
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