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

[ritchiew]

Lynch: West-East Rail More Important than Boston North-South Rail Link

A top local congressman says he thinks pursuing the North-South Rail Link between Boston's busiest commuter rail hubs may be a waste of time.

bankerandtradesman.com

So if we put our project forward and say ‘We want $20 billion for a tunnel so people don’t have to change trains’ — we lose, we lose, we lose,” Lynch said.

Holy crap. So our guy in congress is showing up to committee meetings, drastically exaggerating the costs of NSRL and underselling the benefits? Then gets frustrated we can't win federal money for some reason? wtf?

 

[Balerion]

Lynch: West-East Rail More Important than Boston North-South Rail Link

A top local congressman says he thinks pursuing the North-South Rail Link between Boston's busiest commuter rail hubs may be a waste of time.

bankerandtradesman.com

It's tough when even the guy in favor of the NSRL can only articulate secondary benefits of the project (e.g. Salem-to-South Shore travel) and not the main purpose of it (speed & frequency of service).

 

[Aprehensive_Words]

It's tough when even the guy in favor of the NSRL can only articulate secondary benefits of the project (e.g. Salem-to-South Shore travel) and not the main purpose of it (speed & frequency of service).

And when he's not exactly gone out of his way to make himself the most-loved member of the Democratic caucus.

 

[thepixelnation]

Lynch: West-East Rail More Important than Boston North-South Rail Link

A top local congressman says he thinks pursuing the North-South Rail Link between Boston's busiest commuter rail hubs may be a waste of time.

bankerandtradesman.com

I feel like that first quote you included seems like a bad faith argument. All of the other examples can also be explained away with "it's just another tunnel" for New Jersey, "another highway expansion" for Arizona, "another airport expansion" for Chicago. All of these projects would make travel more efficient in each of these places, just like it would do with the NSRL.

We want $20 billion for a tunnel so people don’t have to change trains’ — we lose, we lose, we lose,” Lynch said.

You are going to lose if you say you want $20 Billion for a tunnel so people don't have to change trains. NSLR could potentially change a 4-train journey to a 1-train journey, will unite the North and South shores. But it will also connect Connecticut and Rhode Island with Maine and (potentially) New Hampshire. I wish some of those states would throw their hats in the ring to support the NSRL, but that's a tough sell as well.

I don't like Moulton, but bringing down a 2-hour journey to a 40 minute journey is the real argument here. That's what another tunnel can do for New Jersey, what more highway can do for Arizona.

 

[bigpicture7]

I can fix this for all of our esteemed congresspersons:

"Boston NSRL - a way to ensure less traffic and speedier highway travel in cars for those who opt to drive in the entire metro region!"

 

[thepixelnation]

And when he's not exactly gone out of his way to make himself the most-loved member of the Democratic caucus.

I think it's time for Mass to find a new Rail representative. A lot of people who push for progressive transit law are the same people pushing for trans rights, esp in the Boston area. I definitely retreated from support for Moulton after his comments, and I assume a lot of others too.

 

[samsongam]

“Think about the allocation of transportation money within our state,” Lynch said Monday. “We have spent tremendous amounts of money in the eastern — speaking to the choir I guess — in the greater Boston area. With the Big Dig, all the money we spent, the $18 billion there. We have spent nothing on the rest of the state.”

I love it when my congressman advocates for other districts' constituents rather than his own. Especially when we have close to the highest traffic and lowest affordability in the nation. The Big Dig fixed everything, we are way too spoiled.

For real though, is it even close comparing the "impact" of NSRL and East-West Rail?

it will also connect Connecticut and Rhode Island with Maine and (potentially) New Hampshire.

Exactly! Think about all the other districts with their own congresspeople that Lynch could advocate for. Seems like NSRL would directly and significantly improve rail transit in all Massachusetts districts aside from maybe Neal's.

 

[TheRatmeister]

(speed & frequency of service)

This is a benefit of electrification, not NSRL.

But it will also connect Connecticut and Rhode Island with Maine and (potentially) New Hampshire. I wish some of those states would throw their hats in the ring to support the NSRL, but that's a tough sell as well.

Until some neighboring states can get on board it's not happening, and I would argue that the effort would be better spent elsewhere.

 

[thepixelnation]

This is a benefit of electrification, not NSRL.

Until some neighboring states can get on board it's not happening, and I would argue that the effort would be better spent elsewhere.

I think it'll be if/when the Northeast Megalopolis solidifies, the NSRL will be a no brainer. Obviously looking to the far future here, but NSRL is a future proofing scheme. As temperature rises, we'll have more people move to NH and Maine, who will probably look at NSRL more positively than others.

 

[RandomWalk]

In a world of Congressional horse trading, what do MA or New England politicians have to offer politicians from other regions for their votes to fund NSRL?

Absent that, what alternatives are available that don’t involve Fed funding?

 

[FK4]

He’s right about how it would be perceived at the Federal level.

I think our best chance for Federal money that improves the Commuter Rail system (like we got for North Station Draw) would be for smaller (than NSRL) projects like Old Colony Double Track.

Yeah, because US citizens don’t have the ability to visualize dynamic situations. The NSRL isn’t important for its direct benefits but for what it opens up in the long run. It’s a gift that keeps on giving as each development shapes further developments. But shortsighted pols and citizens are too blinded by greed and ignorance to understand this. Plus, the east west rail is really more popular because it steers money to multiple districts, let’s be honest here. NSRL is a project that only benefits Boston workers; the East West rail puts money in the pockets cities and towns from Boston to Springfield, even if it’s a lot less dough. So pathetic how this system fails.

 

[sean99090900]

I probably shouldn’t be saying this as a member of the delegation from Boston, but let’s be fair, and let’s try to get the most impact

It's not really in the article, but I can't help thinking about what a national politician might see when they think about maximizing impact. If we are up against a project in Arizona, which 1) is electorally significant, 2) builds housing like there's no tomorrow, and 3) has significantly cheaper construction costs, we lose on all three fronts from a benefit per federal dollar spent calculation.

I think NSRL would be much more clearly a no-brainer if especially the outlying communities affected were clearly willing to build out like the Phoenix suburbs. As it stands now, it's controversial to do the bare minimum MBTA communities rezoning. As for 1 and 3, I don't know if anything can be done to improve our case lol.

 

[737900er]

Until some neighboring states can get on board it's not happening, and I would argue that the effort would be better spent elsewhere.

Yeah, I think Maine and New Hampshire are the main ones. The benefits to the Downeaster are obvious and similar benefits could accrue to other NER services in those states, kind of like the Virginia services today.