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Let’s improve commuter rail service between Providence and Boston
- chmaynard 9y agoI'm posting this editorial because CalTrain riders need to know that commuter rail in New England faces many of the same problems. CalTrain also has the additional challenge of eliminating its grade crossings. The cost of that improvement would probably bankrupt CalTrain, but it needs to happen.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- idreyn 9y agoIt actually will happen, eventually, as a result of the California HSR project: http://caltrain-hsr.blogspot.com/2012/12/grade-separation-decadal-view.html http://caltrain-hsr.blogspot.com/2012/12/grade-separation-de...
- tabeth 9y agoI'm 100% against new tracks being laid or any more capital expenditures to the MBTA (anyone who goes on the Red Line during rush hour, or the commuter rail during the winter knows it sucks). The current system needs better maintenance, first. Here's one solution: create a new express lane on existing highways by removing a lane or repurposing the existing HOV lane. Make this new lane have a 80mph speed limit. Only allow buses. There you go. This would have a higher average speed than all existing public transportation systems in the United States. No need to build any rail. --- As long as "undesirables" can easily go to your town via public transportation, NIMBYs will shut it down. See the Red Line extension to Arlington. Those folks are regretting that now. Disclaimer: I live in Massachusetts -- both the above, and the OP will never happen. It's just too hard to justify the capital expenses. In the case of improved service you would think it's easy, but once you consider the commuter rail is already underutilized it's hard to imagine. Heck, they were even going to end weekend service for the commuter rail. http://www.wbur.org/news/2017/03/13/mbta-weekend-commuter-rail-premium-ride-trip-cuts http://www.wbur.org/news/2017/03/13/mbta-weekend-commuter-ra...
- crzwdjk 9y agoThe point is that the rail is already there, and the rail line is already pretty much the best in the US, and already has electrification, that the commuter rail trains don't use for entirely stupid reasons. And sure, buses are great, but one comumter rail train carries the same number of passengers as literally 20 buses. Given that the tracks to Providence are already there, some relatively minor improvements can make the trains suck much less. Your bus idea on the other hand seems like a good alternative to the South Coast Rail boondoggle.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- tabeth 9y agoSure, but why should the MBTA care about the Providence Line in particular, as opposed to say, Worcester or other parts of Massachusetts?
- tacomonstrous 9y agoProbably because it earns the most revenue, given its usage and distance.
- tabeth 9y agoGiven that the MBTA is a money losing organization I'm not sure revenue maximization is necessarily the strategy that should be sought.
- SamReidHughes 9y agoIt's how you measure whether you're doing something useful.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- davexunit 9y agoI would love for MA to improve the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line, too. The infrastructure feels so dated. The trains are slow, infrequent, and are late or broken too often, so I just drive in the terrible Boston traffic instead. I would love to take the train if I could. Even the fastest train from Worcester to Boston, a single express train, takes an hour. But most likely your schedule can't align with that train (I wouldn't get on at the terminal station so I can't ride it) so you have to take an even slower one.
- tabeth 9y agoHeh, this pretty much summarizes it: https://i.reddituploads.com/ed7d8ee6c6b84fe2b1ad51aab4e29588?fit=max&h=1536&w=1536&s=6e6aade4a50fc69fdced2b9ce1f8e609 https://i.reddituploads.com/ed7d8ee6c6b84fe2b1ad51aab4e29588...
- johncomposed 9y agoThis image is fascinating, is there a source to it? Reverse google images sadly didn't turn anything up.
- vitus 9y agohttps://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/5qdq03/mbta_commuter_rail_performance_2016/ https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/5qdq03/mbta_commute... links to https://twitter.com/jimhaddadin/status/824708694441132034 https://twitter.com/jimhaddadin/status/824708694441132034 links to the underlying data source, http://mbtabackontrack.com/performance/index.html#/download http://mbtabackontrack.com/performance/index.html#/download
- jdormit 9y agoAnd then you get into the city and have to take the T... My 4-mile Green Line trip from home to work takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. The other lines aren't as bad, but the Green line is just shockingly terrible.
- yosito 9y agoMy understanding is that the reason the US doesn't have better rail service is because the auto industry lobbies the government to direct subsidies toward roads rather than railways. I've seen many cities wanting to improve commuter rail services, but until we get rid of the auto industry's influence, this is an uphill battle.
- Aloha 9y agoRail service isn't practicable in most of the country, even at 200 miles an hour, NY to Chicago is still a long long trip.
- remarkEon 9y agoI would gladly spend the hours I spend dealing with the mess of airport travel on a train instead.
- PakG1 9y agoHow long is it by car? If the only other option is by plane, I can imagine high speed rail being a good alternative, even if it takes longer than plane. See what long-distance rail looks like in places where it works, like Europe, China, even dare I say Canada.
- freeone3000 9y agoIt's a 12 hour drive.
- krallja 9y agoAt 200 miles an hour, NY to Chicago is less than four hours. It takes about an hour total for transportation between downtowns and the airports; you need to be at the airport about an hour ahead of your flight; the flight itself is 2 and a half hours. So, a 200mph train would be _faster_ for most travelers.
- jcranmer 9y ago
- bkeroack 9y agoIn my experience, Boston to Providence is pretty fast and pleasant. The issue is the rest of the way to NYC, which crawls through Connecticut at a snail's pace and takes something like 3.5 hours. It's a pretty brutal trip.
- sitkack 9y agoAt least it isn't Fung Wah.
- roymurdock 9y agoRIP $5 Boston-> NYC trips with dudes literally getting on the bus carrying chickens in cages https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/fung-wah-bus-company-closes-doors-good-n394026 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/fung-wah-bus-comp...
- dsfyu404ed 9y agoThis. If you were willing to put up with the downsides the price couldn't be beat.
- DoofusOfDeath 9y agoI think you're thinking of Amtrak service. Commuter-rail service only goes as far south as Wickford Junction in North Kingston, RI.
- foxhop 9y agoFrom New London Connecticut to New York City Penn station its average time is 2.5 hours. I live in New London and I have taken this route a few times for job interviews in New York. New London is pretty close to the Road Island boarder, I don't think 3.5 hours is accurate, at least not on average. I code on the train and it's by far my favorite type of travel, so much room and WIFI included with ticket. It's awesome. For perspective, it takes 2.5 hours to drive on I95 from New London to New York. If you take a train you don't have to worry about traffic, or parking, or pay attention to the road. It's great, I just wish the ticket price was a bit lower.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- chmaynard 9y agoI'm traveling to Norway soon for a short vacation and I'm looking forward to using Oslo's public transit and regional rail network. Apparently it's an award-winning, world-class system.
- dheera 9y agoMost Northern European systems are absolutely amazing. Not only do things just work, but their attention to detail and design is also top-notch. In most places the fonts, kerning, colors, lighting, everything is just very pleasing to the graphic designer eye. Sometimes you feel like you've stepped into an app.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 9y agoIndeed. Take for example the City Tunnel in Malmö which finished ahead of time and a million dollars under budget[1]. At Triangeln it has dancing lights on the walls that are somewhat mesmerizing[2]. 1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Tunnel_(Malmö) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Tunnel_(Malmö) 2: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k6tJb9TwY1k https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k6tJb9TwY1k
- Sharlin 9y ago> a million dollars under budget A hundred million, surely? 1e9 SEK under the projected cost of 9.5e9 SEK.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 9y agoWhoops you are correct, dropped a zero or two there. Makes it even more impressive.
- niftich 9y agoThese are good recommendations, because in the greater scheme of things these are (relatively) small expenditures that can greatly improve level-of-service. Many European commuter rail systems -- or mainline rail segments that end up hosting predominantly commuter traffic --- run EMUs and have renovated their stations with level-boarding platforms.
- kevinburke 9y agoAdvocating for these types of boring improvements is a good way to make a difference with your local City Council or transit organization.
- dsfyu404ed 9y agoThis is all fine and good. Just don't improve it between Boston and any city you expect people to be able to afford to buy a house in.