MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) discussion
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I got caught in the aftermath trying to go to the Bruins game from Union Sq
The T has improved except the flagship Red Line which only has 16 CRRC cars in revenue service.
October 1 was a bad day
The T has improved except the flagship Red Line which only has 16 CRRC cars in revenue service.
October 1 was a bad day
They would have had the cars rerailed and service back to normal, but now the Feds (NTSB) are involved so looks like another day of shuttle buses at least.
Not clear from the videos but I think the train was outbound towards Union Square? They are saying track structure OK so think it was human error.
As a red line rider, this isn’t true.
The red line is night and day. Slow zones have been removed, and new cars are in service. The headways are no longer averaging 18 mins.
I need to take a ride to Braintree
Hard to believe but the old Blue Birds in 1963 reached 55 mph between South Station and Broadway.
They still have 60 Pullman-Standard cars ( 10 trains ) in service that are 55 years old.
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Boston media 10/2/24
The reports seem to be blaming this on operator error. From the picture it almost looks like the first car split the switch with the front heading to Medford and the rear to Union Sq. I wonder if the operator moved over the switch while it was changing from the Medford to Union Sq routing. To do this he/she would have had to pass the double red stop and stay that would not have cleared until the switch had been set properly. But this is all speculation on my part, we will have to wait until the NTSB issues its report.
If this turns out to be operator error, all the more reason to get the Green Line Train Protection System up and running ASAP.
If this turns out to be operator error, all the more reason to get the Green Line Train Protection System up and running ASAP.
https://mass.streetsblog.org/2024/1...-inflict-significant-impacts-on-regional-rail
Didn’t realize that MassDOT could be this daft.
Didn’t realize that MassDOT could be this daft.
The second option, building the Readville facility, does not solve the problem of how the Downeaster consists get swapped out.
Looks like the third option, making MassDOT's contractors keep access to the Grand Junction bridge open during construction, is the only viable one.
For context, here's a picture of the Grand Junction bridge with the Allston project area in the background.
I once took a boat tour up the Charles, and the guide said that (technically) it was the only spot on earth where you could have a submarine under a boat under a train under a car under an airplane under a space station.
I once took a boat tour up the Charles, and the guide said that (technically) it was the only spot on earth where you could have a submarine under a boat under a train under a car under an airplane under a space station.
In further discussion of the Allston project, and I'm paraphrasing here, they had a design/construction agreement worked out about a year ago after decades of negotiation and design about which road would be over which, and what the final result of the project on Charles river access would be. Note microscopic path along Soldier Field road now. The only problem was that there is a hard and fast rule against building anything over the Charles. The design didn't include a permanent structure over the Charles, but would require a 10 year "temporary" road sticking some two lanes or so out. A court said that 10 years was too close to permanent, and they are probably right.
In case anyone isn't familiar with the problem, the Masspike (the busiest road in Massachusetts) is about to fall down along this stretch, and is ugly as sin. See https://www.mass.gov/allston-multimodal-project for more details.
In case anyone isn't familiar with the problem, the Masspike (the busiest road in Massachusetts) is about to fall down along this stretch, and is ugly as sin. See https://www.mass.gov/allston-multimodal-project for more details.
And in other MBTA news, I recently landed at Logan, hopped the free Silver Line to South Station, took the new speedy/frequent Red Line to Alewife and was picked up by my accommodating spouse. It was rush hour, only took about an hour total and was totally free. She wasn't about to pick me up at the airport.
Super easy one staircase transfer at South Station...
Super easy one staircase transfer at South Station...
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UserNameRequired
Lead Service Attendant
Was this Grand Junction Bridge ever considered as a way to 'connect' North and South Station for passenger use as far as Amtrak is concerned? I had never heard of it before, but I am not from around MA.
Not really. It requires a move into what's left of Beacon Park Yard, then reversing direction to get to either North or South station. The line is the remnant of a freight branch that gave the B&A access to East Boston and the docks there. It was never used for passenger service.
Sounds like the classic example of the Left hand being completely oblivious to the actions of the right hand. A deep seated issue of bureaucracy.
And in even more Grand Junction news, here's a study of using the ROW for a new transit corridor. Doubt they will get it built before MassDOT blocks the end of the bridge...
acelafan
Conductor
Wow, nice. I have done similar but not taken the subway from South Station.
MBTA does not charge you to transfer from the Silver Line to the Red Line?
Amazingly, no. I don't really understand the Silver line tunnel system, but when you get off the bus under South Station, you are already inside the T paid area, and you walk down one clearly marked staircase and boom, you're on the Red Line platform. Just like transferring from another T train.
When they first proposed the Silver line, I made fun of them calling a bus a T train, but it is actually well designed with luggage racks and it is very popular with people going to or from the Seaport area.
When they first proposed the Silver line, I made fun of them calling a bus a T train, but it is actually well designed with luggage racks and it is very popular with people going to or from the Seaport area.
Excellent. Let’s add it to the stack of studies done on that corridor since 1985.
😅
The only real problem with the Silver line is that if the Ted Williams Tunnel has a traffic jam, your bus is stuck in it.
trainman74
Conductor
I discovered last month when I was in Boston for a brief visit that the T accepts contactless payments, so you can just tap with a credit card (or phone or watch) to get through the fare gates...
However, other systems I've encountered with this setup will automatically cap fares at a certain point, usually equivalent to the cost of a day pass -- and it turns out the MBTA does not.
However, other systems I've encountered with this setup will automatically cap fares at a certain point, usually equivalent to the cost of a day pass -- and it turns out the MBTA does not.
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Interesting facts and notes in old railroad magazines
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