A hypothetical MBTA map, designed by Reddit user hipster_garbage, seeks to improve the current map. It features line extensions that would make it possible to go directly to West Medford, Chelsea, and Dudley Square – no pesky commuter rail required. It also adds two new branches of the Green Line in an attempt to make it more efficient, despite drawing skepticism from those who believe the line is already a tangled mess.
But the real crown-jewel of the map is a brand new “Yellow Line,” which loops around the city to connect every major line. Currently, a commuter going from Roxbury to Cambridge has to ride the Orange Line all the way into the city, only to transfer to the Red Line outbound again. With the Yellow Line, you could get on at Ruggles and go directly to Harvard, cutting commute times dramatically. Yeah, we’re salivating too.
jrc520 wrote:I posted this over on Reddit as well, and I'll put it here too - I've been working on this for a while now off and on - I call it, "Money is no object".
http://www.cutietta.com/whatifmaps/MBTACommuterWhatIf.png
Adams_Umass_Boston wrote:Has there really been any discussion on the Green Line to Needham?
jrc520 wrote:Hey tvachon - I've been thinking about the North-South rail-link. Part of what's really hard about it is the approaches - as discussed here before, they would be rather steep. This map is a work in progress, and I'm always trying to improve it. Eventually, you know, when I learn how to do it better, I'll redraw it so it is better formatted. Also, I haven't really given proper thought to many of the junctions - they are subject to change.
tvachon wrote:Ideally I think the NS link could easily be done by a sort of electric (or even maglev) DMU style set. Train goes north to south, south to north. One track, one train with a cold spare in a siding at a terminus. Passengers at airports don't bitch if they have to jump on a train similar to these to jump terminal to terminal, make it convenient enough (transfers done in the same level as arrivals) and people would use it heavily.
deathtopumpkins wrote:tvachon wrote:Ideally I think the NS link could easily be done by a sort of electric (or even maglev) DMU style set. Train goes north to south, south to north. One track, one train with a cold spare in a siding at a terminus. Passengers at airports don't bitch if they have to jump on a train similar to these to jump terminal to terminal, make it convenient enough (transfers done in the same level as arrivals) and people would use it heavily.
At the risk of going off topic though, what would be the real advantage of that over the current orange line hop BBY-BON? The only difference I see is that the current setup requires two sets of stairs at both Back Bay (up - down) and North Station (up - up).
Rbts Stn wrote:deathtopumpkins wrote:tvachon wrote:Ideally I think the NS link could easily be done by a sort of electric (or even maglev) DMU style set. Train goes north to south, south to north. One track, one train with a cold spare in a siding at a terminus. Passengers at airports don't bitch if they have to jump on a train similar to these to jump terminal to terminal, make it convenient enough (transfers done in the same level as arrivals) and people would use it heavily.
At the risk of going off topic though, what would be the real advantage of that over the current orange line hop BBY-BON? The only difference I see is that the current setup requires two sets of stairs at both Back Bay (up - down) and North Station (up - up).
The Orange Line hop doesn't work for anyone taking the CR from the routes that don't go through Back Bay, which is most of them.
deathtopumpkins wrote:
According to MBTA ridership statistics, approximately 66,000 daily riders use the lines that do go through Back Bay (Worcester, Needham, Franklin, Providence, Stoughton), while approximately 26,000 use the lines that don't (Old Colony, Fairmount).
[...]
I just don't think there are enough people who come from the Old Colony and Fairmount lines and want to go to North Station to justify the construction of a whole new transit line to directly connect them, when the trip is already possible in under 15 minutes with only 1 transfer.
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