MBTA Track Charts

Greetings- first time post to the MBTA forum. Do you know where I could find track charts for any of the commuter rail lines, particularly those that run through Braintree?

Also- are there any current capital improvement programs at the MBTA designed to raise CR speeds via straightening curves, super-elevation, etc?

on the old colony lines??? i doubt it, those lines are still kinda brand new, they are not going to straighten out the curves on the lines

Not necessarily the Old Colony lines- any of them.

I'm also curious as to whether or not there is any work to straighten out curves on the NEC to raise speeds, but I imagine that Amtrak doesn't have money for such things because they're too busy holding everything together with duct tape.

villager wrote:Also- are there any current capital improvement programs at the MBTA designed to raise CR speeds via straightening curves, super-elevation, etc?

As a general rule, the top speeds of MBTA commuter trains will always be limited by the frequent stops and starts as much as by track speed limits. When stops are only a couple miles apart, as they are on most of the current system, a train spends quite a bit of that time accelerating and decelerating, so boosting the top speed for a short stretch in the middle does relatively little to reduce total running time.

One of the arguments for electrification is that MU cars can accelerate faster than locomotive-hauled consists. That might be the best way to decrease overall running times. But it would require a LOT of capital improvement money that presently isn't there.

Amtrak's original improvement plan for the Northeast Corridor did include some curve-straightening, but that money disappeared years ago and nothing is currently in the (funded) works.

Curves straightening is very expensive. It is so because in straightening railroad curves enough to get sizeable improvements in speed requires moving the track tens to hundreds of feet. Which, in turn, requires land acquisition. When you look at the Nimby-ism on restoring the Greeenbush on an existing right-of-way; just imagine the shouts of protest about moving a track closer to a group of homes!

Re-elevation of curves is a lot easier, but still has engineering restraints. With higher elevations longer spirals are required. Also, if there are any grade crossings involved there is the potential of getting "low boy" type trailers getting stuck on the crossings. And drivers sometimes launch themselves off these crossings unintentionally (though the teens do it on purpose). The towns complain, and request remediation.

Some speed raising has been done on the MBTA system; particularly compared to the speeds of 20-25 years ago. There is 70 MPH on the Old Colony, New Hampshire, East Route and Franklin Branch. The Gloucester Branch is up to 65, and the Wildcat is up to 40 from 25. There should more to come.

DAW

for the first original question, see this:

http://www.dbperry.net/mbtacommuterrailnetwork.pdf

which I got at a tour of the South Station dispatch gallery.

Villager-- I have some Old Colony Track maps, but its only from south station to north quincy if that helps

One inaccuracy is that this map shows double track on the Fitchburg route between S. Acton and Willows (Ayer). This section is currently single track, although there is a plan to double track it as part of proposed improvements to the line.

that map is at least 5 years old, on the NEC in Attleboro there are 4 tracks now, and Interlockings Holden, Mansfield and Junction have been remodeled

as noted in the lower left corner, it is from September 1993.