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I'm not sure WMATA is a good model for *anything* right now. Their recent struggles make the MBTA look like the Tokyo Metro by comparison.

That's the point though, a proper NSRL basically doubles if not triples your subway capacity for the price of one tunnel through the downtown. Who cares about the Red Line capacity through the downtown when you can one-seat it from Porter to JFK/UMass in 1/3 to 1/2 the time. Ditto for the Orange Lin...

I'd heard them described as being "much better engineered cars than anything [the T] ever got from Kawasaki". I myself was always really impressed with the quality of the interior materials and the construction of the bogies/running gear compared to the K-cars.

Seriously? They decided not to exercise the options on the original Rotem order because the cars were so badly built, and now they're going right back to them with a no-bid contract? Which is most likely going to suffer the same problems with delays and poor build quality as the first contract, sin...

That, and they were ordered to handle the extra rolling stock demands of an extension that won't be in service for years. Better to run the rebuilt 7s and 8s into the ground and have some nearly-new type 9s in reserve for when the GLX opens and they're actually needed. One look at the central subway...

They're going to build a footbridge from Assembly: https://patch.com/massachusetts/somerville/design-unveiled-23m-footbridge-connecting-somerville-wynn For $30+ million, you're within striking distance of something automated and 24/7/365 weatherproof. I'm not sure about what an 800' pedestrian caus...

There was also talk of a cable car across the Mystic River from Assembly Square Orange Line station. The station is about 500 feet across the river from the casino/hotel A Doppelmayr cable liner to Assembly or Sullivan would be perfect, since it looks and feels like a light rail vehicle and is far ...

How do bi-level coaches prevent building the N-S rail link? Also drawbridges don't really impact underground stations that will be built 20 years from now. Tunnel clearances, maybe? Though the only reason why clearance issues exist at NYP is that the station is serviced by hundred year-old tunnels ...

The only way that anything beyond a simple Gardiner or Athol commuter extension seems even remotely feasible is if you restore the trackage between Adams and Pittsfield and build something along the lines of a lower-frequency, intra-state Downeaster, branded as something other than commuter rail. No...

Building on that, there should probably be a prioritization of which lines to electrify 1st in anticipation of the link, with an interim goal being a open, functional link that isn't quite serviced by all existing surface lines. Something like electrifying Worcester+Providence+Fairmount to Dedham/No...

Exactly. You still build your massive park and rides at 128, but you run DMUs along the CR ROWs into the link tunnels and out the other end of the system, so that when you hop on in Waltham to go downtown, you have only 5 or so stops (Waverly, Belmont, Porter, Union?, North Station) on your Riversid...

https://www.wcvb.com/amp/article/mbta-to-overhaul-commuter-rail-more-locomotives-from-1980s-and-1990s/27318537" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; And now It looks like every single remaining F40 in the fleet is going to get the MPI Boise spa treatment. Although it'll be interes...

What's the payback time for electrification? One advantage of electrification is you can place a rail yard, or electric locomotive service facility, in the basement of a development such as Beacon Park or Widett Circle. That's why it might make sense to electrify the south side 1st and go forward f...

This. Running passenger trains on diesel is a an anachronistic mistake. Better to electrify them all and save the precious dino juice for long-haul freight and airplanes, where it'll be the 2080s before we have a viable non-fossil replacement.

Build the isolated Light Rail line/GLX up the existing Bikeway ROE and replace the Bikeway with a dedicated, curb-separated bike lane running up Mass Ave from Lexington Center to Arlington Center, and have the light rail run down a Comm Ave-style median ROW from Arlington Center to Alewife Brook Par...