Something I have noticed about some of the Commuter Rail lines is that they have a greater amount of stops per certain distance than other lines, which naturally causes the stops to be closer together.
Here is an example: Boston to Bridgewater on the Middleborough Line is 27 Miles, Boston to Southborough on the Worcester Line is also 27 Miles, but between Boston and Bridgewater there are only 7 stops, while between Boston and Southborough there are 13 stops. Because of this, the journey time from Boston to Bridgewater is about 50 minutes, while the journey time from Boston to Southborough for trains that make all stops is about 1 hour and 4 minutes. While this is no big difference in my opinion, I am not sure about what others would think. This has made me consider whether or not cutting out stops that are either low in ridership or are close to other stops could be a solution to speeding trains up and making them more time competitive with driving.
The Worcester Line stops a total of 3 times in Newton and then another 3 times in Wellesley, why? With the advent of park and ride stations, there is usually no longer a need to stop more than 2 times in one city/town as there was a century ago, as people can now just drive to the station and get on from there or take a suburban bus operated by a local agency. Of those stations, two in each town with the lowest ridership counts could be closed, riders who drive could be encouraged to use the other stations, and bus routes timed with train arrivals could be formed to run from the former stations to the ones that remain open for those who did not drive to the stations to use, and trains can start to run faster.
Here is an example: Boston to Bridgewater on the Middleborough Line is 27 Miles, Boston to Southborough on the Worcester Line is also 27 Miles, but between Boston and Bridgewater there are only 7 stops, while between Boston and Southborough there are 13 stops. Because of this, the journey time from Boston to Bridgewater is about 50 minutes, while the journey time from Boston to Southborough for trains that make all stops is about 1 hour and 4 minutes. While this is no big difference in my opinion, I am not sure about what others would think. This has made me consider whether or not cutting out stops that are either low in ridership or are close to other stops could be a solution to speeding trains up and making them more time competitive with driving.
The Worcester Line stops a total of 3 times in Newton and then another 3 times in Wellesley, why? With the advent of park and ride stations, there is usually no longer a need to stop more than 2 times in one city/town as there was a century ago, as people can now just drive to the station and get on from there or take a suburban bus operated by a local agency. Of those stations, two in each town with the lowest ridership counts could be closed, riders who drive could be encouraged to use the other stations, and bus routes timed with train arrivals could be formed to run from the former stations to the ones that remain open for those who did not drive to the stations to use, and trains can start to run faster.
Photo by Alan Thomas: NYNH&H I-4 Pacific #1372 proudly thunders through Forest Hills as it makes its way to Providence R.I.