Search

It's downtown + freight yard layover or nothing at all. Yes, they've changed it a bit since Spit Brook was the preferred site. Nonetheless, knowing the way things have transpired in NH over the years (I mean this stuff has all been "studied" before a while ago, and no significant progress...

You sure this isn't the Nashua-only plan? That study is supposed to be wrapping soon, while the latest Cap Corridor one is still yet to commence. Nashua there's no question the T wants. Lowell has no current layover yard, and reactivating the derelict one at Bleachery is a lousy proposition for how...

The fact that they are discussing using DMUs is a good sign for the Indigo line. I think a lot of people would like to have the Indigo line turn at South Station (existing upgradable wye is there) and head over to the Worcester line, and turn it into a more or less complete DMU rapid transit level l...

We studied the line from Charlotte to Middlebury too back then. As I recall, the
jointed rail portions were actually in decent shape; I recall them being available
for 50-60 mph speeds on most of them.

On the general topic of going from Burlington to Essex Junction, I had remembered the track being in very poor shape about 10 years ago when we studied it; the entire section from the downtown Burlington station to Essex Jct. was going to have to be replaced. That was not projected to be very cheap....

The Ethan Allen is going to Burlington. Track upgrades ongoing, VT targeting a 2017 open date for the extension. Whether the actual opening date slips to 2018-19 or not, it is for-real project that is for-real going to happen. That's good. Means they can reopen that nice little station in Middlebur...

The Flyer is a very low budget operation. It only turns a profit because it uses rail that was rebuilt a while ago for other reasons; if the capital cost of the rebuild (on a per train basis) was factored in, it would probably be a money loser. The point is, even small advertising expenditures could...

I think it unlikely that there would be more than one Vermonter per day any time soon; there just aren't that many people who live along the route. I'd say the only new trains might be weekend specials per the Cape Flyer for tourists and leaf peepers. Even get getting the Pioneer Valley commuter rai...

I don't know who else was on the Fitchburg line this week, but it was a total mess. The 7:50 into Lincoln was late 4 out of 5 days, by about 20 minutes each day, and today was the worst of all. Got there 12 minutes early, went out and saw the 6:55 coming in at 7:40! Ran for it, and missed it. Then, ...

http://www.gazettenet.com/news/12061493-95/pioneer-valley-commuter-rail-service-would-operate-five-or-six-trains-a-day-by" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. .....2016. Or supposedly then, anyway. Does anyone know how serious this is? Certainly looks like a good idea to me; the...

IMHO those stops are "mandatory" because some influential residents of that area have the political power/pull to insure trains stop there. Affluent towns with political connections always get what they want. Yeah, this gets it right. Weston has many people with a lot of $$$$, and they ha...

he herald carried a happy-talk piece today. i was startled by the last year's revenue number of $390k. i don't think it wise to report such a low number. it certainly can't support the investment of $5mil and climbing. when do we balance things that are, maybe, nice to have with the reality of our ...

Lewiston Auburn proposals have been around a while. It sounds like a good idea, but there were earlier estimates made of the amount of money needed to make it work, and as I recall, it was a lot, between 100 and 200 million, well above the cost of the Brunswick extension. Here is the study, made in ...

I believe CR on the P & W was looked at back in 2007 by the MBTA. I couldn't find a copy of the study; they have it on file somewhere. I remember reading some of it a long time ago, and it appeared there might be some ridership on it, but it wouldn't be a whole lot. Before considering that, I th...

The U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER Discretionary Grants program is a potential funding source for trackwork improvements. I think the Worcester - Ayer trackwork would be a strong candidate, especially in the context of some of the other projects that have been funded by this program in the...