50 replies to this topic

[The Voice of Reason]

Man I usually pay close attention to that one.  I am a bad man.  

I wonder if part of the problem with the T is the 10 Billion spend on the big dig.  I wonder if it would have been smarter to put 10 billion into the T then try and fix the highway network.  



but I guess when the big dig started highways were still in vogue

[Lowerdeck]

Let's face it, Boston is better off without the Central Artery.  The question is, if they didn't do the tunnel - what would have happened?

Among my moments of brilliance and random thought:
- Remove I-93 and highway between Zakim Bridge and Turnpike
- I-93 south of the Turnpike would be I-90, and run that all the way down Route 3 to Cape Cod.
- The part of I-93 between Route 3 and I-95 would be I-690
- The part of I-93 north of the Zakim Bridge to I-495 would be renumbered I-193

And then I-93 would replace I-395 and I-290, then multiplex with I-495 between Marlboro and current I-93.  Or Replace 495 with 93 south of the current I-93 and it's course into Salem N.H. and beyond.

I think I need a new hobby...

[HartfordTycoon]

Looks like Boston is starting to pay attention to the rest of the state and New England. The inland route is vital as it passes through every major metro area in New England except Providence, which is already served by the Northeast Corridor which should be in line for some improvements as well.


Boston Globe


With a dense population clustered around a few large cities and many former mill towns, New England is well suited for rail travel. But limitations on current tracks mean that high-speed rail service isn't as fast as it should be - and indeed improvements to the existing Acela route are among the projects touted by the New England Regional Rail Coalition.

Other possibilities include high-speed Boston-to-Montreal service, Downeaster service farther into Maine, and, crucially, a so-called inland route from Boston to New York through Worcester, Springfield, and Hartford. Until now, there was never much money available for these projects. And as the Globe reported last week, governors in New England until recently avoided regional rail planning, for fear that the Bush administration would try to burden them with responsibility for Amtrak service.

[HartfordTycoon]

Looks like New England is starting to get its act together about rail. Very promising developments are now occuring pretty rapidly and the states are finally cooperating to form one cohesive vision for rail transportation throughout New England in the future.

Vermont Business Magazine


The six key projects are listed, as outlined from a vision statement released by the six New England Governors.

The Downeaster service which operates on a route included in the Northern New England High Speed Rail Corridor between Boston and Portland is a national model for the successful introduction of new intercity passenger rail service. The states along the Downeaster Route are working together to improve the infrastructure with the goal of reducing the travel time between Boston and Portland to two hours and increasing capacity to support 7 daily round trips.

New Hampshire’s Capital corridor will create easily accessible passenger rail service for more than 500,000 residents of Southern New Hampshire with stops in the cities of Concord, Manchester, Nashua and Boston. The rail line will also stop at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, creating a much-needed connection for tourists and travelers from across northern New England. Eventually, this service will extend north to White River Junction, VT and to Montreal fulfilling the vision of this designated High-Speed Rail Corridor. .

Vermont’s Western Corridor will provide direct service down the western side of the state connecting Burlington, Rutland, and Bennington with Albany and New York City via the Empire Corridor.

Massachusetts will return the Vermonter to its original route through western Massachusetts via the Knowledge Corridor.  This effort, supported by the State of Vermont, is a vivid example of the ongoing collaboration of two states working together to improve service and increase the number of rail passengers. The Knowledge Corridor between Springfield and White River Junction provides connection between the Boston to New Haven and the Boston to Montreal legs of the Northern New England High Speed Rail Corridor.

Through Connecticut’s leadership, the group will work double track and replace bridges on the Springfield Line that serves the cities of New Haven, Hartford, and Springfield in order to provide the foundation for the larger rail network. Expanded train service will provide key connections between New York City, Bradley International Airport and will allow further development of the inland high speed rail line between Boston and New York.

Providing the connection between Providence and Boston to TF Green Airport in Rhode Island via the Northeast Corridor as well as enhancing passenger service south of Providence will build on the long term transportation partnership between Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In addition, Rhode Island is working with Amtrak on capacity improvements along the Northeast Corridor in Southern Rhode Island that will permit bi-directional overtakes for intercity passenger rail, benefiting all users of the corridor while providing for future commuter rail infrastructure at Kingston Station.

[HartfordTycoon]

Hartford Courant Editorial: Getting New England Back on Track

Hartford Courant

New England's governors announced Monday that they will go after federal stimulus funds to upgrade and extend rail lines. Now they must build their campaign by political leaders and the hoi polloi.

Connecticut's application seeks $800 million to upgrade the New Haven-to-Springfield rail line. The plan is to create commuter service along the route and high-speed connections from western Massachusetts and central Connecticut to Amtrak's separate Boston-to- Washington Acela service.

A key element in selling the restoration of Connecticut's main north-south rail line is its place in a system that would give fast, smooth connections from Portland, Maine, to Boston, Hartford, New Haven and New York.

[MadVlad]

About a decade or two late, if you ask me...

[HartfordTycoon]

MadVlad, on Jul 16 2009, 01:21 PM, said:

About a decade or two late, if you ask me...

I'd say 50 years too late, but better late than never.

[The Voice of Reason]

In one of the articles out recently the NHHS Commuter rail will be upgraded from an 80MPH track to 90 then 110 MPH. thus qualifying it as high speed. At 110 it gave the average speed including stops as 60 MPH. Not bad for the densely populated I-91 area.

I wonder however how well this system will do on the Boston Montreal route.
Montreal is not that big of a business community, so traffic might not be as naturally high as if we were talking about NYC Boston and Toronto.

Also, the Highways like 89 are like race tracks. for a train to be competitive with the car they would have to be averaging more than 80 MPH,
over 320 miles

If we are going to run a line from Albany to Buffalo, why not link into CN Rails system and take the train all the way to Toronto.

NYC to Albany to Buffalo then Toronto is 550 Miles.
If we are talking TGV style trains, that would be something like Paris to Avignon in terms of distance.
that trip takes from 7:16AM to 9:55AM
cost is $104 US

thats the cost of your cab fare from mid town to JFK round trip.

Edited by The Voice of Reason, 16 July 2009 - 03:49 PM.

[HartfordTycoon]

Things are still moving along. Too slowly for me, but I guess you can't rush this stuff.


Hartford Courant

NEWINGTON, Conn. - Transportation leaders of the six New England states say they're teaming up to boost the region's chances for federal stimulus grants for high-speed commuter rail and freight service.

[HartfordTycoon]

Things are starting to pick up a little bit.

Boston Globe

WASHINGTON - New England states are expected to receive $160 million to upgrade a rail corridor linking New Haven, Western Massachusetts, and Vermont when railroad stimulus grants are unveiled today, lawmakers said.

[HartfordTycoon]

Moving right along.

Hartford Courant

Connecticut wants federal aid to begin building a system that can accommodate 110-mph passenger trains between New Haven to Springfield, part of a larger plan to link Boston, Montreal, New York and Washington by high-speed trains.

"We had a good run," Dodd said after the New Haven to Hartford ride. "This is a terrific project. It really is about the economic growth and development of the whole region."

Rell said if funding for the $800 million to $900 million project works out, high-speed trains could be running through central Connecticut by 2016.

Springfield Republican - Editorial

Economic development officials in Springfield have long argued – and rightly so – that there is a natural synergy between the economies of Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. MassMutual Financial Group, which is headquartered in Springfield, for example, has a satellite office in Enfield. And many Western Massachusetts residents commute daily to jobs at Pratt & Whitney and other companies south of our border.

Timothy W. Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, believes the addition of intercity and commuter rail links between Springfield and the Nutmeg State would only strengthen and broaden economic ties.