Quote:
Originally Posted by SFBruin
Apparently, the answer to this question is that all of the money went to the big dig, but I am going to ask it anyway:
Has there ever been a proposal to electrify all or parts of the MBTA commuter rail? It seems like a good idea given how comparatively small Boston is and how dense / clustered it's suburbs are.
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Electrifying entire 14 line network amongst ideas to better improve service
^Its been proposed, yes.
Also, search for MBTA DMU 2024 and you’ll see many plans and proposals.
There is no metro area in the United States that is more underserved as far as rail transit (except LA) than Boston.
Take the
RedBlue connector for instance. The Red and Blue lines are the only two rapid transit lines that don’t connect in Boston - this creates a giant bottle neck at Park St, Government Center and State Street. Now the Red Line and Blue Line are just 0.4 miles from each other on a street that is straight as can be. It’s a project that would cost $500M or so - at worst. Could be done in a short period of time and would open up the network considerably. Also, the state promised the federal government they’d build this project if the federal government awarded funds for the Big Dig. Now they’ve put it off for years making excuse after excuse.
Boston has about 6 projects more critical than most cities #1 project.
• NSRL
• Blue Line extension to South Salem
• RedBlue connector
• Orange Line to Reading
• Red Line to Arlington Center
• LRT to Seaport District
• Ashmont-Mattapan conversion
• Logan Airport people mover