Mbta fan wrote:diburning wrote:I've read somewhere on this forum that the B&A might have a track profile that works better for heavy freights, but not so good for higher speed passenger rail. Whether this is true or not had never been revealed.
There has to be good sized hills between framingham and Worcester. There are defiantly some
Past Worcester heading west(thats all I'm saying about Worcester west)
The term track profile refers to the rails, ties, superelevation, etc. The actual grade profile can't really be better for heavy freights than passenger trains...the flatter the better, no matter what kind of train!
To the west of Worcester is Charlton Summit (with grade exceeding 1% on either side), but the commuter rail doesn't run there. Worcester is the "city of seven hills" so the railroads must get through those to get in and out. Coming out of Worcester the line runs past Lake Quinsigamond which allows a natural gap in the hills.
From Worcester to Boston, the line is an almost steady downgrade all the way to Boston, never exceeding 0.7% upgrade or down.