New Hampshire Commuter Rail Discussion

More news on the extension:

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx ... ada10484e7

cloudship wrote:Why can it not go all the way to Boston even if it si not operated by the MBTA? It is still in Massachusetts best interests to get a traffic off the roads, particularly along Rt. 3. And if the MBTA doesn't have to subsidize operations, why not let the state of New Hampshire pay for that train? Seems like a pretty good chance to me.

Someone explained it to me in detail a while back but I don't remember all the technical stuff so I will give the basic lowdown. It can not go all the way to Boston if not run by MBCR/MBTA because it will be a commuter train, and billed as such, and use a commuter schedule, thus MBTA will not allow it to run on their system via another agency. Whereas the Downeaster is an Amtrak train, and is not technically a commuter train thus why it can go all the way to Boston without train changes.

djlong wrote:More news on the extension:

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx ... ada10484e7

Interesting article. The comments were really interesting though. Lots of people for it, and lots of people really against it. But its clear from almost all of the negative comments that people who are against it really don't understand it. Lots of comments referring to trains as old out dated forms of transportation. Makes sense that new hampshire people might feel this way, when passenger trains haven't been seen in the state since your parents were young. I think the NHRRA should be doing more PR work, giving people more facts and dispelling all the misconceptions. Eeh means nothing to me though, I'm a masshole!

You would think that the president of the railroad revitalization group would know better than to sit on the $%^& rail, let alone have his picture taken while doing so...

MEC407 wrote:You would think that the president of the railroad revitalization group would know better than to sit on the $%^& rail, let alone have his picture taken while doing so...

That too, but i figured enough people would comment on that, that I didn't need to

if you look on their site, one of their ideas is to also have the eastern route go to kittery. now that would be fanstastic. summer time for shopping and stuff, itd be packed.

Many of the commenters in that article seem to have no concept of the idea that if you lived, for example, at Beaver Lake in Derry, you'd drive to Derry center, park there, and take the train to boston or wherever. They just don't get it. NHRRA where are you?

As you point out, some of the counter-arguments don't grasp the fact that the purpose of commuter rail service isn't to replace highways but to augment them (you can't have multi-modalsim without multiple modes, anyway. Rail service will never serve everyone...but it can have an impact by just taking some of the cars off the road.

And ironically, as gas prices climb, it will take traffic off the roads, requiring less expenditure for roads, thus reducing fuel tax demands!

I grew up in New Hampshire and experienced the anti-tax attitude first hand. During my sophomore and junior years of high school, my city's elected officials decided to stick it to the teachers' union by eliminating all funding for sports and extracurricular activities rather than raise taxes or fees. Fortunately, generous citizens and companies provided some funding to ensure that one boys sport and one girls sport would be available each season and that a couple clubs would exist.

The issue in New Hampshire is the same as the issue in many places. Many people truly do not understand how much things cost them.
When I moved into Boston from Arlington, my rent went up by $500, but we managed to downsize to one car, only need 1 T pass each month, and have heat included in the rent. My family only cared about my rent and worried that I was throwing my money away. They couldn't understand that I was saving about $100 a month when you factor in gas, tolls, auto maintenance etc.

In any case, it's up for NH to decide what is best for the public good. They're getting a freebie right now with the Downeaster. Also, the majority of the article commments seem positive so maybe it could happen!

GP40MC 1116 wrote:As for recent use of the Manchester & Lawrence Branch, the Lawrence Locals LA-1 and LA-2 have been using the M&L track for staging their train before they set out either on the Main Line or the Lowell Hill Branch to do some work

Question, how far do they get on the line? and how often is this?

cody810 wrote:

GP40MC 1116 wrote:As for recent use of the Manchester & Lawrence Branch, the Lawrence Locals LA-1 and LA-2 have been using the M&L track for staging their train before they set out either on the Main Line or the Lowell Hill Branch to do some work

Question, how far do they get on the line? and how often is this?

Dude you seriously need to kill that avatar!

I have heard from a few different sources that the M&L branch was used a few days ago to move freight.

Is this true/verifiable?

cody810 wrote:

GP40MC 1116 wrote:As for recent use of the Manchester & Lawrence Branch, the Lawrence Locals LA-1 and LA-2 have been using the M&L track for staging their train before they set out either on the Main Line or the Lowell Hill Branch to do some work

Question, how far do they get on the line? and how often is this?

I don't believe they have gone on or past the Merrimack River Bridge in quite some time. Service to Salem ended in June of 2001 (operating push-pull mode) it was a few years after that, that they stopped servicing the customer up by 110 (2004 maybe).

I don't see how this could be true since the M&L has not been a through route since 1983 or so. Most of the M&L was abandoned a in the 1980s, although short sections on either end remained until about 1998. I think a short stretch in Lawrence might still technically be used as a spur. I'd like to think that someday this corridor will see trains again, as traffic on I-93 keeps getting worse...