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To me, the major technology that can have the most impact is open gangways. I've personally seen how well this works in Europe and *eventually* people are going to like the idea of increasing capacity by 10% or more without expensive signalling projects or more tracks or rebuilding stations for long...

I don't think we're looking at $8B (unless you build the optional Central Station and electrify EVERYthing). Nor do I think the bill will come in at the $2B that Dukakis and Weld suggest. But let me add something about my experiences. In the 1990s, I worked in the Seaport District - for Fidelity. Th...

$183 was a one-way airfare to Europe maybe 10 years ago, but not now. Norwegian bombards me with emails touting JFK or Boston to London Gatwick for $195 (one way) this fall, JFK to Paris for $175, Boston to Martinique (in the Caribbean) for $69 The "trick" is that the one-way fare BACK is...

I wonder if this contest will get names like "Borey McDigFace".

Well, there'll be a study - at a cost of $2M: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/02/23/north-south-rail-link-gets-new-look/bCXiGajd6cfGTcApuIy0lN/story.html?p1=Article_Trending_Most_Viewed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; The article credits former governors Bill Weld a...

When I see the first project that restores rails to a right-of-way that has been pulled up and paved over as much as the M&L has been, while there are ACTIVE rail lines just 12 miles west through the 3 most populous cities in the state - *then* I'll believe that we'll see train through Salem aga...

Don't compare the Cape Flyer to anything that requires the re-laying of track. When the M&L's rails were pulled up, that was sealing it's fate for a *long* time. The Cape Flyer was, literally, lease a train, put up a couple of signs, advertise and go. It was *cheap*, therefore, it was *possible*.

My point is that Crown Street works, but only *with* South Nashua. All by itself, it's set up to fail. South Nashua catches the car-owning commuters in the bedroom areas outside the downtown Nashua area (which includes where I live). Crown Street catches those who don't have cars. One thing I left o...

You are simply NOT going to restore the M&L with commuters. Why? There's an ALREADY EXISTING line that goes through the three largest cities in the state - Manchester, Nashua and Concord. You have a mayor in Nashua fighting to extend the MBTA there. Going via the M&L trades Nashua (pop. 87,2...

So far it's not known how far into New Hampshire the funding is going to go. Manchester's the goal, South Nashua the minimum fallback if the state flakes out and City of Nashua is in go-it-alone mode. From a perch in Boston, can't even begin to guess where the layover would go. Obviously each city ...

The traffic on US-3 isn't TOO bad - at least not in Nashua. In Merrimack and Manchester you DO have frustrating delays. The real problem on US-3 is from I-495 (Lowell) to MA-128/I-95 (Burlington) during rush hours. 11 years ago, they widened US-3 from the NH line to the terminus at MA-128/I-95 and i...

NH has no income tax, so NH gets no additional taxes if jobs are "created". If new housing units are created, they are likely smaller or on smaller than average parcels, so derive less than average property tax while creating the same amount of burden on schools and other resources. So, g...

I have the original article describing this project from the Boston Globe back in the 1980s saved in a notebook somewhere - I'll have to dig it out. The article had a map of how the lines would be paired up for 'run through' operations. Even back then, they showed the not-yet-under--reconstruction O...

I know you asked only about commuter railroads but you did mention Amtrak. Amtrak still does this with the Lakeshore Limited. Eastbound, they split at Albany NY - one section goes to New York City, the other goes to Boston. Westbound, the two trains unite at Albany and continue on to Chicago.

I wasn't thinking of making sure to get the car number - but my memory wants to say it's 7012. I was trying to be discreet (i.e. no flash and try not to be too obvious about taking pictures) as I was afraid that someone on the train (or security, if any, outside the train) might get irritated at me ...