monies from the T to the highways?

from boston.com.
it says that some 4.5 million will come from the T's capital budget. so does that mean the T loses the money, or that 4.5 will got to T infrastructure improvements?


http://www.boston.com/news/local/massac ... tion_plan/

The way that it is worded it seems like it goes from the MBTA to highways. I hope it is just a grammar error.

From first read, it looks like the $31 billion is the total price tag, which is spending on highways and transit. I'm assuming that that means the $4.5 billion from the T will be for transit.

the $4.3billion simply means the MBTA will be paying that for MBTA projects that people have been demanding......Geeze, budget in the projects that are wanted and the T still can't catch a breakk...

I caught part of it on the news - Romney is supposedly committed to the Blue Line extension to Lynn, and a commuter extension on the south side - I missed what the destination was, but it may have been the FR/NB line. I didn't notice anything about Green Line projects specifically, although more trains were mentioned as well.

The line you speak of is the Worcester line. He wants to double the # of trains to Worcester over the next 10 years.

I got a better idea. For now, let's worry about getting cars fixed that way there are enough cars to have regular sized trainsets. THen, the only problem is getting loco's that can pull them(We know the GP40MC's are worthless.......)

Whoops, you were right. We saw 2 different articles. He is commited to the Blue line and NB/FR CR line.

Also, he is going to double the Worcester line.

caduceus wrote:I caught part of it on the news - Romney is supposedly committed to the Blue Line extension to Lynn, and a commuter extension on the south side - I missed what the destination was, but it may have been the FR/NB line. I didn't notice anything about Green Line projects specifically, although more trains were mentioned as well.

I think he knows what areas need the trains the most, not just what is the most popular...Blue Line and Commuter Rail to the South Coast helping Lynn and the North Shore and bridges the gap between two of the largest cities in the state with limited highway access to Boston...Sorry Somerville and Medford, but they need their lines more!

The article does mention that there is something in the area of 600 million earmarked for FR/NB. Romney also wants to spend money to upgrade stations and buy new trains and buses. Thats in addition to the road infastructure that needs improving, such as the Sagamore Rotary. I will get heat for this one, but even if there is rail service, this project needs to happen, as its too bottlenecked and dangerous as is, and traffic back ups can affect people for miles.

Mitt sez that 16 billion of this is going to come from the
feds. Ahem. Didn't they just give Massachusetts a similar amount for something called the Big Dig? Do
they really think they're gonna pry that kind of money
out of Washington now? This is not a wish list; it's
a fantasy list. Everything on the bottom half can be just
about forgotten about. Realistically, you can expect
them to do the (long overdue) repairs on the roads
and bridges, and maybe some of the cheaper stuff
such as running more trains to Worcester. The other
stuff, such as FR/NB commuter rail was just put on
the list to mollify the folks down there; realistically,
since the state hasn't got the money to do it, don't
expect the Feds to pay for it either.

A close look at what is needed in the time period the proposal covers gets everyone what they want...and that's just the rolling stock costs!
1. new buses meaning the replacement of the last 400 RTSs and probably the replacement of the first CNGs
2. new rail cars in the form of Red Line and Orange Line cars(01200s and 015/01600s can't last forever)
3. probably new locomotives to replace those the GP40s and the screamers
4. new commuter rail coaches to allow for an increase in service and possible replacement of the oldest coaches
5. at least one, possibly two new bus garages to replace the current structures that are at the end of their life cycles

And that's just from part of the budget for the T, the costs of extending the Blue Line and the cost of extending the Stoughton Line to Fall River and New Bedford puts the budget right about where the Governor proposed. IMHO that's a damn fine budget and if people want more they need to get on the legislature to get more money...

trainhq wrote:Mitt sez that 16 billion of this is going to come from the
feds. Ahem. Didn't they just give Massachusetts a similar amount for something called the Big Dig? Do
they really think they're gonna pry that kind of money
out of Washington now?

$16billion for one project is never happening again, $16 billion for MULTIPLE PROJECTS(and that's what it's for) is not only doable- it's all but guarenteed.

Really???? I'll believe it when I see it. Not that they won't get anything; they'll obviously get something.
But I think it's gonna be a lot less than that.

trainhq wrote:Really???? I'll believe it when I see it.

Boston.com

We may not end up with what Romney wants from the feds. But Capuano seems to be pleased with what the house is offering, and optimisitic about the Senate.

You'll see in that article, that the Commonwealth never got anything close to $16billion from the feds for the Big Dig. It's bad enough the national media continues to give legs to that myth, it would be nice if us locals were more educated.

efin98 wrote: 3. probably new locomotives to replace those the GP40s and the screamers

BAD efin!!!!! GP40's need to be replaced, but how DARE YOU say the screamers need to be replaced??? They, for the most part, run fine. Every loco has the8ir hiccups every now and then, but the screamers are the best on the road now. They are not going anywhere and i think the T is showing that by sending out 1014 to be repaired. BTW, I was told that 1006 and 1011 WILL follow 1014 out to be fixed. Please tell me thi is true!!!! Then, when all 18 are running again, let's give them a permanent home NORTHSIDE ONLY!!!!!!!