Green Line Extension Lechmere to Medford

Yeah, somehow the updated maps make it seem more real than, oh, the heavy construction going on a block from my house.

rethcir wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 7:35 pm It is actually happening.. amazing after all these years

The GLX line to Tufts (and beyond) had been officially planned starting in 1945. The original plan did not include the branch to Union Square. So it's been in the works since WW II and it's great to see it built in my lifetime - I'm 71.

Was it worth the project overspend? What would the fare need to be in order to recoup the project costs?

Union Square branch to open in October.

BandA wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 4:32 pm Was it worth the project overspend? What would the fare need to be in order to recoup the project costs?

The GLX project cut costs from the original design by simplifying the design of the stations and other cost-cutting changes. Any project that requires this many walls and bridge modifications is going to be expensive. As for the fare, transit projects and operations are never covered by fares alone. Tax funds are always needed.

So speaking of fares and simplifying the station designs . . . how are they going to handle fare collection? The simplification means no fare gates, right? And since the center platforms require left side door access, how are fares being collected?

Where did you see that there wouldn't be fare gates? I can't imagine that the "station design simplification" was so extensive as to get rid of the fare gates!

I thought that was the new plan.

Excerpt from a news article I just found: Comparing the stations to the Green Line stops on the B and C branches, he said they could be “open air,’’ largely exposed to the elements, their minimal structures primarily used to house electrical equipment. The previous plans called for the stations to have full entrance structures and other amenities that now seem unlikely.

I know that the redesign called for on-board fare collection, but that was assuming AFC 2.0, with the proof-of-payment system on the Green Line, was going to be in place by then. Not actually sure what the plan is now.

Well that's massively disappointing from a quality-of-service perspective, let alone the puzzling question of fare collection.

EDIT: Also, from the article above, B and C will both now terminate at Gov't Center!

EDIT: Also, from the article above, B and C will both now terminate at Gov't Center!

Yeah !, ever since Govt Center was rebuilt, and the turning loop there rehabbed, it may ZERO sense not to have all B trolleys run to and from Govt Center.

Ken

Maverickstation1 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 6:58 am EDIT: Also, from the article above, B and C will both now terminate at Gov't Center!

Yeah !, ever since Govt Center was rebuilt, and the turning loop there rehabbed, it may ZERO sense not to have all B trolleys run to and from Govt Center.

Ken

The loop was rebuilt for trains coming from the north. It can't be used by the B,C,D,E trains.

They planned to turn the B trains at GC a few years ago but the line is so unreliable they changed their minds.

I'm a bit surprised that C trains won't still terminate at North Station, but perhaps the extra capacity isn't required north of GC now that the D branch will be running through there as well.

I suspect that the C will be re-extended to North Station quite quickly. Running two branches out of the same downtown terminal means you have no dispatching control there, and commuter rail riders will be rather displeased if they're getting passed up by full trains coming from the north at North Station.

The answer to the fare predicament? CharlieCard validators on the platforms and the honor system.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/04/17/ ... le-tricky/

I wish the political will for fare-free transit was as strong as the political will to hire a bunch of transit cops to harass people about paying their fares.