Railroad Forums 

  • Potential MBTA Southern NH Service

  • Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.
Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.

Moderators: sery2831, CRail

 #1589300  by mbrproductions
 
Yet another article from the knucklehead Andrew Cline at "The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy", claiming that autonomous vehicles will make Commuter Rail obsolete, basically the same close minded garbage he wrote a few months ago, and conveniently leaving out the fact that autonomous vehicles will not solve congestion and the tons of other problems that plague cities thanks to car-centric planning, I guess he didn't learn a thing from the last time he wrote an article like this and then got trashed in the comment section.
https://jbartlett.org/2022/01/the-case- ... ven-years/

It looks like this debate is getting to its boiling point, all we can do is hope HB 1432 is rejected.
 #1589321  by BandA
 
I am very pro-rail, but anti-subsidy. Off topic for NH, I don't like it when I see MBTA CR zone 1 charging 79 cents / mile and supposedly losing big money doing it, while I can drive a car with 4 extra unused seats for about half that cost all-in.

In the Before Time, I had to drive on I-495 to MA 3 south at rush hour, where the highway is so congested that cars can barely get from one highway to the other. This, and I-93, as well as parking costs, is the case for, the Crying Need for Commuter Rail. But the economics are so out of whack.
 #1589350  by CRail
 
You don't seem to mind subsidizing highways. If motorists had to cover the costs of road construction, plowing and upkeep, emergency response, and safety patrols, how much per exit do you think the toll would be? I bet your inefficient 20% capacity ride would become prohibitive. Public roads are just as much a public service as public transit, and motorists that don't have to sit in gridlock during rushhour are benefiting just as significantly as those who are not contributing to such traffic by taking the train.
 #1589364  by mbrproductions
 
I am very pro-rail, but anti-subsidy.
thats fine but it goes all ways, being anti subsidy (in general) means you are against money going to not only railroads, but highways, streets, american farmers, and other essential assets to society. Not to mention making Passenger Rail work without subsidies would be incredibly difficult, as it would be with any other public service
 #1589366  by mbrproductions
 
And about the patch article I linked before, here is the same author, in her most recent article, referring to the very real housing crisis as a "phony", saying affordable housing causes crime, right after pretending to care for the poor in the very same article (the irony is unreal), and refers to affordable housing as unconstitutional and even BOLSHEVIK! You really can't make it up with these whackos.
https://patch.com/new-hampshire/bedford ... titutional
 #1589373  by scratchyX1
 
It's like they are just using John Birch Society boilerplate for press releases.
Last edited by CRail on Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:41 am, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Unnecessary quote removed. Do not use the "Quote" button as a "Reply" button.
 #1589401  by mbrproductions
 
New article, this time its a good one, Jim Foote has once again emphasized that CSX's acquisition of Pan Am Railways would consider the prospect of Passenger Rail expansion in NH, which can mean good news. The article also mentions the proposed Boston - Albany "Inland Route" Corridor and higher Downeaster frequencies...
https://www.nhbr.com/csx-ceo-keeps-hope ... ire-alive/
 #1589846  by Trinnau
 
Well, it just removes a hurdle. This is still a study and not an actual project. The design is only going to be little more than a detailed concept. The next steps will require full engineering design and construction once funding is identified.

Of course everything could change between the time this study is complete and the final design/construction starts. The location of the Manchester station changed between the 2014 study and this one.
 #1589855  by mbrproductions
 
True, a study is just the beginning. If HB 1432 is rejected (which hopefully it will be) then this project will have all its funding needs to get started, does anyone know if the debate about HB 1432 has reached a conclusion yet, or is that until March?
 #1589866  by BandA
 
There was a screenshot of the layover facility from a NHDOT document. Where is the presentation document?

It's a good thing that Manchester wants the layover facility
 #1589878  by mbrproductions
 
I agree that it is a good thing that Manchester wants the layover facility, I was afraid that it would end up like Plaistow but a layover yard in what is already a Railroad yard in a relatively industrial part of the largest city in New Hampshire won't be as big a deal as a layover yard in quiet Plaistow. As for the presentation document, I am not sure where to find it.
  • 1
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 22