Right....it should be set up M-N style....the train leaves Fitchburg, makes all stops to South Acton, then LIMITED stops from there....about 10-15 minutes after the train from Fitchburg leaves SA, another train will head in that turns there, making ALL stops....
Outbound would be the opposite...the SA turn would arrive 10-15 minutes before the Fitchburg train arrives...
On weekends and late nights, you could have the Fitchburg trains cover all stops.....
Problem is, right now there is no extra equipment to do such...but after the 75 cars arrive, this might be possible....
cpf354 wrote:Fitchburg Route is the longest on the system, currently, at just about 50 miles. I think the current problem is that the political forces on the Hill have been pushing successfully to provide frequent service the entire length of the route, forcing what should be South Acton local turns to become Fitchburg turns that have to make ALL the stops that should logically be on the shorter South Acton trips. Someone needs to smarten up and figure out that it's very unlikely that a train that stops at Hastings will pick up a passenger destined for North Leominster. They should split the schedule between South Acton and Fitchburg trips, limiting the local stops inside Zone 5 to South Acton turns as much as possible, and omitting them as much as possible on the Fitchburg trips. Double track between South Acton and the Willows would help.
BTW, Guilford (now Pan Am Railways) does not maintain any of the route. It's all owned and maintained by the MBTA. The T upgraded the stick rail west of the Willows themselves. Only role Pan Am plays is that they dispatch out of North Billerica the portion of the route from the Willows to Fitchburg.
Hoping for a rebirth of the Screamer fleet.