by FRN9
Tom,
Good point on the lack of ridership between New Haven and Worcester and starting with Springfield-New Haven first.
ATSF,
Maybe the better idea to accomplish your same goal is it think about ways to extend the MBTA from Boston thru to Springfield. I imagine there are a lot more people going from Springfield to Boston than from Hartford/New Haven there and it keeps it clean statewise. But Tom brings up an important point which is the single-tracked nature of the Boston-Albany line west of Worcester. Is connecting these systems via Springfield the best use of dollars?
While there are other issues related to drawbridges and such, what about first connecting New London to Providence? The line between New Haven and Boston is electrified and this should offer and added incentive to provide some kind of commuter service between the two regions. The distance between Boston and New Haven via Providence is 154 miles, but the distance between New London and Providence is only 58 miles (Worcester to Springfield is 48 miles). Given that the line would primarily serve Rhode Island perhaps they could support the service. Operationally, however, it would be best to have a single train running between Boston and New Haven, which would replace the present MBTA Boston to Providence and SLE service to New Haven.
Good point on the lack of ridership between New Haven and Worcester and starting with Springfield-New Haven first.
ATSF,
Maybe the better idea to accomplish your same goal is it think about ways to extend the MBTA from Boston thru to Springfield. I imagine there are a lot more people going from Springfield to Boston than from Hartford/New Haven there and it keeps it clean statewise. But Tom brings up an important point which is the single-tracked nature of the Boston-Albany line west of Worcester. Is connecting these systems via Springfield the best use of dollars?
While there are other issues related to drawbridges and such, what about first connecting New London to Providence? The line between New Haven and Boston is electrified and this should offer and added incentive to provide some kind of commuter service between the two regions. The distance between Boston and New Haven via Providence is 154 miles, but the distance between New London and Providence is only 58 miles (Worcester to Springfield is 48 miles). Given that the line would primarily serve Rhode Island perhaps they could support the service. Operationally, however, it would be best to have a single train running between Boston and New Haven, which would replace the present MBTA Boston to Providence and SLE service to New Haven.