Providence bound trains on the weekends

pdxstreetcar wrote:Are there any plans for MBTA to purchase electric locomotives for the Providence line now that it is electrified? It seems to me that if youve got an electrified line you might as well take advantage of it.

I think the Old Colony line was rebuilt with eletrification in mind. I wouldn't image the T would buy any electric trains until those lines also had wires, and probably Fall River/New Bedford as well (sometime a hundred years from now).

pdxstreetcar wrote:I recall that Amtrak had a lower weekend fare on their trains somewhere around $8-9 maybe a year ago.

I know they have a Boston-Providence commuter pass. Many people who commute to Boston ride Amtrak one-way the T the other.

Yes, the T runs football specials from Providence for every Patriots game.

the schedule is on the T's website under transit updates, under commuter rail section

what would it take for Rhode Island or the MBTA to have trains go to Providence on the weekends? a lot of votes?

id vote on having providence trains for weekends. I always wanted to goto that huge Providence Mall....

MBTA F40PH-2C 1050 wrote:what would it take for Rhode Island or the MBTA to have trains go to Providence on the weekends? a lot of votes?

Well, if the T wanted more money for it (which I assume they would), then it would probably take a lot. RIPTA is constantly crying for money, and no one on Smith Hill seems terribly concerned about transit. We've been spinning our wheels on commuter rail expansion for years now.

There does seem to be a lot of public support for transit in Rhode Island though. A recent talk back feature in the Providence Journal about widening parts of Routes 95 and 295 had many many people stating that trains and better bus service would be preferable to more highway lanes.

I wouldn't expect to see weekend service to Rhode Island until the line is extended to TF Green. That's at least several years off.

do you guys know what engines RIDOT bought for the T? the unit numbers? and where would this sticker or label be on an engine?

RIDOT holds the title to 1074 and 1075.

thanks ST214

Oh allright then, so 1074/75 may be used for further public use for Commuter service to/from Providence, unless you mean something else.

Robert Paniagua wrote:Oh allright then, so 1074/75 may be used for further public use for Commuter service to/from Providence, unless you mean something else.

They are already in regular revenue service.....and have been for several years.

Providence to Boston "commuter" service is but one of a number of lines in the east and mid-west that got "caught" in inter-state politcs, as commuter rail lines were turned over to state agencies.

SEPTA's R-2 Line to Wilmington Delaware was cut back to the last stop in Pa. (Marcus Hook) for years until Del finally agreed to fund operations in Deleware, and to this day although the service was extended to Newark, Del., the Deleware portion of this route is always living under the threat of termination as the state of Del can never seem to make up it's mind over funding the line.

RTA/METRA had to deal with Indiana, and Wis., over lines there that overlap state boundries, and while Indiana did form a transit group to run the South Shore Line, another line was terminated all together (Valpo),
and on the Metra Lake Shore Line, Metra wound up only running trains
over the Wis., border (to Kenosha) when they had to reach the yard
(that situation seemed to smooth over but Wis still does not fund the line).

Probally the only when to have 7 day all day service into Rhode Island is for residents of RI to hammer their elected officals over it.

When the South Station to Westerly, RI local train still ran did RI pay for it's operations at all?

Ken