|
|
| Re: PHOTOS: MBTA MPXpress Locomotive #010 In Delivery (1024471) | |||
 |
|||
| Home > SubChat | |||
|
[ Read Responses | Post a New Response | Return to the Index ] |
|
||
|
Re: PHOTOS: MBTA MPXpress Locomotive #010 In Delivery |
|
|
Posted by aem7ac on Tue Jan 11 19:08:28 2011, in response to Re: PHOTOS: MBTA MPXpress Locomotive #010 In Delivery, posted by WillD on Tue Jan 11 18:10:27 2011. All of the supposedly modern commuter rail lines Mr. Nut listed move a tiny fraction of the customers conveyed by the systems in Paris, London, Berlin, Tokyo, and even Sydney and do so at a cost per passenger greater than those networks. I would rather we take our cues from systems with a demonstrated capability to move a large number of people than in systems with their operations rooted in completely outmoded thinking and utterly ineffectual at moving people effectively.I just fail to see what relevance the experience in those European and Asian cities have in Boston. Boston, for the most part, has densities that are too low to justify European or Asian style commuter rail, and the "good" lines have already been converted to rail rapid transit. (The Malden service of the former Boston & Maine was one of the strongest commuter rail markets on the North side). Moving a large number of people at low costs just isn't that helpful if the people aren't there to be moved... There's some capacity issues on the South side, and I think MBTA's response to them (buying double deckers, increasing train lengths, and train frequencies to a lesser extent) is completely appropriate for the kind of demand that's there to be served. Perhaps there is a case for using either electric locomotives or MUs on the Providence service, but for the most part that problem is institutional. So long as train paths remain plentiful (and they are, relatively speaking), then no sea-change of the type you're talking about is necessary... yet. Just my opinion, but of course there will come a time (I hope) when a higher density service would be justified. |
|
|
|