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MBTA/Green Line Extension (GLX) to Medford and Somerville


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#1 NickG

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Posted 29 October 2004 - 09:46 PM

From the Boston Globe:

There are plenty of train tracks in Somerville, 11 miles of them, just counting commuter rail and Amtrak.

The problem, say residents of this densely settled, working-class city, is that none of the trains that run on those tracks, 200 every day, stop in Somerville, instead rushing by on their way to Boston.

About 500 residents gathered Wednesday night at Somerville High School, hoping to persuade state officials to change all that by building the $375 million extension of the Green Line from Lechmere to West Medford, including a possible spur to Union Square.

The full story is here.
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#2 EllisSimon

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Posted 30 October 2004 - 10:05 AM

Why not just add a commuter rail stop? It would cost a lot less than extending the Green Line.

#3 Sloan

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Posted 30 October 2004 - 12:10 PM

.....or electric trolleybus—Lechmere to Harvard Square—would be a start. Even in traffic an ETB moves pretty quickly and it's pollution free. As ridership increases, the T can phase in LRT. Muni plans to do that—when and if they get funding— with the Geary Street ETB line that is overloaded with 33,000 passengers per day. Sloan

#4 winwithceltics

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Posted 30 October 2004 - 11:27 PM

Ellis, What makes you think these guys would ever be THAT smart? The money they could save by doing as you suggest and the money they could save by doing the same, and adding more trains, instead of extending the Blue Line to Lynn (this could still be done in the future) could go toward connecting North and South Station which would have enormous benefits.

#5 EdFindlay

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Posted 31 October 2004 - 01:09 AM

The cost is about $500 million, the most expensive part of which is going to be a new tunnel under Union Square to allow the Green Line to leave the Fitchburg Line's right of way to join the Lowell Line's right of way. That is the most important part as it would pass right through the heart of Somerville into an area that has very little MBTA service. Adding a stop on the Fitchburg Line is pointless, there is already one that is literally steps from the city line at Porter Square(just past the end of the platform IIRC). Adding a stop on the Lowell Line is just as pointless as there is already a Red Line station near the line at Davis Square. Add to that the two lines are already heavilly saturated with commuter rail trains so those would be slowed down due to the new station(s). I don't think the line will be as expensive as predicted, in fact I doubt there is need for the line past Union Square as east of Union Square bus service increases with buses heading from West Medford and Medford Square through Somerville en route to Sullivan Square and Wellington.

#6 Lyle McBride

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Posted 03 November 2004 - 07:28 PM

There has always been a bus (pretty frequent, as I remember) from Lechmere to Harvard Square and there are buslines on nearly every main street in Somerville. The fact is (as fifty years' experience all over the world has shown) that people will not ride buses if they have cars, but they will ride streetcars or light rail. Houston, Memphis, New Orleans and a few other US cities have recently learned this lesson, but Boston obviously has not. Somerville is densely populated but only the Cambridge edge gets rail service. Buses, electric or not, will not cut the mustard. The average rider doesn't even notice if a bus is diesel, natural-gas or electric. Right now I am in Zacatecas, Mexico, trying to get this idea across here. There are buses everywhere, every five or ten minutes, but once a family has a car, it never uses the bus again. Congestion is unbelievable here, even though only one family in seven owns a car. They´ve just spent hundred of millions on urban highways, and congestion is worse than ever. Without rail, the historic center will be abandoned here as it has been in dozens of medium-sized cities in the US, including my home town of Omaha, where 80% of what was once the central business district is "open space", parks or parking. No car-owner ever gets on a bus! As for connecting North and South stations, that would be great for through Amtrak passengers (if any), but would serve very few people compared to extending the Blue line through its densely- populated shore area. I'm all in favor of commuter trains, but they are not a substitute for light rail or subway, because they can't realistically provide local service. Very few commuters would ride through Boston if they could (around 128 might be different story). When Amtrak has service from North Station to Montreal and northern New England it will be time enough to figure out how to get through (or maybe cheaper arount) Boston.

#7 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 November 2004 - 11:20 PM

When Amtrak has service from North Station to Montreal and northern New England it will be time enough to figure out how to get through (or maybe cheaper arount) Boston.

Amtrak does have service from North Station to Northern New England. It's called the DOWNEASTER.

As well as it does, imagine how much better its ridership would be if it were physically connected to the rest of the Amtrak system through the proposed tunnel. Since it's highly unlikely it would be electrified, and also unlikely that diesel trains would be allowed in the tunnel, an engine change somewhere in the Boston area (south of South Station) would be required.


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#8 EdFindlay

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Posted 06 November 2004 - 04:15 PM

A bit more in depth...

That site has pretty much all alternatives for the project including all possible rail routes overlayed on a map of the City of Somerville. Depending on one's views on buses, commuter rail trains, and light rail trains the map has a favored option for all.

#9 NickG

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Posted 18 November 2004 - 01:30 PM

From the Somerville Journal, 11/18/04:

Green Line boosted

The MBTA picked its top four choices for improving public transportation in Somerville this week, and so far, so good, said local officials.

Three of the MBTA's four highlighted plans would extend Green Line trains into Somerville, and the fourth alternative would create a new commuter rail that would run through Somerville into West Medford.

The full story is here.
Nick Gibbon

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#10 Jack615

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Posted 12 May 2005 - 05:10 PM

State seen readying plans for Green Line extension
Transit project list expected
By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff | May 12, 2005

The state is expected to announce plans soon to build the MBTA's Green Line extension through Somerville and West Medford, one of the transit projects legally required as part of the Big Dig, said state and local officials who have been informed about the plan.

Jack

http://www.boston.co...line_extension/

Edited by Jack615, 12 May 2005 - 05:10 PM.

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