On Thursday, the #MBTA released for public comment their SFY25-29 Capital Investment Plan, or CIP. (It's important to specify state fiscal years, because the Boston Region MPO, which is responsible for allocating federal transportation funds, uses the federal fiscal year, and the last three months of FFY24 are in SFY25 just to confuse everyone who's trying to cross-index programs and budgets.) The full plan is here: https://www.mbta.com/financials/the-proposed-capital-investment-plan-cip
Today I took the #mbta blue line and then used a bike share to go down the esplanade. Suffered over the pedestrian bridge to get over storrow drive. Got me thinking, blue line extension past Charles MGH, fix the problem with storrows and problem with blue line. My idea, extend it along the charles. Take out storrows, have it connect to the Worcester line for a lil, going through Kenmore to connect with green lines, and then give Watertown the train they deserve (dense area). I doodled something like I do lol.
#MBTA chief Phil Eng issued a plan to eliminate slow zones by the end of 2024. #transit
#WestVirginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat, has announced he will not run in 2024, making Dems' path to keeping control of the Senate narrower.
After getting up two hours early so I could catch the train to this mornings 9am #MBTA board meeting, my brain feels like molasses in winter. And no fare collection on either leg of the train trip. (PoP would be an improvement but it's not what we're theoretically doing now, and neither train was full.)
Worth noting: My commute on the #MBTA today (commuter rail and Orange Line) was exceptionally smooth and comfortable. It was like the good old days. #MaPoli
As part of an air-rights project over the Mass. Pike in Back Bay, developers are building a new plaza that will include a new entry to the Hynes Green Line subway station, protected bike lanes, and an improved bus shelter for the #MBTA 1 bus.
We checked in on the construction progress this morning:
Back in 2019, I went out to a bunch of stations (although seemingly not all) on the Providence Line to take pictures of their condition and get some idea of what the barriers were to building high platforms. I wasn't originally going to publish them, so I just used my phone and not my DSLR. I noticed that South Attleboro looked like it was about to fall down. (1/n)
🌞 Good morning #fediverse! This is GBH News bringing you the world from #Boston. It's 66F at Logan Airport and visibility is 1.25 miles.
The #MBTA's Red Line has the most extreme slowdowns in the system -- and the agency announces it will shut branches altogether for repair in October. #transit
Former President #Trump posed for a mug shot in Georgia yesterday, as he was booked on charges of interfering with the 2020 election. He posted the photo on Twitter shortly afterwards.
Despite breathless reporting by our local media outlets, I continue to not see the big deal about the gauge issue for the #GLX .
The problem is a bummer but it sounds super fixable, and folks are making a big deal over a nothingburger story. Folks seem to be getting outraged for reasons I don't understand. Y'all had bad requirements document and now have bad results, so to be safe you've got to move a bunch of rail over a eighth inch. #MBTA#MAPoli
Switching a Worcester-Boston express train to one that makes more local stops appears to have helped the #MBTA gain more riders – but Worcester leaders grumble that the change came at the expense of their city's commuters, who now have to spend 40-45 minutes longer on their rides to Boston:
Fire fills MBTA station with smoke, prompts temporary suspension of Orange Line service (www.boston25news.com)
A fire at an MBTA station near Tufts Medical Center caused delays on the Orange Line Wednesday.