Going for a ride in the country on the Silver Line

By adamg on Sun, 07/12/2009 - 4:08pm

They have lots of gravel roads in the country. Bill Daras posts some photos showing that the Silver Line tunnel past South Station is becoming a gravel road as well:

... If someone paved your driveway so that it felt like a dirt road, was flooded 24/7 and started to turn back to gravel after five years you would have the contractor rip it up and start again. In Boston you just let it go, and ask for over a billion dollars to do it all over again.

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Comments

link typo

By Kaz on Sun, 07/12/2009 - 4:46pm.

Missed the "c" in .com.

Fixed

By adamg on Sun, 07/12/2009 - 4:56pm.

C added.

No he wouldn't...

By anon on Sun, 07/12/2009 - 5:11pm.

He might tell people that's what he'd do... But a la Jim Carey in "Liar, Liar" what he'd really do is:

"Nothing! Because if I take it to small claims court, it will just drain 8 hours out of my life and you probably won't show up and even if I got the judgment you'd just stiff me anyway; so what I am going to do is piss and moan like an impotent jerk, and then bend over and take it up the tailpipe!"

I'm all for holding the T to a reasonable standard, but let's be honest about what our expectations should be...

abandon the tunnel

By Sean H. on Sun, 07/12/2009 - 5:11pm.

With the state announcing the Washington St. silver bus will be extended to South Station, it is time to abandon the Silver Bust tunnel. If it stays, someone on the Washington st branch will have to get off, go downstairs and re-enter to go the next mile for the tunnel. That does not make any sense. Especially since the silver bus has to slow down to be in the tunnel (it goes faster once it reaches street level.

Until the tunnel is converted into a light rail tunnel, there is no point to using the slower, deterioting tunnel when that means everyone already on the other part of silver bus has to get off and get on another silver bus to keep going.

Plus, how would maps show that the silver bus goes from Dudely to Airport but requires transfer to itself?

also abandon Courthouse station?

By obi juan on Sun, 07/12/2009 - 11:05pm.

I don't see that happening.

Yes, since the Silver Bus

By Sean H. on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 11:12am.

Yes, since the Silver Bus can get there faster (and without requiring a transfer to those already on the Silver Bus Washington section) why not stop on the surface by courthouse T stop. What is the advantage of getting there slower and requiring people to walk up to street level?

Just so the MBTA planners don't have to swallow their pride?

And hey, as soon as the T switches it to light rail (as they said they could if the silver bus was heavily used) it makes sense to use the tunnel since light rail can move faster underground than buses.

Quote: What is the advantage

By Ron Newman on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 11:19am.

What is the advantage of getting there slower and requiring people to walk up to street level?

As an occasional Red-to-Silver Line rider, I can answer that. The advantage is that you have an underground transfer between the two lines, in the fare-paid zone.