A commuter rail excursion...
As I promised, I thought I would offer a post about my recent experience on the MBTA Commuter Rail this past Sunday. The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad (MBCR), which manages operations for the extensive system serving the east half of the state, recently restored weekend service to Providence, RI, from Boston's South Station. Not having had many opportunities to travel the MBCR south of Boston, and also wanting to take a brief afternoon trip to Providence, I thought this renewed service presented a nice opportunity.
The Providence/Stoughton Line travels along the Northern end of the busiest railroad route in the United States, the Northeast Corridor (shown below, thanks to Wikipedia). This mainline runs north from Washington, DC Union Station, through urban centers of the Northeast, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Providence, before ending at Boston's South Station. Much of the route is currently owned by Amtrak, although certain sections are owned by other agencies, such as the MBTA for the entire length north of the Massachusetts border.
The Northeast Corridor can be visually distinguished from other rail lines in the United States by its full overhead electrification throughout the entire length of the route, as well as the use of concrete rail ties (as opposed to the traditional wooden ones associated with practically all railroads) and continuous welded rail (instead of rails laid in shorter sections). These improvements, completed in the early 1990s, made possible the introduction of the nation's only true "bullet" high-speed train service, the Acela Express, which runs the entire route and provides business class service for the Northeast's white-collar elite. Other railroad companies, including the commuter rail systems (MARC in Washington/Baltimore, SEPTA in Philadelphia, New Jersey Transit, Metro North Railroad around NYC, and the MBTA - all indicated in blue highlighting in the map above) have also enjoyed these railroad improvements.
A typical view down a Northeast Corridor mainline, with overhead wires and concrete rail supports...
So, here are a few pictures from my trip...
Here, on my return train in Providence Station, is one of the MBCR's double-decked coaches used on the system. Double-deckers are only used on the MBTA Commuter Rail's lines coming out of South Station, as those routes originating at North Station and serving areas north of Boston do not provide the overpass clearances necessary to accomodate these taller cars. As one enters these coaches, he or she is given a choice to climb a few steps to sit upstairs, or to step down a few steps to the lower level (hence, the windows are at the same level as the platform). Cars seat passengers in a 2-aisle-3 format and feature overhead parcel/hatracks and plush vinyl seat cushions (not really luxurious, but better than hard plastic for a one-hour, 15 minute ride!).
...the tracks coming out of Providence Station, leading north towards Boston...
Here's the previous Union Station near Downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It now houses the Rhode Island Foundation. Given its distant orientation from the current railroad tracks, my guess is that the new station (a nondescript domed structure with a dreary interior) was built around the time with improvements were being made to the Northeast Corridor in the 1990s, which would have allowed the rerouting of the tracks through town...
Finally, here's a picture of the Acela Express train itself, parked at Boston's South Station and currently undergoing boarding for its trip down South. Although my train left the station before this one, we were about 20 minutes south of Boston, as a scheduled stop, when we heard a loud blast accompanied by a swift tipping of our train towards the side...this was due to this Acela train passing us at a high speed. I could imagine someone easily being knocked backward from the train and hitting their head on the concrete platform while trying to board one of these commuter trains while the Acela is passing. One can only hope that the conductors, who exit the train and observe boarding of passengers from the platform at each stop, are able to anticipate a passing train and warn boarding customers to mind the movement.
I have also noticed that the bulk of weekend ridership on the commuter rail consists of college aged people and 20-somethings. I can understand this for the northern routes, which cart people to many New England beaches along Massachusetts' North Shore. However, the young ridership between Providence and Boston surprised me a bit. However, I wasn't complaining, as young ridership translates to plenty of hot guys serving as eye candy for the trip...
The Providence/Stoughton Line travels along the Northern end of the busiest railroad route in the United States, the Northeast Corridor (shown below, thanks to Wikipedia). This mainline runs north from Washington, DC Union Station, through urban centers of the Northeast, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Providence, before ending at Boston's South Station. Much of the route is currently owned by Amtrak, although certain sections are owned by other agencies, such as the MBTA for the entire length north of the Massachusetts border.
The Northeast Corridor can be visually distinguished from other rail lines in the United States by its full overhead electrification throughout the entire length of the route, as well as the use of concrete rail ties (as opposed to the traditional wooden ones associated with practically all railroads) and continuous welded rail (instead of rails laid in shorter sections). These improvements, completed in the early 1990s, made possible the introduction of the nation's only true "bullet" high-speed train service, the Acela Express, which runs the entire route and provides business class service for the Northeast's white-collar elite. Other railroad companies, including the commuter rail systems (MARC in Washington/Baltimore, SEPTA in Philadelphia, New Jersey Transit, Metro North Railroad around NYC, and the MBTA - all indicated in blue highlighting in the map above) have also enjoyed these railroad improvements.
A typical view down a Northeast Corridor mainline, with overhead wires and concrete rail supports...
So, here are a few pictures from my trip...
Here, on my return train in Providence Station, is one of the MBCR's double-decked coaches used on the system. Double-deckers are only used on the MBTA Commuter Rail's lines coming out of South Station, as those routes originating at North Station and serving areas north of Boston do not provide the overpass clearances necessary to accomodate these taller cars. As one enters these coaches, he or she is given a choice to climb a few steps to sit upstairs, or to step down a few steps to the lower level (hence, the windows are at the same level as the platform). Cars seat passengers in a 2-aisle-3 format and feature overhead parcel/hatracks and plush vinyl seat cushions (not really luxurious, but better than hard plastic for a one-hour, 15 minute ride!).
...the tracks coming out of Providence Station, leading north towards Boston...
Here's the previous Union Station near Downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It now houses the Rhode Island Foundation. Given its distant orientation from the current railroad tracks, my guess is that the new station (a nondescript domed structure with a dreary interior) was built around the time with improvements were being made to the Northeast Corridor in the 1990s, which would have allowed the rerouting of the tracks through town...
Finally, here's a picture of the Acela Express train itself, parked at Boston's South Station and currently undergoing boarding for its trip down South. Although my train left the station before this one, we were about 20 minutes south of Boston, as a scheduled stop, when we heard a loud blast accompanied by a swift tipping of our train towards the side...this was due to this Acela train passing us at a high speed. I could imagine someone easily being knocked backward from the train and hitting their head on the concrete platform while trying to board one of these commuter trains while the Acela is passing. One can only hope that the conductors, who exit the train and observe boarding of passengers from the platform at each stop, are able to anticipate a passing train and warn boarding customers to mind the movement.
I have also noticed that the bulk of weekend ridership on the commuter rail consists of college aged people and 20-somethings. I can understand this for the northern routes, which cart people to many New England beaches along Massachusetts' North Shore. However, the young ridership between Providence and Boston surprised me a bit. However, I wasn't complaining, as young ridership translates to plenty of hot guys serving as eye candy for the trip...
posted by Evan at 6:00 PM
2 Comments:
Great pics. I didn't realize the Acela created such a jolt as it passed by. Commuter rails are wonderful. I'm really hoping Virginia Transportation decides to extend DC's commuter route to Charlottesville. There's a buzz about it.
"plush vinyl seats"
:P
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