MBTA's Providence Line: Future Electrification! And a Stop at Canton Junction!

[@LonestarTrips]

Sorry to those of you whose comments in the live chat I wasn't able to respond to! I'm on the Crescent as we speak, and Amtrak's WiFi decided that right in the middle of the video was when it would drop out. As compensation, here are my responses to those which went unanswered: @Tokyo Trekker: I would love to hear about your recommendations. I'm not sure when I would be able to get over to Japan, but knowing what travel options are out there would be nice. @Neillan: I'm surprised they even did that and just left everyone without a train, but at least you could get a taxi. @Willsen: I would love to make a Danish trip report at some point. I'm planning on heading across the pond late this summer, and I'll do my best to head up to Denmark while there. Anyway, I'm glad everyone enjoyed the video, and thank you so much for showing up to the premiere! I'll see y'all on Wednesday!

[@samtrak1204]

The Crescent has wifi?

[@Junior-vt9ly]

With the change in MBTA administration recently, they dropped the battery-electric trains and are going full overhead catenary

[@LonestarTrips]

Wait really? I could've sworn I read they're sticking with battery EMUs. If that's true, then that's definitely the right call. Do you happen to know where you read that? I'd love to look into it more.

[@toadscoper4575]

@@LonestarTrips its not an official announcement yet; however, there’s been a huge push by politicians for proper electrification, and legislation has been drafted. Governor Healey also has been a proponent of full electrification and has appointed industry experts to the MBTA board

[@LonestarTrips]

@@toadscoper4575 I really hope that becomes official. Full electrification is the way forward.

[@patrickmartin3322]

I really hope this actually happens, battery electric trains are rather stupid

[@Junior-vt9ly]

@@LonestarTrips don’t remember exactly but look for articles from February 2023. I remember it being announced around that timeframe

[@PatriotAndAlbanyProductions]

Yo! Railfanner here, when your back, check out the north side, we have these old comet cars and gp40mcs up here:) (also, quick note, shouldve done it at mansfield, it reaches 150mph down there)

[@JohnsTrainVideos]

No most flappy departure board at north station? I used to love it when it would flip flip flip flip to a new set of trains!

[@himbourbanist]

oooh your Acela angles were GOOD. flying by

[@tonymento7460]

I remember when the E -8’s and the GP - 9 ‘s ran to RI from South Station with the old New Haven / Penn Central commuter rail cars that were build by Pullman Standard

[@JJRol.]

Didn't catch the premiere for this one. I love the architecture in Boston.

[@LonestarTrips]

All good man. Glad you still chose to stop by!

[@timbacchus]

You had a lot of cameras for those fast ones. Thanks Cool having battery run units never thought about that.

[@LonestarTrips]

Glad you liked it! I only had time to see those two Acelas before continuing on to Providence, so made sure to get my value out of them.

[@IGuessIDoThings]

I love that these videos have some railfanning mixed in

[@LonestarTrips]

Haha I’m as much a rail fan as I am a travel enthusiast, so including some is only natural.

[@drewmarzano4179]

For anyone wondering what the numbers on the catenary poles are, those signal the mileage to GCT in NYC. For example, at 9:00, if a train was travelling at roughly 213 miles per hour, it would get to NYC in an hour. If high speed rail does become possible, imagine how quick it would take to travel the distance!

[@hirampriggott1689]

Do you realize how much infrastructure remodeling that would require?

[@RealConstructor]

Electrification and increased frequency first to get people out of cars. High speed trains are a possibility to get people out of planes, but that’s second.

[@terranempire2]

South station is under renovation which is why it is the way it is here now. I was there in January so I hope that once finished they open back up the space.

[@LonestarTrips]

I'm not sure when the space will reopen, but I don't think it'll be for a while. The project is massive, so I bet it'll be like that for at least another year.

[@terranempire2]

@@LonestarTrips official timeline says they plan on finishing sometime in 2025. Living in the Baystate and having come and gone through south station countless times in my life I can say they have already increased the number of rail platforms significantly.

[@LonestarTrips]

@@terranempire2 2025 seems about on par with a project of that size. The expansions they've done to South Station have been incredibly helpful in bring in more rail traffic over the past decades. Hopefully the station proper will receive a refresh sometime soon.

[@counterfit5]

A North-South link with underground platforms would be amazing, if they can find room for them with the Red and Silver lines there already

[@RandomRailfan828]

Great video man, lots of good info plus I love the on board! Also nice catches too!

[@LonestarTrips]

Thanks man, I really appreciate it!

[@stephenkeever6029]

Great multi camera rail fanning!

[@de-fault_de-fault]

11:38 Prior to their 2002 refurb (becoming the pastel nightmare that is the Comet IIM), some of NJ Transit's Comet II's had seats just like these (or the Shoreliners) but in brown, with a vinyl floor. But others of them had a carpeted floor and orange flippable seats, with a contrasting (in color as well as texture) brown insert at each position. I think that's my favorite "real" Comet interior (not counting the Comet V which is sort of its own thing, or the Horizon fleet for that matter).

[@gb9727]

MBTA should get ACS64s and electrify their busiest routes

[@mirzaahmed6589]

0:55 the station really isn't as bad as you make it out to be. I never even noticed the exposed ducts on the ceiling, but it doesn't matter either way; they are too high up to be aesthetically unpleasant. The scattered restaurants are also a nice touch.

[@robertknutson491]

The scattered restaurants make the stations feel way more crowded than it really is! They don’t even fit in!

[@JoePlett]

The scattered restaurants & other kiosks provide revenue that ideally help keep costs to passengers down. I have no issue with "mallification" if it provides a revenue stream that helps underwrite the services I value. BTW - have you seen Boston NORTH station recently?

[@toadscoper4575]

To clear things up- the matter of MBTA electrification has been on constant flux; however, there’s a ton of political support. As of now politicians are actually pushing for full proper overhead catenary electrification rather than battery EMUs. Governor Healey also just appointed a new MBTA board and manager so who knows what will happen next…

[@notstarboard]

@@reallifechronicles1707 Keolis is contracted to operate the commuter rail, but the commuter rail is still an MBTA service.

[@hunterfellman-greene3863]

Seeing the day was July 1, 2022, I headed out of South Station earlier that day at 7:15 AM to NYC Penn Station for the 4th of July on one of the Acela Express trains

[@gb9727]

the fairmount line is getting electric trains

[@gb9727]

MBTA should link up North and south by 2050

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

2:34 it’s turning into Penn station….. the beautiful naturally lit hall is gone and will not reappear, and the tower will turn the once open air platform into a dimly lit space without much natural light

[@LonestarTrips]

Unfortunately so. But Penn station did need to go through it's ugly phase before Moynihan was built, so maybe a similar treatment is coming for South Station.

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

@@LonestarTrips hopefully we will do what Philadelphia did in the 1980’s and build a center city tunnel

[@LonestarTrips]

@@JoeyLovesTrains I hope so too. There really needs to be a north-south connection in Boston.

[@CaradhrasAiguo49]

full electrification of even just the lines passing through Back Bay station would also solve the never-ending poor ventilation problems there caused by the usage of diesel locomotives

[@strangehobbyist]

All I’ve been hearing right now from MBTA is bad news (blame both heated rail and impossibly difficult floods this summer), but hopefully Gov Healey keeps her word and this electrification project starts fairly soon.

[@thiagoknows3504]

Awesome man the electric mbta trains should be great

[@Robbi496]

If you look at pictures of the Station i n the warly 1900's, even then it was a cavernous dimly lit terminal

[@johnburke1317]

Nice video

[@CoolPapa_Bell]

The T is still the only agency that operates the HSP46. Crazy to think Amtrak hasn't taken a shot on a couple of them after all the early problems with the Chargers. To my knowledge they're decent after the early issues they had.

[@LonestarTrips]

I’m surprised too. I would’ve thought they’d at least do a trial run of a couple, but I guess not. Maybe something to do with their contract with Siemens.

[@svenmartin840]

I hope you do a trip from Hamburg Germany to Milan Italy on the train

[@gb9727]

Im not really a fan of the motive power locomotives. They look dated, and i think they should get siemens ventures or just chargers

[@Spaceshotx7]

Why is it the only MBTA commuter rail where they only open 1 car and 1 door?

[@ronezekian9865]

Canton Junction does indeed have stairs, if the ramps are too long for people.

[@Yearofthedeathofhumanity]

I actually ment train yt but it was auto correct so so sorry

[@willgibson9718]

See you next week I have a doctor 👩‍⚕️ near new haven union station

[@skyblueo]

I would have liked you to talk about Providence station and show what it looks like, rather than just showing the floor. Like are there places to eat, how are the bathrooms, are there any shops where you can buy chargers & cables, in case you accidentally didn't pack them? Otherwise, it was a good video.

[@LonestarTrips]

I think I talked about it more in a different video, as it was the starting point for the next leg.

[@michaeltajfel]

At 12:43 there is a digitally altered photo of a Class 345 Elizabeth line train in the London area. Can you explain this?

[@LonestarTrips]

The photo was used as a reference in a news article to show how a class 345 EMU would look as a part of the MBTA’s fleet.

[@nodfexxover7877]

Just so you know. The WHOLE train is supposed to be open. That's the rule. I would write a complaint if I were you

[@3506Dodge]

this is what many European train stations are like.

[@TheGhostCrawler-eq4jk]

The AC works better in the older coaches

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

12:43 lol

[@johnarnehansen9574]

Why don't they just use steam-and gas power stations for electrification, along with renewable?..

[@grommit700]

Any diesel locomotives operating on an electrified railway like needs to be replaced by electric. It took way to long for Connecticut to see this fundamental flaw 🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️ For this to happen though, both Amtrak and all other passenger railway companies on the NEC must install enough solar panels and other eco-infrastructure to offset electric use. Otherwise this will self-defeat the goal of being more eco friendly.

[@voidjavelin23]

Why not nuclear?

[@grommit700]

@@voidjavelin23 Nuclear generated electricity is an option. However, this may have opposition because customers want renewable energy sources such as solar.

[@voidjavelin23]

@@grommit700 silly nimbys

[@alejandroviasus668]

Is that what I think it is in the toilet..?..5:09

[@MbtaVideoClips]

Did you copy the bathroom review from the Haverhill video lol

[@LonestarTrips]

Maybe… 🤫

[@MbtaVideoClips]

Lol. Doesn't really matter since the BTC-4C and 4D car bathrooms almost identical. Only difference is the position in the car.@@LonestarTrips

[@LonestarTrips]

@@MbtaVideoClips that’s why I did it lol. Literally the same facility, but it felt weird excluding it

[@nolantherailfan5048]

It's just that government projects take ages to get completed.

[@erikgustafson9319]

Im Sorry But No Use Bi mode Flirts to replace the remaining loco hauled fleet with the exception of the newer motive power fleet for future services along with some Euro Duals If you really want to push it.

[@EthanRailStudios]

there is a roblox game about this line

[@NortheastCorridorFilms]

it sucks

[@kl6361]

Does anyone like me

[@johnmclachlan3602]

our crappy filthy coach windows. sigh.

[@jackmcmorrow9397]

Fuck the red line being borderline inoperable though, i guess.

[@truedarklander]

?

[@jackmcmorrow9397]

@@truedarklander The Boston Red line is in the worst state it has ever been in, so expanding and improving the commuter rails, the line that's working fine, feels super tone deaf.