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Forest Hills to lose an Orange Line track for three months
By adamg on Fri, 08/26/2016 - 5:31pm
The T's just issued an alert that starting Sept. 3, Forest Hills will be down to just one track due to the Arborway project - which includes building a new station entrance and pedestrian tunnels to it under the new road. The T says two-track operation should resume in December.
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Comments
Does this mean I'll have to
Does this mean I'll have to wake up at 3 A.M. to get to work by 9 A.M.? Also, what are safety precautions drivers of trains will use to avoid collision when merging on to the one track?
Yeah, Awkward Railroading At Best...
It seems extra personnel will be assigned to Forest Hills to expedite train movements. How well that is going to work in real life vs. on paper... Eh, guess we'll see...
As to safety precautions...
There is a southbound signal just north of the crossover. When it is red the train standing at it cannot pass unless the motorman puts the train on manual bypass, thereby allowing the train to "ignore" the signal and proceed anyway.A motorman who'd do that is either suicidal or an idiot. That set of switches is also interlocked so an "opposing move" would be physically impossible. If the switches are already set up for the next Boston train to depart, an incoming train would automatically be forced to stand at the aforementioned signal before Forest Hills until the Boston-bound train is clear and the switches have been reset. In the event of a signal failure (not impossible) the motorman would/should have the common sense to notice something amiss while approaching, stop their train, and standby for instructions from Central.
Not sure how much this would help, but it would have been nice for the T to extend the morning Route 39 supplementals from Avenue Louis Pasteur/BLS to at least Copley. If that could siphon off at least a few Orange Line passengers and make Forest Hills less of a long-jam on the verge of becoming a hot mess, it wouldn't hurt.
It helps plenty
I'm definitely taking that into account. The route 38 supplemental, plus the additional Route 39 supplementals that go to BLS, also make a connection to Routes 8, 19 and 47. For the most part, you may not get a seat, but it's better than the "the train is too overstuffed to board" phenomenon when you have one train on one track.
Not specific
The alert is not that specific.
The cross overs (interlocking) is just north of the station platform. The suggestion here is that they will still use two tracks inbound and outbound, but only one train at a time will enter the station on the southbound track.
This will cause some stacking at times with trains waiting outside the station to get in rather than entering on the opposite track as they do now.
If they had to run one-track, the next cross over is several stations northbound. Now that would not be good.
When you put it that way
Hopefully the delays will be minor, but coming home could be a major hassle unless the T gets its act together down there.
I'd love to make my note about how poorly run this project is, but this would probably be happening regardless. If it takes too long, I'll gripe, but I'll save that for January.
Speaking of delays, do you guys think the winter modernization project will be done by winter. Of course, it was supposed to be done by LAST winter, but I digress.
What could go wrong?
It will be fine, I'm sure. Going to one track just as the students are returning and it's the busiest time of the year. It probably won't snow. Probably.
Insert vanishing E-Line joke here
(n/t)
Infrastructure HAS to be maintained
This is GOOD. Roads, bridges and transit MUST be maintained.
There is no alternative. Delay just makes the situation worse.
This isn't about maintenance.
This isn't about maintenance. It's about building a new subway entrance, because it fit someone's vision of what a surface-level Arborway should look like.
Actually it's because with
Actually it's because with all the construction around the station, it triggered the minimum level of alteration to bring ADA requirements into it. ADA specifies that headhouses must be accessible, and the existing northern headhouse is not. Even if they'd torn down the overpass to build a new overpass -- the existing concrete and steel was so far into failure that would have been the alternative, it was *coming down regardless* -- they'd have had to deal with accessibility issues.
Just in time...
For the start of school. All those middle school and high school students who use the T will be waiting in addition to the "regulars."
So which station should I
So which station should I start walking to in order to better avoid the fiasco that no doubt will ensue?
I say walk because let's face it, sometimes walking is faster than taking the T.
And then add in the downtown
And then add in the downtown crossing station exit which has been closed for 15 months so that trust funders can move into their 4th home. They aren't even working on opening it since they don't care about the thousands of people they are inconveniencing every single day.
Well...
Well...If FH doesn't work, the next closest would be Green. They have maps to assist.
En garde!
En garde!
This is your SW Corridor PSA
Fall is a very lovely time to try riding a bike to work.
It's not that hot so you won't sweat as much.
You'll avoid crowded trains and grumpy passengers.
You'll certainly be faster than driving in rush hour.
It's not for everyone, but when your normal options become less appealing it's a good time to try an alternative.
This has been your SW Corridor PSA.
Clockwork Orange
I can hardly wait for the first steel cage match between the Jets and the Sharks when hundreds of teens are stuck are one platform when school starts.
Huh?
You know there's only one platform at the station, right?