the tristate area is honestly like a different country transit-wise. dope shit.
SEPTA’s regional rail isn’t half bad. not in the level of NYC mind you, but still decent enough
Death to America
It’s not bad. Just needed more high density and walkable infrastructure around it. The Main Line rail stations are relatively accessible (though so many of the neighborhoods immediately off Rt30 is just suburban sprawl), as are Manayunk-Norristown Line, but a lot of stops along the Norristown High Speed Line between the bookends are just stupid: Train station surrounded by single-family housing with no sidewalks beyond the parking lot.
The MBTA Commuter Rail lines in Boston defintitely count, IMO. You can commute from Providence to Boston (and from TF Green Airport to Logan Airport through only trains and BRT). If NH ever pulls it’s head out of its ass, the proposed Nashua and Manchester expansions will also happen.
Also, during the summer, they run trains from South Station to Hyannis down the Cape, and the stop is like two blocks from where the Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket ferries dock.
Biggest issue with them right now is the lack of a connection between North and South Stations. Before they fucked up the Green Line Expansion, I would have told you the North-South connection (which would also enable the Acela to go north of Boston) was probably going to get approved and started within the next 10 years, and it still might anyways. The MBTA leadership basically needs to be purged first, though.
Maybe it works fine as an intercity rail system but as a commuter or regional rail system it’s so bad.
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The rolling stock is filthy and ancient
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Some of the “stations” look more like bus stops
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It’s expensive
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It’s not electrified (even the routes on the northeast corridor)
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It’s slow spending most of it’s time accelerating or decelerating
Maybe it’s just my line/route to work that’s so bad (reverse commuting) but I really hate it and it makes me miss Metro North
I can’t speak for all zones, but Zone 2 is about on par and maybe even a little cheaper than what an equivalent LIRR or Metro North fare/monthly pass would cost. Also, I haven’t ridden all MTA and MBTA commuter rail lines, but I have found that MBTA stations tend to at least have the platforms covered more often than the MTA does. There’s a lot LIRR and Metro North stations where they have no cover on the platform at all. No argument on the average MBTA train being of crappier quality, though.
the LIRR is great (if a little pricey) but the downside is you have to be in Long Island
and as soon as you leave brooklyn/queens you’ll need a car to get anywhere else
I like the Coaster that connects all the San Diego suburbs with that city and Los Angeles: https://gonctd.com/services/coaster-commuter-rail/
Good regular service with a seaside view, none of the freight train priority-linked delays that I had in Chicago.
