Boston's Commuter Rail Network Evolution

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  • čas pƙidĂĄn 15. 05. 2021
  • From its beginning in 1965, Boston's commuter rail network has grown to 141 stations, spanning 398 miles (641 kilometers). This animated video takes you through the timeline of when new stations were opened, forming the MBTA commuter rail network that we know today.
    🐩 Ask us questions on Twitter: / vanishingunder
    ☑ Video Criteria:
    - Population given is the sum of all counties and independent cities with stations in them.
    - Future extensions are shown only if a construction tender has been awarded for their completion, at the time of video publication. If a construction tender has been issued for a project not included in the video, feel free to leave a comment, and we'll add it to our list to update.
    - If you find an error, feel free to let us know in the comments. Please include links to any sources that will help us correct the error. Note: comments with links might take up to 24 hours to appear due to CZcams anti-spam policies.
    📾 Image Credits:
    - Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    - Michael Hicks - Flickr: img_3106, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    - Pi.1415926535 - Own work, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    - John Phelan - Own work, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
    đŸ–Œ Thumbnail designed by jacobestrella.com​/
    🚋 #MBTA
    Boston Fairmount Line commuter rail
    Boston Fitchburg/South Acton Line commuter rail
    Boston Framingham/Worcester Line commuter rail
    Boston Franklin/Foxboro/Dedham Line commuter rail
    Boston Greenbush Line commuter rail
    Boston Haverhill/Reading Line commuter rail
    Boston Kingston/Plymouth Line commuter rail
    Boston Lowell/Woburn Line commuter rail
    Boston Middleborough/Lakeville commuter rail
    Boston Needham/Millis Line commuter rail
    Boston Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail
    Boston Providence/Stoughton commuter rail
    Boston Bedford commuter rail
    Boston South Sudbury commuter rail
    Rhode Island Westerly Providence commuter rail
    New Hampshire Concord commuter rail

Komentáƙe • 381

  • @VanishingUnderground
    @VanishingUnderground  Pƙed 3 lety +108

    Apologies for the mispronunciations. I had researched some of the station pronunciations beforehand, but clearly I missed a few. I'll be re-releasing this video soon with the corrections.

    • @MrJoshua13
      @MrJoshua13 Pƙed 3 lety +4

      Also, a couple of minor corrections: South Attleboro closed in 2020 due to Coronavirus. Expected to re-open at a future date tbd. The same with Plymouth. Plymouth closed in 2020 due to Coronavirus with plans to re-open currently unknown. "Tauton/East Tauton" is 'Taunton' and 'East Taunton'. And mispronunciations for Woburn and Natick. Thanks for the video!!!

    • @unknownPLfan
      @unknownPLfan Pƙed 3 lety +11

      A decent rule of thumb I've noticed is to just go with traditional English place-name pronunciations, but even then, English place names are notorious even among British people, and New England has its own variations. I don't think anyone needs to apologize for pronunciations of New England towns unless it's something like saying "Wor-sester" or "Glow-sester," which are reasonably famous English place names that match New England's pronunciations.

    • @MrJoshua13
      @MrJoshua13 Pƙed 3 lety +3

      @@unknownPLfan Agreed. It’s just something New England natives notice. I was watching the Montreal video yesterday and I was amazed with the pronunciation and I said to myself, I wonder if he can do that here. Haha.

    • @nomadMik
      @nomadMik Pƙed 3 lety +3

      Honestly, it's your pronunciation of Massachusetts that seemed the most odd to my Rhode-Island-via-California-via-Netherlands-via-New-South-Wales ears, but that's okay.

    • @MrJoshua13
      @MrJoshua13 Pƙed 3 lety +3

      Also, another addition is ‘West Station’ on the Framingham line. The new station is apart of a project to reroute a portion of interstate 90 and utilize an existing CSX rail yard as a layover yard for MBTA and commuter rail trains, as well as the new West Station planned for a 2040 opening. Yes, 19 years from now 😅.

  • @benlawrence309
    @benlawrence309 Pƙed 3 lety +121

    My heart sinks a bit when stations and lines start closing in the late 70s

    • @nomadMik
      @nomadMik Pƙed 3 lety +42

      It's depressing, isn't it. The way they disappear and reappear, only to disappear again, must be terrible for the economy. Imagine moving somewhere for a job, and then your means of getting to work just stopping one day. It happens everywhere, but it seems more routine in the US. Crazy.

    • @therealGLAD
      @therealGLAD Pƙed 3 lety +3

      It was exciting to see them return though! Especially in new areas like the south east

    • @interstellarphred
      @interstellarphred Pƙed 3 lety +9

      @@therealGLAD Problem with the railway phoenix in the south east, is that the stations are massive parking lots in the middle of nowhere, that negates its function as a regional service to commerce centers outside the central city, result: car traffic not really reduced, just foisted off to the host communities meaning those roads need to be widened and no walkable development near the stations .

    • @patrick97764
      @patrick97764 Pƙed 3 lety +8

      @@nomadMik that is one of the reasons why people in north america view public transit as unreliable.

    • @jermainelong1843
      @jermainelong1843 Pƙed 3 lety +7

      Have you heard of the Beeching report? Here in the UK our railways were decimated in the mid 60s and now we're struggling to restore many of the lost routes😕

  • @MarloSoBalJr
    @MarloSoBalJr Pƙed 3 lety +89

    Gotta give MBTA credit for pushing their hand against political opposition to link everyone in East Mass the best way possible. We have this issue here in Maryland where we can't even get a train extended to Newark, Delaware; let alone, midday/reverse peak/weekend service on the Brunswick Line to give Frederick, MD (3rd largest city) better access

    • @quanbrooklynkid7776
      @quanbrooklynkid7776 Pƙed 3 lety

      Damn nd I always want to visit Maryland... I'm from NYC

    • @cmanlovespancakes
      @cmanlovespancakes Pƙed 2 lety +1

      Well New Hampshire still doesn't want anything to do with MBTA commuter rail system.

    • @nonenoneonenonenone
      @nonenoneonenonenone Pƙed 2 lety +1

      Amtrak, I'm sure, does not want people to be able to travel all the way from New Haven to DC via commuter rail. That break is the only one.

    • @schwenda3727
      @schwenda3727 Pƙed 2 lety +2

      @@cmanlovespancakes has MBTA ever contemplated on just simply extending service from Lowell to the southeastern parking lot of the Pheasant Lane Mall? To which the state line runs immediately south of the mall building itself? With the station being within said parking lot on the MA side of the border?
      Potential Nashua commuters win and the NH state government’s bean counters win
 to which I very much trust is the primary concern of the opposition within NH?

    • @TheMusiclover500
      @TheMusiclover500 Pƙed 2 lety +1

      They’re Finally pushing it west in Springfield & Holyoke around the Amherst knowledge corridor around the Connecticut River, I’d love to see it go to Pittsfield give me all of MA!

  • @anderslarsen6009
    @anderslarsen6009 Pƙed 3 lety +165

    A electrification of the lines combined with a North-South tunnel and EMUÂŽs would transform this network to european standard

    • @mainmanjoshnicles4375
      @mainmanjoshnicles4375 Pƙed 3 lety +23

      Yes, in fact there are several studies being done on the different possibilities for an electric connection between the two stations. Unfortunately it seems to be in the cost of billions of dollars and nobody knows where that money will come from.

    • @DDELE7
      @DDELE7 Pƙed 3 lety +5

      What if (and I know the technology exists) instead of electrifying parts of the Commuter Rail, the T looks into battery powered trains or trains that are hybrid battery powered. The locomotives recharge over the catenary lines at South Station and other strategic points and then away it goes off the wires. The costs to build out full electric power could be reduced considerably.

    • @qjtvaddict
      @qjtvaddict Pƙed 3 lety

      So basically useful?

    • @qjtvaddict
      @qjtvaddict Pƙed 3 lety +8

      @@mainmanjoshnicles4375 just cut the defense budget

    • @qjtvaddict
      @qjtvaddict Pƙed 3 lety +4

      @@DDELE7 they still need to electrify some of the lines

  • @bos2pdx2yvr
    @bos2pdx2yvr Pƙed 3 lety +49

    As a native Bostonian, I loved this video! Great information and history. Your pronunciation of Woburn, Concord, Haverhill, Natick and a lot of other town made my ears hurt. I’m glad you’re doing a corrected version! 😀 Look forward to seeing more videos!

    • @gretchendietz1599
      @gretchendietz1599 Pƙed 3 lety +4

      We have to listen to these pronunciations in South Station because the announcement are done by computer voices so we hear Scituate pronounced situ-eight and Greenbush pronounced GreenBUSH. Surprised he got Lechmere right but Woburn is so often called Woeburn and h's pronounced in Haverhill and Dedham.

    • @JohnNeville617
      @JohnNeville617 Pƙed 3 lety +5

      Dedham(DED-əm) wasn't great either but Dead-ham is a fairly common mispronunciation.

    • @garyturner5204
      @garyturner5204 Pƙed rokem +2

      LMAO. I just shared a comment after watching this very well produced video. It I also had to comment on a few of the blatantly mispronounced city and town names. Such pronunciations are a dead giveaway that this announcer is not local to Massachusetts. :)

  • @robertcrafton7187
    @robertcrafton7187 Pƙed 3 lety +64

    Wow. Your best American commuter rail system video yet. I like how you have been building up to the larger systems. The dizzying pace of openings/closures was like watching a transit soap opera. Super impressive system.

    • @nomadMik
      @nomadMik Pƙed 3 lety

      It's comprehensive, but as somebody who's taken trains on a few of those lines, I wouldn't call it impressive. I don't think the rolling stock has been updated since the 1960s-I had to climb a ladder just to get on one of the trains once, because there wasn't even a proper platform. All still cash-based, paper-based ticketing, too, 1990s-style, at least when I was riding it a few years ago, and it's entirely separate from the subway system. Few of the lines have a particularly frequent service, and it's not as reliable as it should be.
      It has the potential to be a pretty good system, and hopefully, if the federal infrastructure bill passes, it will get better. But it's really only limped along, whenever I've used it in the 2010s. Massachusetts and Rhode Island deserve better.

    • @kaicandoit
      @kaicandoit Pƙed 3 lety +3

      @@nomadMik that’s not 100% true regarding ticket collection or the rolling stock. They’ve been ordering and implementing new trains for years, both engines and passenger cars. They order double deckers for higher capacity. Also, the ticketing is mostly digital now. You can both purchase on the app, or pay by card and cash now. They are also going to make it tap and go at main stations soon. I use these trains a lot so I end up trying to be as up to date and efficient with payment.. but I will say the big issue is that the whole network isn’t even electrified, no connection between north and south stations, and there are rarely high platforms outside of the immediate boston area.

    • @interstellarphred
      @interstellarphred Pƙed 3 lety +1

      @@kaicandoit Accurate observations, but you must know how the political culture functions here, as witness the blow off with the plans for the West station that was to be constructed with the along with gigabuck plus highway project., along with the legally binding agreements for transit projects from the Big Dig that have still not been built. Being deferred to the dreaded "phase three" usually means never, or at least not in the time span of a human life.

  • @paddyballgame
    @paddyballgame Pƙed 3 lety +15

    The water placement on the map baffles me. It makes Stoughton look like a nice little seaside community.

    • @andrew_ray
      @andrew_ray Pƙed 3 lety

      I'm not sure what this coastline is, but it bears little resemblance to the actual coastline. Hyannis is supposed to be about halfway out Cape Cod, but the cape is just... not there

    • @VanishingUnderground
      @VanishingUnderground  Pƙed 3 lety +6

      I had to distort the coastline quite a bit in order to fit everything on the screen unfortunately, and prioritized that over geographic accuracy

    • @andrew_ray
      @andrew_ray Pƙed 3 lety +3

      @@VanishingUnderground I figured that was it. Impressive amount of research that must go into these, especially for a system of this scale.

    • @paddyballgame
      @paddyballgame Pƙed 3 lety +1

      @@VanishingUnderground also, when they finally get around to finishing the Fall River and New Bedford lines (a/k/a South Coast Rail), they will be extending the Stoughton line, through Easton, Raynham, and Taunton. The Middleboro extension to FR & NB is only going to be temporary.

    • @andr_w
      @andr_w Pƙed 3 lety +1

      Seaside Stoughton wasn't as bad as (temporary) Sullivan Square being on the Everettt side of the Mystic River :)

  • @davidmorin2818
    @davidmorin2818 Pƙed 3 lety +36

    I'm surprised it's taken this long for service to reach Fall River and New Bedford, since they're the largest cities in the southeast region of the state

    • @TheMusiclover500
      @TheMusiclover500 Pƙed 2 lety +2

      MBTA said Metro Providence doesn’t count unless it’s the city of Providence RI 😂

    • @garyturner5204
      @garyturner5204 Pƙed rokem +3

      I agree. I have many friends that live in the Fall River, Dartmouth and New Bedford area. It is great to see rail service finally being offered to these areas.

    • @perfectallycromulent
      @perfectallycromulent Pƙed 10 měsĂ­ci

      you should never be surprised when it takes a long time for rail service to be provided in the USA. for most places "never" is when rail service will reach them.

  • @AustinLaPlante
    @AustinLaPlante Pƙed 3 lety +35

    That was quick, even it’s the Commuter Rail aka Purple Line. Can’t for the subway part of Boston.

  • @alexandrac591
    @alexandrac591 Pƙed 13 dny

    I remember feeling brilliant when I discovered that a monthly 1A pass cost the same as a regular system monthly pass. Before Boston Landing opened, I shaved 40 minutes off my commute by going from Back Bay to Yawkey and grabbing a bus from there. I have a very special place in my heart for the commuter rail.

  • @bedris4765
    @bedris4765 Pƙed 3 lety +5

    The Cape needs train service. Taking public transit to Boston from Hyannis takes 4 hours outside of summer, when the CapeFlyer has 3 round trips per week. They are planning to expand service to 6 round trips per week, but the Army Corps of Engineers is not cooperating with lowering the bridge for these.

  • @unknownPLfan
    @unknownPLfan Pƙed 3 lety +11

    Learning about other parts of the US really made me appreciative of what we have in New England. It's not perfect, but I'm happy that we basically have every town on the eastern half of our state already served by commuter rail, and we could very well have a fully electrified RER/S-Bahn-type system if the full MBTA rail vision is implemented in the next few decades.

    • @WillsRailfanning
      @WillsRailfanning Pƙed 3 lety +1

      Wow, you know public transport in America is dismal when Boston is considered one of the better systems 😂😂

    • @unknownPLfan
      @unknownPLfan Pƙed 3 lety +2

      @@WillsRailfanning yeah basically. And I've lived in Germany so I know what a "good" regional transit system is supposed to look like.

    • @unknownPLfan
      @unknownPLfan Pƙed 3 lety

      @@WillsRailfanning yeah pretty much - I've seen what other countries have and it's a much higher tier than with Boston - though personally there's a lot of nostalgia I have for riding MBTA commuter trains that give them all a pleasant homey feeling so I'm biased even after I've seen how much better you can do transit. Also, as is true with a lot of east coast transit, there's a lot of potential since it's built on something that used to be much better and you can see it in the size of the system.

    • @kcallaghan7839
      @kcallaghan7839 Pƙed 3 lety

      A lot of people come here to go to our colleges and tour our cities. Different languages accents and cultures. Alot of people in one area. the subway service has worked hard for a long time. They are doing them over now that things are slow.

    • @Improj69
      @Improj69 Pƙed 3 lety

      A S bahn like system would be nice

  • @danielellis2151
    @danielellis2151 Pƙed rokem +2

    I’m from Boston and I love trains and I love this video man I didn’t even know the MBTA went into Concord New Hampshire

  • @Saxshoe
    @Saxshoe Pƙed 3 lety +28

    If you can do Boston, you can definitely do NJDOT/NJTransit, which probably has the most bizarre amalgam of originating companies and services

  • @champan250
    @champan250 Pƙed 3 lety +24

    Congrats for pronouncing Worcester correctly, but you got Haverhill (hay-voille) and Natick (emphasis in Na). Also love the fact that you didn't bother to try to pronounce Billerica (buur-rik-ca)

    • @counterfit5
      @counterfit5 Pƙed 3 lety +4

      Missed Woburn, too (not that anyone would get it right just from reading the name, anyway)

    • @kaicandoit
      @kaicandoit Pƙed 3 lety +4

      Or it’s pronounced have-roll. Nay-tick. Bill-rickah. Woooooburn. And Lowell is simply Lowl

    • @MattyC62185
      @MattyC62185 Pƙed 3 lety +1

      Have you done a video on the evolution of the New York City subway and while you’re at it do the Long Island rail Road the MTA metro north and NJ transit while you’re at it

    • @Marquipuchi
      @Marquipuchi Pƙed 2 lety +2

      @@kaicandoit yeah yours are far more accurate idk who in the world says hay voille and buur rik ca is

    • @michlo3393
      @michlo3393 Pƙed rokem

      My dad is from Boston and as a kid growing up, I thought it sat on the "Chawz" River. I didn't realize it was _Charles_ until highschool.

  • @andrew_ray
    @andrew_ray Pƙed 2 lety +6

    Several stations were closed during the pandemic and will not reopen. Silver Hill and Hastings on the Fitchburg Line and Montserrat and Pride's Crossing on the Rockport Line were closed to improve travel times because they were very close to other stations. Plimptonville on the Franklin Line was closed due to extremely low usage - I believe ridership was estimated at 9 people per weekday pre-pandemic.
    Plymouth was also closed, but is expected to reopen next year. Winchester Center and South Attleboro are closed for reconstruction. The former is expected to reopen in 2024 according to a recent report. No public ETA for the latter. Finally, Mishawum is not officially closed, but has no scheduled services on the current active timetable.

  • @alexharris2495
    @alexharris2495 Pƙed 2 lety +3

    I think it would be a good idea for MBTA to look into resuming service to new Hampshire

  • @FrogeYT
    @FrogeYT Pƙed 20 dny

    As a person living in the boston area I can't believe how my town of Dedham went from having 6 stations to only 2 today,

  • @travgames0113
    @travgames0113 Pƙed 3 lety +4

    You missed in the future that the Fall River/New Bedford lines will move to the Stoughton Line and add two new stations. And middleboro will turn to an additional station.

  • @thefareplayer2254
    @thefareplayer2254 Pƙed 3 lety +7

    Despite 2/3rd of the pronunciations being very, very wrong, good video!

  • @amfm889
    @amfm889 Pƙed 3 lety +4

    Very impressed with the details, Zach: the snowstorm that closed the Bedford Branch; the bridge fire that truncated service to North Station; and the now-they're-open-now-they're-closed-now-they're open again stations. Also your good sense not to go through all the re-namings! Like the color-coding, too. And now it's on to the T spider maps. Oh, yes: props for pronouncing Lechmere correctly. :-D

  • @alexjauq7893
    @alexjauq7893 Pƙed 2 lety +2

    I am very impressed with the number of stations there is

  • @MattyAviation
    @MattyAviation Pƙed rokem +2

    There were plans to restore service to Gardner Station on the Fitchburg line, but it was deemed to be not worth the cost because the Route 2 expressway would be faster than the train due to the incline of Mount Wachusett. Because of this, the train would only see 50 riders per day and would not be worth it, especially with how much double-tracking the rails to Gardner would cost. This is how we got the Wachusett stop.

  • @FamilyForeverGaming
    @FamilyForeverGaming Pƙed 2 lety +2

    I used to ride the T alot as a teen. Some of my best life moments were because of the T.

  • @buildingexpedition6354
    @buildingexpedition6354 Pƙed 2 lety +2

    Great video! And I gotta hand it to you, for somebody who's not from the area, you nailed almost every pronunciation

  • @mbrproductions160
    @mbrproductions160 Pƙed 3 lety +4

    Great Video! I love the MBTA Commuter Rail!

  • @MrMrshawn2000
    @MrMrshawn2000 Pƙed 3 lety +3

    Loved it! Can't wait for the subway video

  • @spencerdias2417
    @spencerdias2417 Pƙed 3 lety +4

    Can't wait until the MBTA comes back to NH. Driving in Boston is as bad as anything.

    • @scott.macdonald
      @scott.macdonald Pƙed 2 lety

      I'm pretty sure that hasn't happened because the NH gov hates funding public transit. There's no good reason why Boston-Lowell-Nashua-Manchester-Concord can't support a train line. But the money for it shouldn't have to come from Mass residents

  • @emansphoto_6428
    @emansphoto_6428 Pƙed 3 lety +6

    The 70s and early 80s had incredible setbacks and closing of stations. Prior to then, this metro system was enormous.

    • @CDtrumpet5
      @CDtrumpet5 Pƙed 3 lety +3

      yeah it was so much better back then. God rail really is dead in america and nobody can convince me otherwise

    • @mr_godoy2008
      @mr_godoy2008 Pƙed 3 lety +2

      If 3rd rail was put on the commuter rail

  • @old-wise-one4473
    @old-wise-one4473 Pƙed 3 lety +4

    Can't wait to see the Boston MBTA subway Vid! Are you looking at MicroBus networks?

  • @sambeesley1
    @sambeesley1 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Fascinating. I have enjoyed all your videos and I hope you expand to do more countries if you would want to.

  • @dangerdavedestroyerofdomai6991

    I cant believe it took that long for the south shore to get rail connections into Boston!

  • @harri2626
    @harri2626 Pƙed 2 lety +3

    Thank you for this comprehensive summary. The message seems to be - two steps forward, one step back, year after year. How did commuters plan where to live and how to travel when trains came and went so quickly and easily? Let's hope the current network is allowed to stay so that long-term patronage can build. How much money was wasted on building (rebuilding) so many stations only for them to be closed so quickly? How did they cope with the shortages, then surpluses, of rolling stock and crews for these on/off routes?

  • @edwardmiessner6502
    @edwardmiessner6502 Pƙed 3 lety +19

    Love this! Wish I could give it a hundred thumbs up. I grew up in the area, specifically in Scituate on the South Shore long before the Greenbush branch was opened (actually reopened for unsubsidized service by the New Haven ended in 1959)
    Here are a few Massachusetts place name you mispronounced:
    Concord: Not Con-corde but Kawn-kid
    Haverhill: Not Hay-ver-hill but Hay-vruhl
    Natick: Not Nah-dick but Nay-dick

    • @mbtaphotographer
      @mbtaphotographer Pƙed 3 lety +4

      Also, you don't pronounce the "h" in Dedham (should sound like "ded-um"

    • @gretchendietz1599
      @gretchendietz1599 Pƙed 3 lety +1

      Woburn: not woeburn but wooburn; Dedham: not deadham but dedim

    • @trainsareepiv
      @trainsareepiv Pƙed 2 lety +1

      I railfan at Concord a lot and I approve this comment

    • @garyturner5204
      @garyturner5204 Pƙed rokem +1

      LMAO. I love how so very many other locals all catch the mispronounced city and town names like you have! :)

  • @airconditioner8212
    @airconditioner8212 Pƙed 3 lety +9

    does this mean you will finally do a video on the Boston T?

  • @Ih8kone
    @Ih8kone Pƙed 10 měsĂ­ci +2

    I started a petition for the North-South Rail Link

  • @railfantheworld7890
    @railfantheworld7890 Pƙed 3 lety

    Amazing Video!!

  • @QuarioQuario54321
    @QuarioQuario54321 Pƙed 3 lety +5

    Wow. The MBTA subway will be super confusing. As for what’s next, I’m going with one of the following : LA, SF, Dallas, Portland, SD, Denver, Seattle, Miami, Charlotte, Minneapolis, or Phoenix. I don’t see Philadelphia, Chicago, or New York coming any time soon.

  • @BeautifulRhodeIsland
    @BeautifulRhodeIsland Pƙed 2 lety +1

    I can't wait for the Pawtucket & Central Falls stop in 2022!!

  • @thequietstag4366
    @thequietstag4366 Pƙed rokem

    I love the intro, the music is great

  • @the_ratmeister
    @the_ratmeister Pƙed 3 lety +18

    Ooh the pronunciations are killing me

    • @QuarioQuario54321
      @QuarioQuario54321 Pƙed 3 lety

      Like what?

    • @kolkoreh
      @kolkoreh Pƙed 3 lety +4

      @@QuarioQuario54321 "Natick," "Mishawum," among others

    • @andr_w
      @andr_w Pƙed 3 lety +4

      Same. "Woburn" "Concord" "Haverhill" "Framingham" "Natick" "Mishawum" are the ones that stuck out to me immediately. I'm sure there's others - New England vowels are never exactly like any other English-speaking region's vowels. I did notice that there's too much emphasis on any place name that ends in -ham. Most locals here have a softer "a" and thus a softer consonant that preceeds it than the typical general North American English pronounciation - e.g. Wareham is closer to wair-umm rather than Wair-ham.

    • @the_ratmeister
      @the_ratmeister Pƙed 3 lety +1

      @@andr_w He said Framingham right.

    • @andr_w
      @andr_w Pƙed 3 lety

      @@the_ratmeister it switches during the video. Framing-HAM and FRA-ming-am.

  • @anglobostonian
    @anglobostonian Pƙed 3 lety +2

    Hopefully you'll have one of the "T" out soon. We Bostonians are WICKED proud that when it comes to rapid transit in the USA, we were first! Take THAT, New York!

  • @backbayproductions9508
    @backbayproductions9508 Pƙed 3 lety +5

    I'd love to see the Fitchburg Line expand back to Gardner one day

  • @interstate1335
    @interstate1335 Pƙed 3 lety +3

    Really wish you could do the Las Vegas buses and cover the old Desert Wind train. Would help a lot because I am super sad there are no trains to here.

  • @amfm889
    @amfm889 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    Someone else caught this: the temporary Sullivan station is on the wrong side of the water: it should be near the temporary East Cambridge station.

  • @malachimuhammad-dy2ow
    @malachimuhammad-dy2ow Pƙed 10 měsĂ­ci +2

    If only there was a shuttle service between North and South Stations, passengers wouldn't have to walk between those stations.

    • @osurpless
      @osurpless Pƙed 10 měsĂ­ci

      No excuse really; an organization even went the extra steps in 2012 when PAX East and Anime Boston were the same weekend.
      So much like the perpetual request for subway service between 2 and 5am (that cab companies always undermine
) one day?

  • @foreverbrod260
    @foreverbrod260 Pƙed 11 měsĂ­ci +1

    Updates pasted May 16th, 2021:
    - In 2021 Plymouth station has closed, all service is now going to Kingston, MA
    - On September 12th, 2022, weekday service to Foxboro, MA has continued via Walpole, MA
    - On September 18th, 2022, Oak Grove became a new station on the MBTA
    - On January 23rd, 2023, Pawtucket/Central Falls station is opened on the Providence/Stoughton Line.
    - On May 20th, 2024, South Attleboro station reopened with weekday, rush hour-only service with 3 trains in each direction.
    - On May 20th, 2024, Readville has became a Providence/Stoughton Line stop

  • @bethbudner50
    @bethbudner50 Pƙed 11 měsĂ­ci

    Awesome job so far!
    My only suggestion for the future would be to continue speaking a little bit more slowly along w/ a possible visual time-line for the T Commuter Rail laypersons who may be rather new to the above system (i.e. Rockport and/or Framingham/Worcester lines).
    Anyway, I hoped you found my above suggestions helpful & keep up the great work on these fun videos.
    Beth Budner, Auburndale, MA!

  • @RipCityBassWorks
    @RipCityBassWorks Pƙed 3 lety +7

    Apparently MBTA is planning to electrify two lines? Hopefully that includes better headways than 45 minutes or 1 hour...

    • @briandynamite7942
      @briandynamite7942 Pƙed 3 lety +1

      Well one line would be very easy to upgrade, the Providence line is the same line Amtrak’s north east corridor runs on which is already electrified. They only need to electrify the train yards. The second line they would electrify is the portion between Salem and north station. Called the “climate justice line” apparently. Electric trains would really make things faster, especially electric multiple units. There has also been made a major push to connect north and south station.

    • @andrew_ray
      @andrew_ray Pƙed 2 lety

      @@briandynamite7942 I've also heard talk of MU's for the Fairmount ("Indigo") Line, though I've heard both DMU's and EMU's discussed, and that was under the old board.

  • @oaxtec765
    @oaxtec765 Pƙed 2 lety +3

    Generally great video, the only thing that's confusing to me is that you said the metro area has a population of 7 million at the beginning of the video, maybe this is because your including everywhere trains run, but this metric could only be reached by including providence, manchester, wooster, fall river, and new bedford, all of which are connected to boston but independent populations.

    • @higherho1540
      @higherho1540 Pƙed rokem

      Metropolitan area (MSA) includes multiple areas. Look up what MSA is and how there are over 50 in the United States.

    • @oaxtec765
      @oaxtec765 Pƙed rokem

      @@higherho1540 I know what an MSA is, but none of those cities I mentioned are int he Boston MSA, the CSA sure, but Manchester, Wooster, and Providence all have their own populous MSAs.

    • @higherho1540
      @higherho1540 Pƙed rokem +1

      @@oaxtec765 ah, my apologies, I miss read your statement. You’re correct he is including a broader range because the boston metro msa is only 4.4 to 4.9 million people.

    • @oaxtec765
      @oaxtec765 Pƙed rokem

      @@higherho1540 it's fine! Thanks for understanding :)

  • @fltadm1
    @fltadm1 Pƙed 2 lety +1

    I thought the MBTA subway lines were confusing, but the Commuter line is a nightmare to understand.

  • @VetGamer718
    @VetGamer718 Pƙed 3 lety +6

    Still wondering when you're going to get to the largest in the best metro Network in America, New York City?

  • @MGIC21
    @MGIC21 Pƙed 3 lety +3

    I would love to see a video of the evolution of New Jersey Transit

  • @garyturner5204
    @garyturner5204 Pƙed rokem +1

    This is a great video production. However, my only real criticism is on the pronunciation of several cities and town in Massachusetts. As a native of Mass, I know how various names are pronounced by the locals. There were other locations like Haverhill, and a few more where your pronunciations were off. But these while amusing to some are very tiny criticisms on the video. You did a wonderful job of producing this video. Thank you very much! :)

  • @harveyschwartz6789
    @harveyschwartz6789 Pƙed 2 lety +2

    Would be nice to know how much service is on these lines, maybe a few categories you could use like lots of service, hourly, rush hours only...

  • @TheLiamster
    @TheLiamster Pƙed 8 měsĂ­ci +1

    It’s so frustrating that the network is split into two. There needs to be a connection between the North and South Stations

  • @34bg13
    @34bg13 Pƙed 2 lety +1

    Thank you for saying Gardner right

  • @JoeyLovesTrains
    @JoeyLovesTrains Pƙed rokem

    Really wish they kept the line to North Falmouth
 that could’ve really been a popular destination to change to the ferry shuttle for ferry services to Martha’s Vinyard

  • @opazus2112
    @opazus2112 Pƙed 2 lety +1

    There’s like a new commuter rail station being built near market basket in Chelsea, MA Near the sliver line station

  • @jamesricker3997
    @jamesricker3997 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    What is interesting is the commuter rail and the economic development stopped at the New Hampshire border

  • @dibdab0
    @dibdab0 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Me being from MA, you said a lot of the place names wrong.. but I don’t blame you

  • @scott.macdonald
    @scott.macdonald Pƙed 2 lety +5

    The commuter rail is so important to me. I can live in Boston without a car, and still take the trains to visit all my family around the state!

    • @TommyTom21
      @TommyTom21 Pƙed 2 lety

      Yep, I just wish they ran at faster speeds.

    • @scott.macdonald
      @scott.macdonald Pƙed 2 lety

      @@TommyTom21 For me at least, frequency is a lot more important than speed. If they can keep within 30-60 min between trains, that would make the system much more usable. And it would probably be a lot cheaper than trying to make 175 year old railroads run fast

  • @BG-sl9lv
    @BG-sl9lv Pƙed měsĂ­cem

    Well! Fall 2023 came and went and we're still waiting for the train to arrive in New Bedford and Fall River (through Taunton)

  • @wolfbyte3171
    @wolfbyte3171 Pƙed 3 lety

    Mishawum's a weird station; it's technically a "reverse commuter" station, which means that it sees stops during rush hour on trains OUT of the city and reverse. It's the closest one to me but I can't use it due to that, so I go to Anderson/Wooburn (that's how ya say it, btw). As another note, Winchester Center station is currently closed due to safety concerns (the platform is badly deteriorated)

    • @andrew_ray
      @andrew_ray Pƙed 2 lety

      Further weirdness: Mishawum is not officially closed, but actually appears to have no scheduled service at all right now.

  • @raytylicki9001
    @raytylicki9001 Pƙed 2 lety +1

    Lexington Line became the Minuteman trail thats ROW is still owned by MBTA and NIMBYS refuse to allow rails to go back in and MBTA refuses to plow or maintain the trail deferring to local towns

  • @MrSuperpiff4
    @MrSuperpiff4 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Requesting evolution of LIRR in New York, Please!...... Might require 3 videos to do New York area Commuter network with NJT, Metro-North, and LIRR, but I don't think anyone has done done it yet, just the subway.

  • @ComradeBennie
    @ComradeBennie Pƙed 3 lety +3

    Oh damn its my local service
    yay XD

  • @cgimovieman
    @cgimovieman Pƙed 3 lety

    Where is the video on the subway system mentioned at the end? Would love to watch that.

    • @VanishingUnderground
      @VanishingUnderground  Pƙed 3 lety +1

      Still in progress. Should be released by the end of this month!

    • @cgimovieman
      @cgimovieman Pƙed 3 lety

      @@VanishingUnderground Thanks! Looking forward to it. As a person who loves subways, commuter rail, maps, and history, this is all right up my alley. I’m originally from the Midwest and have spent and still spend a lot of time in Chicago. I love the L and all of the CTA system there. Would love to see one of your videos on those in the future.

  • @alexm922
    @alexm922 Pƙed 2 lety +1

    FYI the Bedford line was replaced by an excellent bike trail.

  • @GeneralLiuofBoston1911
    @GeneralLiuofBoston1911 Pƙed 2 měsĂ­ci

    Sadly, Plymouth is a stop that is no longer serviced. But hey, at least we got Pawtucket and Foxboro.

  • @ianfrederick723
    @ianfrederick723 Pƙed 2 lety +1

    Now that you've done MBTA and NJT how about MTA Metro North/LIRR or CTRail?

  • @nyrmetros
    @nyrmetros Pƙed 2 lety

    When will the MTA Long Island Railroad and Metro North videos be coming out?

  • @nomadMik
    @nomadMik Pƙed 3 lety +7

    I like your map a lot more than the official one.

  • @jerm5105
    @jerm5105 Pƙed rokem

    As someone from Millis I had no idea we even had a stop at any point and I take the commuter rail at least twice a week I’m fuming rn

  • @Touchybanana
    @Touchybanana Pƙed 2 lety +1

    MBTA seems more competent running their railroad compared to INEPTA here in Philadelphia.

  • @mr_godoy2008
    @mr_godoy2008 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    I record Mbta trains to. Idk if I participate when the green line extension opens

    • @mr_godoy2008
      @mr_godoy2008 Pƙed 3 lety +2

      I rode a new green line train 9 times already

  • @fefid2218
    @fefid2218 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    I would love to see the metro for my home city of Newcastle in the UK

  • @JohnsTrainVideos
    @JohnsTrainVideos Pƙed 2 lety

    Some interesting information here. Though it would be nice if there was some kind of visual cue on the map before the changes were made so you knew where to look.
    Also you are CLEARLY not from massachusetts :P
    Also I had never heard of "Winchester Highlands" station on cross street. There's definitely no sign of it any more. I'll have to look it up.

  • @thefareplayer2254
    @thefareplayer2254 Pƙed 3 lety +4

    Dedham = DEAD-Umm, Woburn = WUHBurn (as in "took"), Haverhill = HAYvrill, Concord = CONkurd, Merrimack = MAYOR-ihhmack, Stoughton = STOW'tin, Uphams Corner = UPumms corner, Forest Hills is PLURAL, Natick = NEIGHdick (like the sound a horse makes), Falmouth = FALmyth, Taunton has a "n" after the u. Props to pronouncing Worcester and Gloucester correctly though!

    • @VanishingUnderground
      @VanishingUnderground  Pƙed 3 lety +2

      Thanks for these! I’ll be re-recording and correcting these soon

    • @QuarioQuario54321
      @QuarioQuario54321 Pƙed 3 lety +2

      These make absolutely no sense. Why can’t they have normal names

    • @thefareplayer2254
      @thefareplayer2254 Pƙed 3 lety +1

      @@QuarioQuario54321 Good question! Short answer: the English!

    • @champan250
      @champan250 Pƙed 3 lety +1

      @@VanishingUnderground and saw that you skipped saying North Billerica... Is is "BURR-rick-ca"
      And btw, most of the names here appeared in the "Boston Accent" SNL skit... czcams.com/video/rLwbzGyC6t4/video.html

    • @MarloSoBalJr
      @MarloSoBalJr Pƙed 3 lety +1

      @@QuarioQuario54321 Bostonians pronounce a lot of words in a British "rhotic" accent. So a lot of pronunciations have an UHH or AWW or EEE sound to it.

  • @brainwells6634
    @brainwells6634 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    When are you going to the Chicago Commuter Rail network Metra

  • @rudolffabrie3233
    @rudolffabrie3233 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    Firfy years of policy chaos by the authorities.

  • @anotherdave5107
    @anotherdave5107 Pƙed 3 lety

    I used to take the Redline into Quincy in the mid 70's.

  • @SamSitar
    @SamSitar Pƙed 3 lety +2

    the mbta should reextend into New Hampshire. uninformed people may misread service cuts as money hoarding. Fitchburg trains should resume serving Gardner if people are using them.

  • @katiet6471
    @katiet6471 Pƙed 2 měsĂ­ci

    Which station is the one in the thumbnail?

  • @295g295
    @295g295 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Did 'The Big Dig' include a tunnel for rail connecting South Station to North Station?

  • @peterwarner358
    @peterwarner358 Pƙed 3 lety

    Could you do a video on the evolution of the San Francisco network (BART, SMART, , MUNI, , CALTRAIN, , MUNI) AND SFB FERRIES

  • @dustin6804
    @dustin6804 Pƙed 3 lety +3

    Do you plan on the LIRR and Metro North?

    • @VanishingUnderground
      @VanishingUnderground  Pƙed 3 lety +1

      Yep, however they’re probably gonna be among the last systems I do for the US

    • @christopher6740
      @christopher6740 Pƙed 3 lety

      @@VanishingUnderground Wait, your planning to stop video making for the US? Or is it that you ran out of rail networks?

    • @VanishingUnderground
      @VanishingUnderground  Pƙed 3 lety +2

      I’m planning on doing every network in the US where there’s been some evolution. Currently, that will take me until early January if I continue doing one per week. New York will probably be done in December or early January at that pace.

  • @jfp3earth357
    @jfp3earth357 Pƙed 2 lety +1

    The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority needs to unify North and South Station

  • @dumhead7
    @dumhead7 Pƙed 3 lety +2

    can u do the Boston metro MBTA this time?

  • @nomadMik
    @nomadMik Pƙed 3 lety +1

    Is saying a service 'ends' at a station a Canadian thing? I grew up with the term 'terminates' in Australia, and I haven't noticed it being called anything else in the US, but, of course, there aren't really that many trains in the US. I enjoy these videos nevertheless.

    • @andr_w
      @andr_w Pƙed 3 lety

      I think it would be generally accepted in both Canada and the USA to use "end" or "terminate" to describe a situation in which a rail operator ceases operations to a station. "The MBTA ended service to Lechmere station" would be equally understood as "The MBTA terminated service to Lechmere station."

    • @DD-dj4jr
      @DD-dj4jr Pƙed 2 lety

      In most cases here the tracks continue yet the service ends



  • @schwenda3727
    @schwenda3727 Pƙed 2 lety +1

    Since New Hampshire is clearly on the fence at best about restoring service between Lowell & at least Manchester, has the MBTA thought about doing the very next best thing? Bringing service literally just a hair south of the NH state line?
    Particularly within the Pheasant Lane Mall? That is the rail ROW they’re contemplating on using for extension, correct? To which said mall appears to have a sizable chunk of its parking lot on the MA side to which would mean fairly effective rail service could very easily come to Nashua WITHOUT A SINGLE PENNY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE TAX $$$? That seems like a no brainer as long as the mall owners have no problem.
    And speaking of malls, to which have been heavily oversaturated in America since the early 90s, would make excellent transit hubs, even with plentiful existing mall retail operations not being impacted (if they’re actually fully leased this day & age). If not rail, then most certainly BRT. They’re mostly high visibility locations that even unfamiliar out of towners could find effortlessly, and they have all the parking in the world all but a small handful of days per year.
    Regarding Southern New Hampshire service, all that would need to be done is extending accordingly JUST TO the southeastern end of the Pheasant Lane Mall. Southern Hew Hampshire residents benefit accordingly without any New Hampshire state commitment.

  • @nathanloomis7508
    @nathanloomis7508 Pƙed 3 lety +1

    You can tell somebody isn't from New England by the way they pronounce our town names. We are Americans but we pronounce our town names like the English do.

  • @christopherduncan9076
    @christopherduncan9076 Pƙed rokem

    Gardner might see a return to the commuter rail on the Fitchburg line

  • @alexandrac591
    @alexandrac591 Pƙed 13 dny

    I wonder if they would consider Cape Flyer service on Thursdays and Mondays?

  • @TrainSounds
    @TrainSounds Pƙed rokem +1

    Train service to Plymouth was discontinued

  • @jacobschwartz2158
    @jacobschwartz2158 Pƙed 3 lety

    It will be the first new branch to open in 16 years since the Green bush Line opened on October 30, 2007.

  • @dungandonuts
    @dungandonuts Pƙed 3 lety +1

    RIP the Bedford & South Sudbury lines

    • @interstellarphred
      @interstellarphred Pƙed 3 lety +1

      There was local opposition to converting the (Central Mass.) Sudbury line to a rail trail, until a study to have the line re-activated was implemented.

  • @NLind
    @NLind Pƙed 3 lety

    This background music has to be from the same composer as YT’s Premiere countdown, same Roland CR-78 drums, same instruments...

  • @qjtvaddict
    @qjtvaddict Pƙed 3 lety

    What was the point of the greenbush line

  • @brendanu1680
    @brendanu1680 Pƙed 2 lety

    Which line do you think is the main line?