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Transit group: Changes to MBTA Providence Line would shorten trip to BostonRiding from Providence to Boston by train should take 45 minutes — not 70 minutes — an influential Massachusetts transit advocacy group said Tuesday in a new report aimed at reinventing commuter rail in the region.
And that service should be reliable and frequent, the group, TransitMatters, wrote, with northbound trains pulling out of Providence Station every 15 minutes and fewer breakdowns than the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority riders are now used to.
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“Regional Rail promises passengers freedom of access by transit from wherever they are to wherever they are going across the region. With train service at frequent intervals, passengers won’t be burdened by multi-hour waits.”
To do this, the group proposes a series of changes, including abandoning the diesel locomotives that now pull MBTA trains in favor of self-propelled electric cars, known as EMUs, like those used in subways and the commuter railroad between Connecticut and New York City.
The electric trains are more reliable, less expensive, produce no emissions and both stop and start faster than locomotives, the report states.