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New year but same old stuff: Red Line just not up to snuff
By adamg on Thu, 01/14/2021 - 6:04pm
Door-impaired Red Line train at DTX at rush hour. Photo by Ben Chan.
Ben Chan reports he was on the Red Line platform at Downtown Crossing around 5:40 p.m. when a train pulled in and the doors on one car just wouldn't open and the driver ignored the herdette of people (like five people) banging on the train and waving at him and he just doesn't care and wants to keep going, schedules and all that, no doubt, before deciding this train is coming out of service.
The one saving grace, as you can see from Chan's photo: The coronavirus-caused lack of riders, even at rush hour, means the delay is not going to make platforms jam up with people.
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Comments
Happens at MGH
I was on a car at MGH which the conductor did not open. Not fun times.
Nothing new
As a frequent rider in the before times, I saw this happen several times over the years.
I don’t know how much it happens these days. I’ve been told a significant number of people don’t wear masks so I haven’t taken the T since March. And believe it or not I miss the T.
It's a handful of people
"Significant number of people" is a handful and, quite frankly, they're easier to avoid than the don't-care crowd at your average suburban grocery store, Target or gas station. I ride the subway with plenty of nurses who seem unfazed by the occasional scofflaw despite working on the front lines of the Pandemic day after day.
Magoo sez
The more changes Magoo sees the more changes Magoo sees stay the same. Which causes Magoo to query how can changes stay the same. Magoo.
In or out?
Were the people banging on doors to get in or out?
Sorry
They were on the platform trying to get on the train.
Was it their first time on
Was it their first time on the Red Line?
When that happens, you look down the platform to see if other doors are open.
If you're lucky, the conductor says, "The fifth car is out of service. The fifth car is out of service. Please board another car."
[Insert comment]
[Insert comment about self-entitled yuppies claiming to be "Bostonians"]
But seriously, especially with service often dialed-back to 12-15 minutes between trains, there is no way I wouldn't just make a beeline for the next car on a six-car train. It happens way more often on the Orange Line, although, as mentioned, at least there are three new train sets now.
One train set they recently ran on the Orange Line two days in a row--same car out of service. Even odder was that it was the operator's car, i.e. he/she could move the train, but no passenger doors worked and thus the lights were shut off.
Don’t understand
Why wouldn’t they just go to the next car instead of banging on the door? Were there people trapped inside that they were trying to help?
Are you sure? I didn’t see
Are you sure? I didn’t see that in the tweet. And if nobody was stuck in that car, I don’t see why they would have to take the train out of service.
I asked him in a DM
And that's what he said.
Sigh. MBTA. It is what it
Sigh. MBTA. It is what it is. When I'm forced to ride it to work every day I am now desensitized and brow beaten by it for so long that I'm now conditioned to take its abuse. As long as it doesn't injure me or worse.
First New Red Line Train Running!
FYI, for those who've been bunkering it lately, there is finally one new Red Line set up and running these days, been running for at least a week now! Nothing special--just a wider and longer version of the Orange Line cars.
On the way into work today, I also saw a third new Orange Line set up and running, three sets total! We're "getting there"!