Well, not so secret anymore. The MBTA and riders report multiple dead Red Line trains on the Braintree line this morning. Inbound, of course, leading to things like schedule-conscious drivers shutting doors before everybody's gotten off at South Station.
People are getting angry. Kate Norton tweets:
Passengers on the platform and passengers on the train were yelling at and pushing each other at N. Quincy!
Meanwhile, the list of issues on commuter rail (hey, there, Newburyport/Rockport riders!) is just too long to mention.
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Comments
I'm not so concerned about
By anon
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 8:54am
I'm not so concerned about the MBTA being crippled in a New England winter.
What's more bothersome is the MBTA being crippled year-round.
I cannot recall a winter that
By Saul
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 9:07am
I cannot recall a winter that has been as awful for the T as this winter has been. At what point does "weather-related problem" become just another generic reason for a delay? It would be nice if the alerts were more specific. Are the switches iced shut? Downed tree on the tracks? Broken air hoses? It seems like a lot of the equipment was on the breaking point of failure, even during perfect weather conditions, and that this season has exposed the horrible shape of the equipment.
When is someone in a position to make a change going to step up and acknowledge that 30+ alerts on a typical morning or evening rush hour cannot be sustained and is detrimental to our whole region's well-being?
They don't have the funds to make those repairs
By LifeStar
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 9:44am
Part of the issue is that the State had essentially tossed its Big Dig debt into the financial books of the T. Now it has to spend a good portion of its budget in a futile attempt to pay off the loans that the State as a whole had used to help build the Central artery tunnels.
With most of those funds going into debt-repayment, the remaining amount has to go towards salaries, pensions, and maintenance. Which do you think will be short-changed?
Until the State is willing to either increase the T's funding, or the T starts raising fares to ridiculous levels, this persistent problem with their maintenance issues will continue.
but lets keep pushing ahead
By anon
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 10:06am
but lets keep pushing ahead with the $1B commuter rail expansion to fall river and new bedford that will be slower than a bus.
(I support rail expansion in all forms, but not at the cost of a crippled system.)
Without investigating
By Kaz
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 11:08am
I'm not sure if $1B is accurate or not, but I'm willing to guess that whatever the cost of that line, MOST of it is federal money that was only allowed to be spent on "expanding service" or "new track" or something like that. Unfortunately, it was probably pre-budgeted years ago before there was even a hint of economic downturn.
Sure. But what happens once
By anon
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 11:30am
Sure. But what happens once the expansion is in place? Who will run it? Who will maintain it? The current structure at the commuter rail clearly can't handle the system as it exists today, much less coherently manage a bigger system.
Or the green line extension
By Alex_Toth
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 12:54pm
I'm a regular T user, and will be near the extension, but most of the bus lines that follow along the planned expansion route aren't even that busy. In fact many of them run on 20-30 minute headways even during rush hour. As much as I love rail expansion myself, the new routing of the green line seems unnecessary. Or at least much farther past Union Square.
I'd love to be proven wrong but I just wonder if our scarce transportation dollars are going to the right place..
This is puzzling because
By chicken
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 1:48pm
This is puzzling because Somerville is the most densely populated community in New England. My theory is that people who live in central/northern Somerville are largely adapted to car ownership due to poor transit access.
I think the Green Line extension is a fine idea because it has so much going for it: the right-of-way already exists and is quite wide, the region is densely populated and historically underserved. The fact that the price tag has become so inflated is a shame. I can see moving Lechmere as an expense, but the rest of it seems to have been inflated by greed.
I can recall one
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 02/04/2011 - 2:00am
Winter 93-94. Red line service got so bad that I rounded up friends to print and distribute 1/3 page flyers extolling the T's net "sleeper car" service: board by 8 pm at Alewife and the T would guarantee arrival downtown by 8 am the next morning.
Close to a fight at Park Street
By Jon K.
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 9:31am
The train was so packed this morning 2 guys were ready to get in a fight as the Redline train was emptying at Park Street. Same old thing where a guy with a backpack continued to swing and hit a passenger in the first seat. There was so many people I couldn't get a good look as I walking up the stairs but I could hear them yelling hard at each other.
backpacked morons
By central squared
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 10:51am
While I wouldn't condone violence, those morons with their giant backpacks swinging around need a basic lesson in public transportation and how not be a-holes.
Agreed
By anon
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 11:11am
If you're schlepping so much stuff that you need to strap a duffel bag on your back...take a frigging cab.
I'm sure they'll be happy to
By riggssm
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 11:39am
I'm sure they'll be happy to send you the bill ...
Nah, just manners
By M
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 11:52am
As a regular stuff-schlepper who can't afford regular cabs (part of the reason I'm schlepping so much stuff is that I pack my lunch, dinner, and copious snacks because it's cheaper), I think the key is to be aware of the extra person's worth of stuff you've got strapped to your back and mitigate your movements/space use accordingly. There are polite ways to schlep that much stuff (and yeah, hitting people with your luggage and putting it on seats are NOT any of them).
Exactly
By Suldog
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 12:34pm
A little bit of awareness of your surroundings goes a long way. Some folks, such as yourself, understand the need for a bit of extra vigilance concerning their luggage. Others, not so much. MY WIFE, who stands 5'1", seems to find herself under the radar of many tall morons who turn and whack her in the head and shoulder area with a sack full of books strapped to their backs.
Some folks contend that the repeated concussions were what made her think marrying me was a good idea, though, so I'm OK with it.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Screw manners, think common sense
By Stewart
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 4:50pm
It's not that hard, backpack people. When you get on, take your fucking backpack off and carry it. You can put it back on when you get off.
They should put it on those scrolling signs
By fenwayguy
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 5:19pm
It doesn't occur to backpack wearers that leaving the luggage on takes up more space and is hazardous to their neighbors. And of course people don't courteously suggest it, they just glare, grumble and tweet.
No the scrolling signs are
By chicken
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 5:22pm
No the scrolling signs are too busy telling you that texting is illegal while driving. Because the T is the best place to inform automobile drivers of new laws.
Either that or telling you to say something, see something, or something.
Taking off a backpack doesn't
By anon
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 9:36pm
Taking off a backpack doesn't work on a crowded train because crowded train is crowded! There is no room. In other instances, its not needed.
Backpacks are part of this town, and part of public commuting. While backpack people do need to be more aware, perhaps that they are taking up more room (I've actually been surprised), the rest of us have to realise that backpacks are here to stay and they're part of the commuting environment. Deal with it.
Taking a backpack off in a crowded train does work
By anon
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 10:15pm
becuse you take it off and carry it onto the train.
It isn't hard to do. I manage to do it when I bring my backpack. In fact, it makes it easier to get into those crowded trains.
Getting a backpack to the head is not fun.
It's not all about you
By Kaz
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 11:53pm
If you take off your backpack and place it at your feet or hold onto it with your hand, you maximize space.
With it on, you are as thick as your torso (biggest part of the body) AND the width of your backpack.
With it by your legs (the skinnier part of your body), you take up only about as much space as your torso.
On top of that, by taking it off, you can guide it through the crowded bus/trolley without hitting everyone. With it on your back, any time you turn, you swing it into someone on the other side of you.
Don't be an ass. Take your bag off and hold it by your side or sit it by your feet.
Back when I rode with my kids....
By Michael Kerpan
Fri, 02/04/2011 - 7:43am
... on their way to school, I ALWAYS reminded them to take off their back packs (if they didn't remember to do so on their own). ;~}
Are you really this self centered?
By anon
Mon, 10/17/2011 - 8:55pm
Please read what everyone else is saying and think about it. I myself have a backpack, have used one for 25 yrs and am middle aged now. I have always taken it off before getting on the train and placing it between my feet. It just doesn't feel right to take up so much extra space on a crowded train. It's selfish. I don't appreciate getting smacked in the breasts, or in the back while standing next to people who think like you and I especially don't care for getting hit in the face when I am sitting down. This is extremely self centered and part of the ever evolving me first culture we've got before us.
Even more so when they are
By Eighthman
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 12:51pm
Even more so when they are covered in snow, as I saw someone sitting down get a facefull of snow on the bus two days ago when the bag hit the edge of the seat.
Newburyport/Rockport rider here
By Greg L.
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 1:21pm
I've given up on trying to catch any scheduled trains as I haven't been on an on-time one - inbound or outbound - in about two weeks. Now I just show up at Salem Depot 30 minutes later than I normally do and hope for the best.
Does anyone know when January's on-time performance numbers will be released? They aren't posted at North Station or on the MBCR website yet.