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Orange, Green, Red, Silver lines don't wait for the snow to fail
By adamg on Tue, 12/17/2013 - 8:15am
A dead train at Sullivan Square around 8:20 a.m. quickly cascaded into commuting hell for Orange Line riders heading into the city from the north. At Malden, riders were told to abandon all hope get on commuter rail. At Community College, riders were told to just go home walk to North Station.
A train died earlier in the morning on the Red Line. Two trolleys were taken out and shot on the Green Line. A Silver Line bus suffered an existential crisis at Mass. Ave. and Washington Street and could go no further.
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Comments
...and a pigeon waiting to get off at JFK/UMASS
just waiting the MBTA edition of the 12 days of X-Mas
On the twelfth commute of Christmas
...the MBTA gave me
12 switching problems
11 Green Line breakdowns
10 swinging backpacks
9 spit-on drivers
8 Red Lines freezing
7 bunched-up buses
6 broken signals
5 missing snakes!
4 idle cops
3 dead trains
2 broken doors
and a bag search for my safety!
Bravo.
Bravo.
You just made my morning.
I am full-on snort-laughing at my desk over this. The mention of snakes just really brings it home.
Hysterical
... and kind of sad that there are too many real problems to work in a plague of locusts.
I think it may be time to trot out my old "Red Line Sleeper Car Service" flyers from 1994/5 ... board at Alewife by 9pm and arrive refreshed by 8am!
and Green Line dining cars, too
Was it the Phoenix that wanted to add a dining car on the Boston College line in the mid-1980s?
I think the E line should add
I think the E line should add bar service on Friday afternoons.
Whoa!
"Add"? I thought ....
Getting into that holiday spirit
Big thumbs up. I will happily sing right along: "Fiiiiiiiiiiiiive missssssssssing snaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakees...."
I must congratulate you, sir.
Normally, I would simply applaud the wit.
It was only when I noted a commenter saying that they "sang along" that I went back and realised that it scanned perfectly. Bravo, sir! Bravo.
Thank you!
I wish there was a tweet button on your post, it's awesome!
Not the kind of headways you want during rush hour
Snapped this at State a few minutes ago:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1517937_102011242...
Not the kind of headways you want during rush hour...
Update at 9:10 am: mbta
Update at 9:10 am: mbta website says severe delays on orange line - use green line to get into town. Website also warns of delays on green line.
Not to mention
Not to mention the delays were from North Station to Oak Grove, the only stretch where it's pretty much impossible to use the E Line corridor as a back up.
Is there any hope at all?
Seriously - the MBTA is getting worse by the day. Is there any way at all of turning this around, short of a nuclear bomb forcing us to rebuild from scratch?
No, Michael, there is not...
until some number of people are killed as a result of the lack of maintenance that also causes all of these delays. Of course it is beyond ridiculous that we have to wait for the legislature to have blood on its hands before it fixes the problem it created at the T, but I really think that's where we are. In the meantime all each of us can do is pray that its not one of us, our family members, friends or colleagues who are killed.
The only other thing I can see that might turn things around is the awarding of the Olympics to Boston, which I cannot envision happening soon.
Planning an insurrection?
I wonder what would happen if someone got a bullhorn out at Park St. and used their first amendment right of freedom of expression to urge others to use their first amendment right of redress of grievances. Hand out maps and lists of legislators and office locations.
How long until they found an excuse to arrest that person? To prevent people from marching straight from the T to the Statehouse to the offices of certain legislators who caused this problem and make some demands? I'm not so sure at this point that it would need to be organized ahead of time - in fact, it would probably be better if it wasn't because there would be "permits" and other obstacles to the very activities the constitution protects.
Spontaneous annual T-rider's riot ... that sort of thing.
hmmmm
Nah
The cops standing around Park Street apparently doing nothing are really there to prevent the coming transit rider revolution.
Arrest at Park street
If you stand outside the station you probably will be arrested because that is where the cops are checking out girls. If you take your bullhorn and you go to the red line platform you can scream your lungs out because no cop will travel down the stairs to bother you.
If you choose to follow this route of insurrection …
I beg of you, my lady, please do not announce your intent and plans via Lite Brite.
Orange Line
I was on one of the Orange Line trains held up at Oak Grove. Incidentally, the platform repair project looks to have been finished for over a month now and they are still running only one train from one platform at Oak Grove. The driver kept saying there would be a 4-5 minute delay, at one point said that they were bussing at Sullivan Square, at which point a number of people got off the train. Ten minutes later the train left.
It does make you wonder how long the T's problems will continue until something serious occurs.
From Forest Hills
Trains were running, but wicked slowly. At every station, the driver waited longer than usual before closing the doors, because the platforms were so packed - after 9 a.m., when things are usually quieting down. At State Street, the train pulled maybe a quarter of the way in, then stopped. Went a few more feet. Stopped. Repeated a couple more times before all the doors would open up on the platform.
I love ATC
Ain't ATC signal systems just dandy?
When designed and implemented
When designed and implemented by competent people yes. But contacting some eggheads at MIT to get it right is just too difficult for the MBTA's organizational structure to allow.
When properly maintained and repaired
yes.
Orange was collapsing earlier
The train leaving Forest Hills at 8:35 was already SRO. By Jackson people on the platforms had to wait for the next train - 10 minutes later.
Then the delay which resulted in the train sitting at Tufts for 10 minutes. A 45 minute ride wound up taking 90 minutes.
The system is breaking down. I don't understand why the managers at the T are not talking to the legislature. I don't understand why our legislators are not doing anything. Are business leaders doing anything? Employees are made late on a regular basis. If the filthy rich head honco of Fidelity can negotiate a multi-million dollar tax break surely he can deign to use his corporate muscle to kick the T and legislature into action before the entire system collapses.
Correction: On the day the electricity to the ENTIRE subway system the subway portion of the T did collapse.
Make some noise
Start making some noise. If they think that their inaction and failure to address these issues will cost them their jobs, they will get moving.
Call or write and share these links with others:
https://malegislature.gov/people/senate
https://malegislature.gov/people/house
MBTA Problems
For some reason this winter (it's not even winter yet) there seems to be too many problems everywhere. Especially the Red Line. I don't know if it's a reality or if it maybe due to the instant access to information that makes us aware of it.
Last weeks Red Line unattended bag business was an example. I know of at least three people who were told they would be better off walking home. One from Park St., the other two from Bedford & Chauncy Sts., by a bus driver.
It's getting worse. The Olympics? No friggin' way.
39 Buses also down
Two broken buses on Centre Street in JP with crowd of high school students and commuters shivering on the sidewalk at 7:15 this morning.
Two articulated buses yesterday, too
Saw two articulated buses that were disabled on the sides of Huntington Ave in the LMA area yesterday morning. The articulateds apparently don't handle the cold well.
Bus failures less disastrous than dead train
Dead buses don't block entire transit lines and can be more quickly replaced than dead trains blocking a subway line. So, much suffering is due to the failure modes of subway trains compared to roadway.
The universe seemed to be telling commuters not to go to work today, because the trip home could be worse.
Um, you must have missed the
Um, you must have missed the few posts last year where dead 39 buses royally clogged the LMA. A dead bus in the wrong spot is very difficult to tow. Add in gridlocked traffic around it and good luck fixing that problem in a timely fashion.
Reduction in Lane Miles!
It wouldn't happen if we just tore down all the buildings on one side and paved more space! There is just way too much city in the way of driving!!!
Here's some pics of the ultimate master plan for Boston:
And a nice example of a very wide roadway to drive and drive and drive on!
What's the over/under on subway trains failing tonight?
I'm guessing eight overall problems.
I'm calling all four lines: Red, Blue, Green Orange. In honor of Mega Millions, I'm taking Silver Line as a bonus..
Sadly, the odds of winning
MegaMillions appear to be much better than the odds of the T not suffering a serious breakdown within the next six hours.
So glad all the increases in
So glad all the increases in the last 10 years have been put to good use. I smell another one coming!
I already pay 5.50 to go 4 stops on the CR while the end of the liners in the burbs pay only $6. Which is why I rarely take it anymore cause that just ain't right!
I have been on either the green, red or orange line every day for the last 32 years and I swear the last 10 have been the worst. I have not seen one major improvement with the last 3 hikes. I don't have a problem paying for improvements but if improvements means seeing an mbta worker every day at Hynes playing on his phone I must protest! Never mind that you can't get a charlie card at every station. WTF is that?
EBT card easier to get!
WTF is with the state making it easier to get one or more EBT cards than Charlie Cards - they have all kinds of workers helping people apply/keep for such benefits, but just try and get a Charlie Card with no money on it!!! Definitely wrong.