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Needham Line

By adamg - 7/16/18 - 9:42 am

So Keolis had to cancel the 7:32 a.m. train out of Needham for some reason, which meant the next train into town was packed with two trains' worth of people. And, Kerry O'Brien reports, no air conditioning. Read more.

By adamg - 6/20/18 - 8:12 pm
Cops looking for kid

Cops walking through park to the river. Photo by Mary Ellen.

First responders, including a Boston Fire dive team, rushed to the Charles River near Millennium Park in West Roxbury this evening after a conductor on a Needham Line commuter-rail train reported seeing a kid jump off the bridge that crosses the river there as the train approached. Read more.

By adamg - 4/13/18 - 9:44 am

Even with a guaranteed - and free - parking space in the City Hall garage, at-large City Councilor Michelle Wu usually takes the T to work from her home in Roslindale. This week, she decided to experiment and up her game - and try to get around Boston only on the T and Hubway. She chronicled her experience: Read more.

By adamg - 1/23/18 - 5:57 pm

The MBTA is blaming "an Amtrak switch issue" at Forest Hills for massive delays on all the lines out of South Station that use the Northeast Corridor.

Hank Layfield reports from a Needham Line train:

Read more.

By adamg - 11/16/17 - 11:56 am

MassDOT reports that 48 spaces at Needham Junction will no longer be available to commuters come Monday: Read more.

By adamg - 9/19/17 - 4:17 pm

At 3:38 p.m., Mikhaela Houston tweeted from onboard a train to Needham that is just sitting at Bellevue on the Roslindale/West Roxbury line: Read more.

By adamg - 6/12/17 - 10:26 am

When the heat gets too hot, Worcester and Needham Line trains have to go extra slow because, of course, the tracks weren't designed to handle regular-speed trains in the heat. Or as Goodband-C puts it when talking about what is normally 33-minute ride on the Needham Line:

Crawling into South Station a quick 80 minute trip from Hersey.

By adamg - 4/24/17 - 5:29 pm

All the recent Twitter hubbub about fares at the new Brighton commuter-rail station got state Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack to thinking: Could there be other stations near downtown that have unfair fares? Read more.

By adamg - 12/19/16 - 8:29 am

Around 8 a.m., Adam Kessel boarded an inbound Needham Line train only to find (again):

Bodies packed tight, including in vestibules between cars. Unsafe, uncomfortable. Illegal?

A few minutes later, he checked in from Ruggles:

Train just left Ruggles with dozens unable to deboard, trapped on train. No one around to hear shouts.

By adamg - 12/1/16 - 8:57 am
Turtle car hit by train in Needham

Somebody parked their formerly expensive car just a little too close to the tracks at the Needham Heights station this morning and a Needham Line train took exception and flipped that puppy upside down. One train was canceled and others were delayed, although things were mostly back on track by 8:20 a.m. or so.

By adamg - 11/4/16 - 6:08 pm

The T reports:

Franklin Train 722 (5:04 pm inbound) has departed Forge Park/495 & is operating 50-60 min late due to the rescue of disabled Train 720.

Read more.

By adamg - 9/22/16 - 1:06 pm

Boston Magazine reports the shih-tzu lost a leg and about 40% of its blood after being hit between Roslindale Village and Forest Hills last Thursday, but is now recovering nicely as the MSPCA puts her up for adoption.

By adamg - 5/27/16 - 8:28 am

No, really. BranchDesign chronicled her commute this morning on the Little Line that Couldn't: The train that finally came was so crowded 40 people were standing just in her car and the conductor couldn't check tickets. Also:

Train so late that two women had one of their husband deliver Starbucks while waiting.

By adamg - 5/5/16 - 5:50 pm

Ed. note: I've changed the headline on this post. Although it sounds like a good bet the kids in question were BLS students - they got off the same train that BLS students take - as people have noted in the comments, there is a chance they could go to some other school.

So many Boston Latin School students who live in Roslindale and West Roxbury board the 3 p.m. Needham train at Ruggles that the train's conductor sets aside two cars just for them.

This afternoon, an Asian-American BLS student who lives in West Roxbury got off the train, as she does most days, at the Lagrange Street stop. She reports what happened as she walked down Dent Street: Read more.

By adamg - 4/9/16 - 1:54 pm

A concerned, and probably disgusted, citizen requested a cleanup around 1 p.m. at the Roslindale Village commuter-rail stop:

There is a large beheaded rooster next to the commuter rail tracks at the pedestrian crossing.

By adamg - 1/26/16 - 8:16 am

Trains that pass through Forest Hills are being forced to slow down due to Amtrak signal problems, the T reports.

By adamg - 1/12/16 - 3:53 pm

City Councilors Tim McCarthy (Hyde Park, Roslindale, Mattapan) and Michelle Wu (at large) want the T to publicly explain why people who use the Fairmount Line or who board the train at Forest Hills pay so much less than people who take commuter rail in from Roslindale and other parts of Hyde Park in particular. Read more.

By adamg - 9/30/15 - 10:01 am

City Councilors Tim McCarthy (Hyde Park, Roslindale and Mattapan) and Michelle Wu (at large) hope to hold a hearing at which MBTA officials can explain the differing fares for commuter-rail stations within Boston city limits - in particular at stations south of Forest Hills. Read more.

By adamg - 9/11/15 - 6:11 pm

A tree in Roslindale proved unusually susceptible to gravity this afternoon, taking a quick plunge onto the Needham Line tracks and causing all sorts of grief for people who just want to get home after the long short week - as well as for people trying to get into town on the line.

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