MBCR Train Schedule for 4th of July Holiday

Can you believe Independence Day is nearly around the corner. This is one of my all-time favorite holidays. First - I love being American. Second - it is great to have something to celebrate in the summer.

The 4th falls on a Sunday this year. Which means that many organizations will be closed on Monday, July 5th as their official holiday date. However, some companies will be open business as usual on 7/5. What does this mean to commuter rail riders? Holiday Service!!

The MBCR released the following information regarding the 4th of July Holiday weekend:

On Sunday, July 4th MBCR will operate on the SATURDAY schedule, typical for the observance of this holiday. Please see the online schedules www.mbta.com or the handhelds that are available at North, South and Back Bay stations. Here, you will also find the trains that may be held following the conclusion of the 4th of July fireworks.

On Monday, July 5th MBCR will operate on a SUNDAY schedule in observance of the Federal Holiday celebration. Please note the limited train times if you plan to travel on Monday.

MBCR: Safe Boarding Practices

New Safer Boarding Procedure All Trains, All Lines.

Effective Monday, June 14th, 2010, every train must have all exterior doors fully closed before the train can move away from the station platforms. Therefore customers on all trains must board and exit their train only where a conductor is present.

This new, safer boarding process was initially tested on some off peak trains during 2009 and rolled out across the system on all Off Peak Old Colony and Fairmount lines on February 1, 2010. Beginning Monday, June 14th, 2010 the closing of all exterior doors while a train is in motion will become mandatory across all Commuter Rail lines. The closing of all exterior doors is common on passenger railroads across the country and will improve the level of customer safety. By having a set number of doors in use, train crews can ensure that passengers board and exit the train safely and prevent customers from boarding or exiting a moving train.

Passengers MUST NOT open their own doors or traps and we ask that you board only where a conductor is present. Conductors will be required to open adjacent coach doors allowing access and egress to two cars per conductor. The practice of passengers opening their own doors will delay trains as train crews will no longer be able to walk through the train while it is in motion to close the doors, but will instead have to walk along the platform or though the train to close doors before the train can depart the station.

We recognize that change is not always easy and wish to thank you for your cooperation. We would like to assure you that we are monitoring train on time performance and boarding issues , so that any adjustments to schedules can be considered if necessary.

Please allow time to board your train at the appropriate door as the closest door will not always be available.

For more information regarding these changes, we encourage you to watch our new informational video on “Commuter Rail Boarding Procedures” by opening the following link:
http://vbrick.powerhost.powerstream.net/003/02584/safetyriding.wmv

We would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation, while we continue our efforts to improve the level of safety for our customers.

Thank you for riding the commuter rail.
Customer ServiceMassachusetts Bay Commuter Rail
Operating the Commuter Rail on behalf of the MBTA

More MBCR Mail

I guess this post is kind of moot since the delay was a week ago (and luckily I had driven in that day) ...

To All of our Worcester Line Customers

We would like to extend our apologies for the delays some of you experienced the morning of June 14th. There was a mechanical failure on train P508 at Framingham that unfortunately resulted in delays to subsequent service during the morning peak hours of operation today.
The on-board crew worked with our remote technicians but was unable to fully resolve the problem, requiring the train to travel at reduced speed. Upon arrival at South Station this train set was sent to the yard for immediate repairs. Again, we apologize for any delay or discomfort you may have experienced today.

Thank you for riding commuter rail.
Customer ServiceMassachusetts Bay Commuter Rail
Operating the Commuter Rail on behalf of the MBTA

Lots of MBCR Communication

Hello Fellow Trainstoppers! It's been awhile since I've visited the blog, but I wanted to pass along a bit of correspondence that I've received from MBCR ... and to apologize for the lack of posts. Sadly, my company is now blocking websites with a log in and Commute-a-holic is unavailable as well, so my good intentions are falling by the wayside.

First off, I want to ask what you all think of the new "board/depart only where there is conductor" policy? It doesn't seem to have adversely impacted the schedule, which is what I feared when it first started ... and everyone seems to be doing a good job for the most part.

One thing that is kind of annoying ... the looped announcements at the Grafton T stop thanking us for riding the MBTA. One day last week when the train was late, I would have expected the announcement to change, advising us of the delay, but it did not.

Here is post #1 from MBCR regarding a new commuting survey:

To all of our Worcester Line Customers

Commuter Rail Newsletter and Survey results are now available!

We are pleased to announce that the summer edition of the MBCR customer newsletter, the “Commuter Express” is now available. We hope to provide these informational pamphlets quarterly to provide our passengers with the latest information. If there is anything special that you would like to see addressed in future editions, please feel free to send your comments/suggestions to: www.mbcr.net

The newsletter is available online and can be viewed by clicking on the link below.
http://mbcr.net/customer%20service/Summer_Web.pdf

You may also pick up a copy which can be found at the information booths at Back Bay, South and North Stations.

Thank you to all those who participated in our last survey; please log on to the following link to see the results: http://mbcr.net/Survey_Results.html

Thank you for riding commuter rail.
Customer Service Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail
Operating the Commuter Rail on behalf the of MBTA