Winter in New England and the Train Blame Game

I am so happy that common sense dictated that I not stand around in the freezing cold waiting for today's P508 train. Which was delayed. Yes - that's right - for the third Monday morning in a row, the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line was an absolute mess. Check out the comments made by Train Stopping readers.

• Framingham Rider said that the P500 (which departs Worcester at 4:45 a.m.) was canceled. This caused the P502 to be changed to a local. A pretty smooth commute until they hit Allston.
• Anonymous at 10:34 AM wrote about the P508.
• Richard, who normally takes the P508 out of Worcester at 6:55 a.m., isn't sure if he took the P508 or the P512, since the train he was on left Worcester at 7:35 a.m. At least Worcester riders can wait in Union station - waiting 40-odd minutes in the cold for the train on the concrete platforms is harsh. Richard said this, noting that the morning commutes have been particularly bad:

"As much as I'm angry at the MBTA, their website stated that the delays were due to CSX not clearing the switches. The snow stopped last night. Can't switches be cleared by the morning commute. We live in a snowy climate and these things should be taken care of. It was an upsetting commute and coming on top of all the other bad ones during December, this doesn't bode well for the MBTA."

• Anonymous at 11:15 AM was also on the P508, which was really the P506. Anonymous' comments are very similar to Richard's

"What I found irksome about this morning's commute is that this storm, and the snow and ice, was not a surprise. It wasn't a go to bed with clear skies and wake up to snow and a messy commute. It's been snowing for 3 days. Everyone at the MBTA/MBCR should have known what the track conditions would be like and should have been out there at 3am, not 4:30am, digging out the switches. They knew what the situation was before the last train run last night."

• Anonymous at 12:10 PM was on the P502 and noted "I want to know which part of the weather forecast the T and CSX didn't understand? If the first train is supposed to leave at 4:45 am then parking lots should be plowed and trains should be ready to move. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this stuff out. The T and CSX need to learn to work together and stop putting riders in the middle of their tug of war."

The mess this morning on the Worcester-Framingham line even impacted outbound commuters. AlisonD Tweeted about this morning's events, which Universal Hub picked up. If you're using Twitter, there is a whole section dedicated to the MBTA. Use #mbtasux in your Tweets and they'll be tracked on the MBTA Sucks Twitter round-up page. This page is organized by MBTA subway line. Perhaps they'll end up adding a section just for MBTA/MBCR Commuter rail riders.

Posted last Thursday, the T has their Guide to WinterTime Travel On The T press release up. I'm sure Dan and his crack team will either blame CSX or the MBCR for this one. Yes, it is probably CSX's fault - I mean - who the heck doesn't clean the switches after a snow storm? Sure, it snowed this weekend, but it stopped snowing in the Worcester area last night. So there was at least 8 hours to clean the tracks. But shouldn't the MBTA be providing some oversight? They seem to be able to step in and take the credit when ridership is up.

This is absolutely unacceptable. Lt Governor Tim Murray - if you care so much about the Worcester area and about mass transit, you need to step in and fix this. Three delayed Mondays is not acceptable. Multiple delays are not acceptable.

Outside of the Worcester line, Boston.com reported on an incident in Abington this morning. Tales from the Commute (another commuter-related blog we just found), also reported on this.

I guess it could be worse. We could have been stuck on this Amtrak train over the weekend.

OJ and the Silver Line

It is super rainy this morning, huh? At least it isn't freezing cold. The temperatures feel warmer than the past few days.

I was back riding the P508 this morning. The train was fine. We arrived at South Station around 8:25 a.m.

The real adventure of this morning's commute, for me, took place at South Station. While I was waiting for the Silver Line, another commuter dropped their orange juice all over me and some guy. The person was walking down the stairs and the OJ fell over. It actually spilled on my head. So my hair is all crusty now. I guess today was just meant to be a bad hair day. The rain is tough enough on its own, but throw some OJ into the mix and it is just a hair disaster.

Commuters who come in on trains that travel between Route 128 and Canton have had some tough commutes lately. Last night, according to WHDH-TV Channel 7, delays with an Amtrak train caused a ripple effect. Commuters had to be bused from the 128 Station to Canton Station in order to resume their commute. That could not have been fun for anyone.

This is a big week for Amtrak. I'm glad I won't be anywhere near an Amtrak train heading out of Boston either today or tomorrow. It will be packed to the gills with college students and other travelers trying to make it to wherever they need to get to for Thanksgiving. Of course, I anticipate tomorrow night's commute home to be pretty crowded for the same reason.

An interesting op-ed from today's Boston Herald about a number of Massachusetts public entities need to be bailed out. The MBTA is frequently mentioned.

Yesterday WickedLocal Easton reported on the South Coast rail project. One proposed route, linking Attelboro to Norton, may be canned as it would be a construction nightmare causing a lot of disruption and costing a lot of money.

The Salem News published two different commuter rail-related stories today. One is about a commuter rail crossing in Ipswich. The other is about the quest for more parking at the Salem MBTA station.

A post from today's Boston.com Green Blog asks the question: are you driving more now that gas is below $2 for the first time in nearly four years? The question emanated from an article from today's Boston Globe.

Finally, it looks like MBTA commuters aren't the only ones who are paying more to park. The MART garages in Fitchburgh and North Leominster may increase parking fees from $2 to $3 per day and $35 to $50 per month in 2009, according to an article in the 11/21 issue of the Fitchburg Pride. In case you didn't know, MART stands for Montachusett Regional Transit Authority. I would still rather pay $50 a month than the $80 a month I'm now paying to park.

Not a Surprise

Train Rider has been tied up with some corporate training initiatives so hasn't had a chance to post. Tomorrow I know Train Rider will be out of town on a business trip.

Yesterday The Milford Daily News published a follow-up to last week's article about the Draper Mill complex. State Senator Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge) has warned that the extension probably won't happen anytime soon.

"Given the MBTA's current financial problems and their long list of existing priorities before extending commuter rail, a study funded by the T is probably not something that will be well-received in the short term," he wrote.

In other news, Switchback posted yesterday about the staircase at the T's Park Street station. The staircase, on the outbound side of the Park Street station, is expected to cost $1.4 million. Geesh!

USA Today's Travel blog ran a piece today about business travelers using Amtrak. The take-away: Amtrak is great if you're traveling on the East Coast, especially on the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, DC. But in Northern California and in other parts of the country, the service could be better.

On the subject of Amtrak, today's The Boston Globe reports on the Acela train. More cars may be added because Amtrak is out of capacity. Ridership on the Acela has climbed 7.7% in the first ten months of fiscal year 2008. The Acela contributed to Amtrak's total rider gain of 11% nationwide. A ticket surcharge may be added to cover the new cars. USA Today reported that rail advocates want the US to look into developing more train projects.

US Transportation Infrastructure Woes

There is a great article from today's The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) about how cutbacks in driving are impacting both the federal highway system and mass-transit expansion projects.

The US Department of Transportation released a report that notes over the past 7 months, Americans have reduced their driving by over 40 billion miles. In the Northeast, which incorporates both New England along with New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, there was a 4.2% reduction in vehicle travel from May 2007 to May 2008.

While the cutbacks are good in terms of some federal policy goals such as curbing emissions and reducing oil consumption, from a funding standpoint this is not a positive situation. Federal fuel taxes largely help to finance highway and mass transit systems. As oil costs rise, so does the price for construction materials including asphalt. These factors make the road, bridge and train infrastructure that much more costly to maintain.

Of course, cities, states and the Feds didn't do a great job of maintaining our transportation infrastructure before the substantial rise in fuel costs started to impact our country.

About 25% of bridges in the U.S. are either "functionally obsolete" or "structurally deficient," like the Mississippi River bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis last August, killing 13 people.

Scary! I know some of the roads that I use frequently have been impacted by bridge issues. In Grafton, alone, a major bridge has been out of service for years. And it looks like a bridge is being repaired in the Millbury center area. Who knows how long that will take to fix? And look at the havoc the Longfellow Bridge that connects Boston and Cambridge has raised this summer.

Along with bridges, one out of every seven miles of the nation's roads has been rated "not acceptable" by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission. To get our roads up to snuff, the Commission said that $225 billion a year is needed. Our current spending level is 40% that figure. Yikes!

The Bush administration is expected to release as early as Monday figures projecting a deficit of $5 billion or more in the Highway Trust Fund for next year. Thanks to steady increases in driving, since it was set up under President Dwight Eisenhower, the trust historically has run a surplus. It steers gasoline-tax revenue through a federal appropriations process before sending it back to the states.

This issue alone has sent lobbyists for business groups into overdrive on Capital Hill. Last Wednesday, the House passed an $8 billion bill for highway and mass-transit projects. This bill is expected to pass through the Senate, even though the President has some reservations. And on Thursday, an additional $1 billion for bridge repair was approved by Congress. In 2009, Congress is considering approving a six-year transportation bill that would include more than $400 billion in spending.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said administration officials are crafting an overhaul plan aimed at shaping the debate. The goal would be to give states more flexibility to set transportation spending, while making it easier for them to tap private-sector dollars. Also under consideration: asking Congress to loosen restrictions on states levying new tolls on interstate highways.

Experts do not think that driving rates will "bounce back" like they did after the gas crises in the 1970s.

Amtrak ridership is up 11% this year. Mass transit systems in areas including Seattle and Florida have seen ridership spikes of more than 30%.

Earlier this year, the House passed legislation that would provide an additional $1.7 billion to transit agencies over two years. Both chambers have passed bills that would significantly boost Amtrak funding.

Tuesday's News

Trains, State Funding and Being Green. That sums up this morning's news round-up.

A Letter to the Editor of The Boston Globe from the Executive Director of the MBTA's Advisory Board leads today's news. Paul Regan wrote in response to last week's articles about the Big Dig's budget excess. During the project, the T received commitment to pay off some elements. Now the T is in its own budgetary crisis, so Regan is calling on the state to intervene.

Amtrak's Downeaster train service, operating between Portland, ME and Boston, is reporting record ridership gains. Daily, 947 passengers take the train between the two port cities. Ticket revenue has grown 33% in 2008, attributed to the rising cost of gas. The Downeaster operates five round-trips daily and they are looking to add a sixth trip.

Finally, a little late to the game, The Globe ran an article on the front page of its Business section about 4-day work weeks.

"Trains Can't Be Beat"

Interesting article from the July 21, 2008 issue of Newsweek. Here are some highlights:

There are signs the strategy is working. Over the past two years, Amtrak's ridership has increased almost 17 percent systemwide. And the recent spike in gas prices has pushed train ridership to capacity on some routes. A hefty funding package for improvements is currently up for debate in Washington, and Amtrak is already exploring ways to enhance service along popular routes. But getting the system up to speed is a tall order.

Since the 1950s, America's vast inter-state highway system and love of the automobile has contributed to a gradual deterioration of its railroads—just as most of Europe and parts of Asia have been investing in swift and comfortable long-range trains. But duplicating those foreign systems here is not simple. Private freight railroads own most of the tracks Amtrak uses, so a broad expansion of the railways would require hundreds of billions of dollars in new infrastructure and decades of eminent domain lawsuits to acquire private lands. "We never invested in quality passenger rail travel like other countries," says Joseph Sussman, a professor of engineering and systems at MIT. "It's almost impossible that the American network could ever be able to mirror those ultra-efficient models around the world."

An expansive new system may not be in the cards, but the recent increased interest does signal hope for Amtrak to grow, especially along routes between cities that are too close to fly and, with high gas costs, too long and pricey to drive. A few hundred million dollars in improvements could bring certain routes to acceptable levels, according to Amtrak. Routes connecting Chicago to St. Paul, Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C., and San Diego to Los Angeles could replicate the speedy transit of the prized Northeast Corridor, where sleek trains running on newer tracks allow speeds up to 150 miles per hour in some zones, according to Amtrak CEO Alex Kummant. New rail cars and tracks would surely help, but trains could also run faster with newer signals installed at crossroads to stop traffic earlier. Improving station conditions in rural areas would also make the service feel more comfortable and contemporary.

For train enthusiasts, it will be interesting to see how Amtrak evolves. Those who believe that the government should not give further economic assistance to Amtrak think that private companies could operate a more efficient system. It is interesting that our nation never nationalized air travel, yet we did nationalize our train system.

Amtrak has been in the news a lot lately. The train system just announced that they have renamed the regional service on the Northeast Corridor as the Northeast Regional. And as the Newsweek article noted, ridership is up.

Muggy Days, Interesting Commutes

Another muggy day . . .blah!! I love summer, but I don't love mugginess. I wonder if anyone does?

Last night's commute home was interesting. I took the P529 outbound train home. The train showed up with six single cars. Usually we have 5 double cars and 2 singles. Needless to say, it was mobbed and passes/tickets were not collected. However, we were fairly on time. From comments posted to the blog last night, it sounds like a lot of the South Station lines were packed.

You know, I have never checked out the WiFi on the Worcester line. Does anyone know if it still exists? One of the comments last night indicated that the WiFi might not be available.

My inbound commute today was perfectly fine. The P508 arrived to South Station at 8:22 a.m.

On to the news.

An op-ed from today's The Boston Globe focuses on Presidential-candidate John McCain's transportation strategy. At least according to Derrick Jackson, McCain could lose the public transportation debate. It will be interesting to see if this year's election cycle increases the support for public transportation.

It looks like more South Shore commuters may be opting for public transportation/share van options, according to an article from The Daily News Tribune. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts employees who work at BCBSMA's Hingham and Quincy offices can use a shuttle bus from MBTA stations to their offices for free. What a deal!! Ridership is up 15% over last year.

About 400 employees take the shuttle from the Red Line's Braintree station to the Hingham office and 800 take the shuttle from the North Quincy MBTA station to the Quincy offices. BCBSMA should be heralded for offering their employees the ability to use public transportation to reach regional offices. Approximately 1,000 people work in BCBSMA's Hingham office. Though Hingham is a reverse commute for people who live North of Hingham, it is still good to have those cars off the road. BCBSMA also subsidizes 30% of their employees' monthly MBTA pass. No wonder BCBSMA consistently makes regional and national lists of "the best places to work at."

BCBSMA is not alone in offering employees the ability to use public transportation, carpool or use vans to reach the office. Reebok, OneBeacon, and Computershare help to subsidize the Neponset Valley shuttle bus service.

The article also cited a recent study published by HR consulting company Challenger, Gray & Christmas about what companies are doing to cut commuting costs. Here are the major trends:

What companies are doing to cut commuting costs

• Condensed workweek (such as four 10-hour days): 22.9%
• Organize car pools: 20%
• Subsidize public transportation: 17.5%
• Other (gas card prizes, monthly transportation stipend, etc.): 16.3%
• Expanded telecommuting opportunities: 14.3%
• Encourage bicycling or walking to work: 11.2%
• Subsidize gas costs: 5.7%
• Offer shuttle services: 2.9%
• None of the above: 42.9%
  

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. survey of 100 human resource executives, May 2008

Finally, this is a bit of local news. I read about this in last week's The Grafton News. Since The Grafton News is not available online, I can't link to that article. It looks like the former Grafton-Upton Railroad line might come back into existence. You can read about it in this article from today's Telegram & Gazette and on The Greater Grafton Blog. The Grafton-Upton Railroad is for freight trains.

Dump the Pump Today

Another day in Boston, another rolling victory parade. Will these parades ever get old? I doubt it. I hope people decided to use public transportation to head into Boston for today's Celtics' parade. I heard that the city is going to start closing downtown streets around 9:30 a.m. this morning.

Beyond the Celtics' parade to celebrate their 17th NBA Championship, today is Third Annual Dump the Pump Day. Dump the Pump is designed to raise awareness about the benefits of using public transportation - both from a personal economic standpoint and an environmental standpoint. With gas over $4.00 a gallon here in Massachusetts and in other parts of the country, I think there could be a captive audience listening to ways to "dump the pump."

Even the MBTA is getting in on the action. Did you notice the fancy graphic they created to "dump the pump"?

The MBTA is using "Dump the Pump" to kickoff a promotional campaign designed to encourage more residents to ride the rails (or use the buses and commuter boats). According to Progessive Railroading.com, the MBTA's campaign components include interactive elements along with radio ads and commuter-rail train wraps. Oh, seeing a commuter rail train wrapped with a message could be cool. I wonder if the wraps make it even harder to look out a window?

I heard on Channel 5 this morning that the MBTA will begin modernizing Blue Line stations starting this Saturday, June 21st.

• Phase I will run from June 21st through July 3rd. The Wonderland station will be closed.
  
• Phase II will be from July 5th to August 1st. The Wood Island station will be closed.
  
• Phase III will be from August 2nd to August 15th, closing Revere Beach station.
• Phase IV will be from August 16th to August 29th, shutting down the Beachmont station.

The MBTA will be using buses to transport riders between stations. In some cases, riders may have to take a Blue Line train to a different station. It seems a bit confusing, but I'm sure people will figure it out.

Amtrak has rescheduled the Connecticut Bridge Replacement project. The project will now start on June 24th and end on June 27th. You can read about it in this article posted yesterday afternoon to Boston.com.

Finally, here is an interesting editorial that was published last Friday (June 13th) in The Milford Daily News. The editorial is about different mass transit options for the Metro West area.

Another Day, Another Scorcha

It's going to be another scorcha today! Knock on wood, the trains (well at least the Worcester line commuter rail cars I've been in) have had AC.

It seemed like we were behind schedule this morning. Since the trains were recently running about 5 to 8 minutes ahead of schedule, the train seems like it's late even when it's really on time. Anyhoo, my P508 train arrived at South Station around 8:24 a.m., about 1 minute behind schedule.

The Silver Line was packed. When it is this hot, this early in the day, I'm guessing a lot of people didn't want to deal with the heat during the walk from South Station to the Waterfront.

As dga kindly pointed out this morning, The Boston Globe did add a retraction to their article published last week about the bridge being repaired on the Greenbush line. Here is the retraction:

Correction: Because of a reporting error, an article in Friday’s City & Region section about a bridge that needed to be replaced as part of the Greenbush commuter rail line project incorrectly reported the bridge's age. The bridge being rebuilt in Scituate is more than 100 years old and is downstream from a three-year-old rail-crossing bridge.

In the "boy does time fly fast" file. The Amtrak rail repairs, first mentioned on Train Stopping back in February, are upon us. As reported yesterday on the The Boston Channel.com, all Acela Express service and all regional train service between Boston and New York City will be canceled from Saturday, June 14 through Tuesday, June 17 to replace part of a 90-year old bridge that spans the Thames River in Connecticut. Regional trains between Boston and New Haven will also be canceled on Wednesday, June 18th. Amtrak has added a trip that will go through Springfield, MA to accommodate the cancellations.

I hope everyone can stay cool today!

Rail Summit Feedback on National Train Day

Today is Amtrak's National Train Day. Al Roker is the official spokesperson, so the Today show was airing clips of Al reporting from a rail concourse somewhere.

Yesterday was the Rail Summit in Worcester. The Telegram & Gazette noted that Lt. Governor Tim Murray said that CSX is "indifferent" to public needs. Here's the article from today's T&G:

Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray said yesterday that railroad company CSX Corp. is blocking the expansion of commuter rail service to the city, and he reproached CSX for neglecting the public interest.

At a railroad summit at the DCU Center, Mr. Murray used harsh terms to
describe the current stalemate between CSX and the state. The policies CSX is
proposing, he said, are “absurd.”

“Despite CSX’s apparent indifference to the public interest, we are not
dissuaded in our effort to expand rail to Worcester and other parts of the
state,” he told a packed conference room, including CSX representatives sitting
in the front row.

The expansion of commuter rail service to Worcester has been discussed
for years, but has not moved beyond talks, largely because of a dispute over
liability. CSX, which owns the track from Framingham to Worcester, insists on
maintaining the existing no-fault liability policy if the state purchases the
track.

The 22.8-mile section from Framingham to Worcester is one of the few
pieces of railroad used by passenger trains that is not owned and controlled by
the state. Mr. Murray and other politicians say acquiring the right-of-way on
that track is the best way to expand commuter service and spur economic growth,
but if the state buys the track, liability should be determined by who is at
fault in an accident. Otherwise, politicians say, taxpayers could end up footing
the bill for CSX’s negligence.

“No-fault is a deal breaker,” Mr. Murray, the former Worcester mayor,
said yesterday. He has voiced that point before, but not in such blunt terms
at a well-attended public event. CSX representatives yesterday agreed that
they are not willing to budge on the liability policy but said the relocation of
CSX’s 80-acre rail yard in Allston is the bigger obstacle to expanding commuter
rail service.

Lisa A. Mancini, CSX’s vice president of strategic infrastructure
initiatives, said CSX supports passenger service, but under certain conditions.

Asked about Mr. Murray’s comments, Ms. Mancini said, “I was a little
surprised at the tone.”

She said CSX is trying to avoid a situation such as the aftermath of a recent train accident in Canton that injured more than 100 people, where “everybody’s suing everybody else.” Audience members, including Mayor Konstantina B. Lukes and District 2 City Councilor Philip P. Palmieri, pelted Ms. Mancini with questions about the standoff in negotiations.

Ms. Mancini said CSX is always ready to sit down and negotiate, but a
solution could be a long way off.

“I wasn’t expecting to negotiate this in this public forum today,” she
said.

Mr. Murray and state transportation officials said it’s possible to add
seven passenger trains — four outbound and three inbound — on the
Framingham-Worcester line right now.

“The schedule can accommodate more trains,” said Thomas S. Cahir, deputy secretary for transportation programs at the state’s Executive Office of Transportation, in an interview. “There’s no question in my mind they can do
that now.”

But Ms. Mancini said adding trains to the Worcester line now is not feasible without significant infrastructure improvements. Adding trains would cause problems to existing freight and passenger service, she said.

During her presentation, Ms. Mancini said CSX anticipates increased freight traffic over the next several years and is developing a long-term plan to accommodate that increase. One locomotive can carry the load of roughly 250 tractor-trailers, she said, and trains burn gas much more efficiently than trucks do.

John D. Ray, director of railroad operations for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, said the MBTA is focused on expanding commuter service to Worcester.

“Passenger demand on this line is expected to increase more than 50 percent between 2003 and 2010”— and that projection came before gas prices skyrocketed to more than $3.50 a gallon, Mr. Ray said.

Representatives from CSX and the Executive Office of Transportation
began negotiating more than two years ago. Both sides agree some progress has
been made; for example, in February the MBTA rolled out a new schedule that
allows more travel time for commuter trains on the Worcester line.

U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, and former Gov. Michael S.
Dukakis also spoke at yesterday’s forum.

“The debate we’re having is not freight rail versus commuter rail,” Mr.
McGovern said. “We want both. We need both to coexist.”

Wow - that's amazing that the passenger growth of the Worcester line was targeted at 50% - a target made before the increase in gas prices.

The Worcester Business Journal also published an article about yesterday's summit, as did The Metro West Daily News.

My Cinco de Mayo Commute

Happy Cinco de Mayo. Yes, I know this isn't a real holiday, but any excuse to have a margarita or a tequila shot is OK in my book. Maybe I'll celebrate by eating a tasty burrito.

Wow, it is nice to see the sun this morning. What a wet weekend, huh? I felt like a duck. I suppose it is always good to have some rain, but boy was it raw.

This morning's commute on the P508 was good. We got to Back Bay Station at 8:12 a.m. I got off and took the Orange Line to my office. This will be last week I'll be able to do that, as my office is moving to a different location in Boston over the weekend.

The NBC-affiliate in Portland, ME ran this story today about how the rising cost of gas is being attributed to an increase in MBTA riders.

Saw this story that ran on Friday about the approval of a commuter rail improvement design contract for the Fitchburg commuter rail line. This was the grant that the state got for the Fitchburg line from the Federal Transit Administration.

Over the weekend I noticed commercials for National Train Day. This is an initiative coming from Amtrak to celebrate trains. The first-ever National Train day will be this Saturday, May 10th. Here is an AP news article about it. Amtrak is spending $2.2 million to promote National Train Day. May 10th was picked because it is the anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad point.

That's it for train news. Ole!!

Observation About the Stoughton Commuter Rail Accident

Early on in my career, I worked for the Massachusetts Port Authority, also known as Massport. Along with running Boston's Logan International Airport, Massport is responsible for operating Hanscom Airfield, the Tobin Bridge, and the Boston Seaport.

Since Massport is a quasi-public entity, the authority faces both state and federal mandated regulations. However, Massport does try (or at least did try while I worked there in the early '90s) to self-regulate itself.

One operation the authority took seriously (when I worked there) was a yearly exercise at Logan International Airport. I'll call this the "what if" exercise. One weekend each year, Massport would run through various disaster scenarios. Since I left Massport long ago, I have no idea if this is something that the authority still does. I'm only sharing my recollections from when I worked there.

Massport would stage a plane crash, much in the same way hospital ER rooms sometimes practice different scenarios, to prepare staff in how to handle a sudden disaster - like a plane crash. Different entities across Massport - such as the Logan Fire Station, Mass State Police (who are on-staff at Logan), EMTs, Airport Staff, Communications/Public Affiars, etc., would run through different disaster scenarios. Employees used to volunteer to participate - people would be tagged for different injuries so EMTs and other professionals could determine triage assignments. Everyone who participated knew that this recreation wasn't anywhere similar to an actual plane crash, but it helped people know what to do if an accident happened. Massport would work with local hospitals and with local safety officials to "coordinate" efforts since moving severely injured people is usually a race against time. The authority would also recreate these scenarios because an accident at the airport directly impacts inbound/outbound flights. So you're trying to attend to both the accident and the larger transportation system.

I have no idea if the MBTA/MBCR/CSX or local towns who have commuter rail or transit trains running through the towns run any kind of similar recreation. From the first-hand accounts published yesterday on Universal Hub (The MBCR can communicate with riders, sort of and MBCR response confused and confusing) , it seems like if there are any recreations, they may be limited.

I truly feel for the front-line MBTA/MBCR employees. Disaster-preparation drills are for the benefit of employees. It really does seem as though the senior management of the MBTA and MBCR are disconnected from their front-line employees. Tuesday night must have been very stressful - dealing with thousands of stranded commuters cannot be a fun experience.

In a post 9/11 world, it seems bizarre that local towns, our transit authorities, and the state don't have a disaster plan on hand. Obviously Tuesday's accident was just that - an accident. Unfortunately, the accident occurred during rush hour, so the impact was a lot harder than if the accident occurred during non-peak hours.

When something happens, communication is usually the most difficult aspect of a situation.

Maybe this accident can be used as a scenario for local cities and towns to communicate with the MBTA/MBCR/CSX/Amtrak or whoever needs to know. Because in reading some of the news accounts, it seems like the local 911 system wasn't sure who to call.

End of the Week Commutes on the Worcester MBTA/MBCR Commuter Rail

TGIF!

Due to an extra early work meeting, this morning I took the P502 train which departs Grafton at 5:57 a.m. This is an express train from West Natick and it stops at Yawkey. My usual train, the P508, is express from Natick and bypasses Yawkey. I think we arrived into South Station at around 7:14 a.m., but it was really early and I'm not sure if I was really awake. The "on-time" arrival for this train is 7:12 a.m., so I don't know why it would be a few minutes late so early in the morning.

Last night, something was going on at South Station. The Fairview-Readmont trains were all out of whack and canceled due to "mechanical" issues. There were MOBS of people at the station. I think this may have been related to the unfortunate Acela train accident. An Acela train heading from Providence to Boston hit workers who were inspecting the tracks yesterday afternoon. Two workers were Amtrak employees and a third worker was a contractor. One of the workers was killed.

My P529 train last night was on time leaving South Station. We were a bit delayed in our arrival to Grafton. I think we got to Grafton around 7:24, 5 minutes later than the "on-time" arrival time.

Grafton Train Rider sent me an email about a Boston.com article that Commute-a-h0lic and I missed. This was about the firing of the T's Chief Transportation Officer, MBTA Operations.

In next month's Southborough town meeting, the town will have a vote to decide if they want to spend $112,000 to spruce-up a park that was part of a parcel of land given to Southborough by the MBTA. The Boston Globe reported on this yesterday.

The debate about the South Coast commuter rail line continues. Today's The Sun Chronicle published an article about a new proposal to improve bus service. Some elected officials think that improved bus service makes a lot more fiscal and general sense than just extending the commuter rail line, especially when the state doesn't have the money to extend the line. If the point is to get more commuters off the roads, perhaps buses are the way to go.

Driving into Boston and Amtrak News

Last night I had to drive into Boston. I was meeting friends at Audubon Circle in Kenmore Square (a great little bar/restaurant). The traffic on the Pike Eastbound was extremely heavy from the 128 tolls through the Allston/Brighton tolls.

I sat for a bit on the Newton portion of the Pike. I noticed an outbound commuter rail was also sitting at a stop. I think I saw the P527 Local outbound train. I always get my Newton commuter rail stops confused, but I believe it was the Newtonville stop. It was a bit past 6:00 p.m., so perhaps last night's outbound P527 was running late. Anyho, I noticed that the train was definitely sitting for a good minute. I was basically parked for about a minute until traffic moved again.

Watching the commuter rail train from the Pike, I was curious about why an outbound train would be parked for what seemed like a long period of time. It is too bad the MBTA/MBCR isn't better at communicating some of the "whys" as the "whys" pertain to the commuter rail. Maybe if commuter rail rides understood some of the reasoning behind different actions, people would be less likely to critique the MBTA/MBCR. Case in point - the last comment made to this post.

I know Train Rider is not critiquing the MBTA/MBCR just to be a critic. Train Rider is just trying to understand why a commuter rail line that used to run consistently without incident.

Since I, fortunately, do not have to commute into Boston all that much during the work week, I can handle traffic on the Pike. One other Pike-related observation I noticed last night. Since when has the Allston/Brighton exit become a three-lane exit? That exit has always been a two-lane exit, so I don't understand how it suddenly becomes three lanes. Drivers are way to aggressive - if drivers let everyone merge, then the back up wouldn't be as bad. It took me over 20 minutes to get off that exit and onto Storrow Drive (where I hit more back-up). Driving anywhere in Boston during rush hour is a crap-shoot. I could have gotten off at Allston and meandered into Kenmore Square via Harvard Street and Commonwealth Avenue, but that can be pretty dicey too.

While I was sitting in traffic last night, I heard a news story on WBZ-1060 AM radio about Amtrak. Here is the scoop from today's The Boston Globe: "Amtrak riders may face new hassles." Concrete crossties, that were supposed to last 50 years, are crumbling under the tracks the Acela high-speed trains ride on.

To address this issue and other maintenance work, Amtrak has decided to shut down the MBTA commuter rail track between the Back Bay and Readville stations for a four-day period from June 14th through June 17th. This will impact commuters who use the Attleboro-Providence, Franklin, Needham, and Stoughton MBTA/MBCR commuter rail lines.

Along with shutting down parts of the MBTA/MBCR commuter rail line, Amtrak will not be running trains between Boston and New Haven, CT. Bus shuttles will move passengers between those cities.

Here is what commuter rail riders will be interested to learn:

Pesaturo said T officials and their commuter-rail contractor will get more details next week and make plans for alternative June service for passengers at Hyde Park and Ruggles stations. "The project has benefits for MBTA customers, because replacing the ties will allow Amtrak to lift the current speed restriction" of 60 miles per hour to as high as 79 miles per hour, reducing travel time, Pesaturo said.

When maintenance work will be done south of Readville was not clear. Amtrak officials said yesterday they have no idea how many ties between Boston and Washington are affected, where, or how long they will take to fix.

Amtrak expects to spend $24 million over the next two years replacing cracked concrete ties in the Northeast Corridor. They have already replaced 5,000 cracked ties. In 1978 Amtrak began replacing wooden crossties with concrete ones. The concrete ones were supposed to last 50 years, but they haven't.

In other train-related news, I noticed this story about one of the Winchester MBTA commuter rail stations. Hundreds of pounds of concrete fell from the ceiling of the Waterfield Road commuter rail station. The MBTA is responsible for the maintenance of this station. Patricia Jehlen (D), A state senator representing Winchester, has contacted MBTA GM Daniel Grabauskas "expressing her concern" about the situation.

I hope everyone has a great Leap Day!

Commute-a-holic

Status Quo Friday Morning Commute, But is Anyone Worried about the Possible Amtrak Strike?

Friday morning inbound commute update: Status quo, passes collected, fairly normal and only about 5 minutes behind schedule.

My train arrived at Back Bay Station at 8:24 a.m. (I got off to take the Orange Line). Scheduled arrival time is 8:19 a.m. I can handle a 5 minute delay, especially on a morning with wacky winter weather (like a thunder and lightening storm).

The conductors must have been on crack or something, they kept announcing "Have a Happy Day! This is the happy train!" Um, whatever. The most annoying part of my commute this AM were the two dudes sitting behind me babbling about the most insipid things. SHUT UP!

You know, I asked senior management in my company yesterday if they had a contingency plan in place if Amtrak goes on strike. One of the SVP's said ... "um, yeah, to drive." Well, that's not realistic to assume the entire company can drive in. He was really condescending and I was peeved.

My brother said he heard some commuter rail conductors talking that if Amtrak does strike, they're not crossing the picket lines. So, maybe there wouldn't even be commuter rail service? I think it's a bigger issue than people realize and it irks me when they don't take it seriously.

Is anyone else concerned that the possibility of Amtrak going out on strike will mean that commuter rail service on the MBTA/MBCR lines will be impacted?

Could a Pending Amtrak Strike Affect the Mass. Commuter Rail Lines?

When I read this article this morning on Boston.com about a pending Amtrak strike, a pit grew in my stomach. This is actually the first I've read about the subject. I had no idea that Amtrak may be striking.

Please Amtrak, don't go on strike!! This is scary:

A strike would virtually shut down South Station, forcing rail passengers to transfer onto subway lines at the Back Bay, Braintree, and Forest Hills stations. The MBTA would also have to shut down the Providence/Stoughton Line in all likelihood, forcing about 17,000 additional daily commuters to drive into town or to take alternate rail lines. North Station schedules would not be altered, but riders might see picket lines.

Yikes!

Supposedly the MBTA/MBCR are coming up with some contingency plans if Amtrak does strike.

If the Amtrak workers do strike, they have the legal right to start their strike at 12:01 a.m. January 30th. If they started striking on the 30th, they'll start their strike on a Wednesday.

Amtrak workers have been without a contract since 2000. The Amtrak unions have said that they have three options in place - a strike, a negotiated settlement or congressional intervention.

Since Amtrak owns or operates the rails in most East Coast cities, including Washington, DC, NYC, and Boston, a commute would probably bring havoc to the Eastern seaboard.

I absolutely agree with the person quoted in the article:

"It scares the hell out of me," said Roberta Conover, 49, of West Roxbury, who takes the Needham Line to work. "What a mess," she said.

Wow. For those of us who commute into South Station, let's hope Amtrak doesn't choose to strike to resolve their contractual issues.

South Station Train Stop

Hola fellow commuter rail riders! I actually haven't taken a train into town since Monday, due to business trips, personal days, and other engagements. I'm glad I didn't have to commute on the train during yesterday's December snowstorm. I'm sure I didn't miss a good time!

There was an article about South Station posted today on Boston Now. Basically the article touched upon the fact that when one South Station train runs late, it seems to impact all the lines that rely on this transit hub.

Boy, as a Worcester-Framingham commuter rail rider, I've experienced those delays!

South Station is used by both MBCR commuter rail trains and Amtrak trains. Eleven commuter rail lines go into South Station for their Boston stop. While only 1 of North Station's 6 commuter rail lines had a November on-time performance rate of less than 69%, 7 of South Station's 11 commuter rail lines saw on-time performance rates of 69% or worse.

That's right - only 4 of the commuter rail lines that go into South Station exceed 69% on-time performance rates!!

The state claims it is going to be doing something about the problem:

Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen is working to broker an expansion of South Station by taking over the post office next door, but that is likely about six years out, Deputy Secretary Thomas Cahir said.

The article noted that the MBTA meets with Amtrak twice a year to discuss schedule adjustments. What's that - the T actually does something?

But space and schedule adjustments may not be the issue. The issue could lie with the commuter rail dispatching system.

"The dispatching system will help to improve the amount of information available to the train dispatcher so movements can be better planned to avoid conflicts at South Station," Pesaturo said.

That could alleviate the strain, said Himanshu Patel, director of rail market development at Bentley Civil, an international railroad operations consulting firm.

"It's not necessarily a space issue, it's a timing issue," Patel said. "The only way it can be resolved is changing the signal configuration of the network."

Why can't someone figure out what the issue is and fix it?

Oh, that's right, it is a funding issue. In order to fix the dispatching-thingy, the T needs to allocate funds towards it. According to the article, the funding request is not set to go in front of the MBTA's board until February 2008. If the funding goes through, construction on the final phase of the project won't commence until late 2008.

Himanshu Patel noted that, until the project is complete, delays can still occur.

Well, MBTA Board. What are you going to do? When are you going to resolve this issue?

Does this mean that the on-time performance rates are now a MBTA issue instead of a MBCR issue? It seems like the T was heaping a whole lot of blame on the MBCR over the past few weeks. Perhaps the MBCR needs to hold the T accountable to maintaining their end of the deal (whatever that is).