Switching Up My Commute

Took the p512 this AM ... much like AJ's Lost hangover from Wednesday night, I had my own hangover (not attributable to a TV show though) and decided to take the later train. We were on schedule this morning, with an arrival into South Station right around 9:00 AM ... still quite bleary eyed, so couldn't focus on the watch to determine actual time.

In other news, looks like commuter rail lots (not owned/operated by the T) in Fitchburg and Leominister will be subjected to a parking lot rate increase from $2 to $3 effective March 1. You can read additional details about it here.

No football this weekend ... whatever will I do?

Train Rider is Back

Hello Train Riders!

My apologies for being offline for a few days. I had to drive to work on Friday, which proved to be fortuitous as I ended up going home early because I was sick. You will never believe this - I got sick from the E. coli bacteria in my town's water. It sure wasn't a fun way to spend the weekend.

Due to some post-work commitments, I also drove in this morning. Just think - supposedly by Friday we'll think that today's balmy temps are like a heat wave.

I did take the P508 to work yesterday. The train was on time - we arrived at South Station around 8:21 a.m. I noticed last night that the old train signs in South Station are gone. I wonder if anyone ever bought them on eBay? The new board with departure times is in its place. I'll miss the sound of the time changing - there is something very nostalgic about the clicking noise.

Commute-a-holic has been tied up with projects at work and thus unable to post articles. Here are some of the transportation related things in the news:

Before I get into the news round-up, can I just say that I'm thrilled that Jim Rice has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Woo-hoo!!

Two articles in today's Boston Metro: one about the continued increase in T ridership and the other about how parking revenue is up, even though the number of cars parked is down. AJ's comment about parking from last Friday was very observant. Here's a snippet of it:

Speaking only for the Grafton lot, the parking fare increase has definitely effected the amount of people who park their cars in the lot. Not necessarily ridership, but people who use the lot.

Almost three years ago, I regularly parked in the 2nd isle for the P508 train. As winter takes away a good number of spots, I move back to the 4th isle. This past spring, as gas prices rose, my regular spot stayed in the 4th isle. The summer saw a move back to the 6th. This was unprecedented! The week that parking fares rose, I was back to the 2nd isle. After that, I could actually find spots in the 1st isle as well.

AJ also explained why he is now not parking at the Grafton lot.

Progressive Railroading also reported on the T's increase in riders.

Today's Boston Herald reported that the Governor is serious about gas hikes as an alternative to Mass Pike toll hikes. Stop the Pike Hike is still actively campaigning and protesting toll hikes.

A press release posted on Saturday to TradingMarkets.com focuses on tonight's meeting to discuss environmental issues related to a project on the Fitchburg commuter rail line.

According to Sunday's Boston Globe, the Worcester line is not the only commuter rail line that has massive delays. The Fairmont line is also plagued by issues. Sunday's "Starts and Stops" column also reported on the Green Line extension, how much revenue the T is losing because the Pats didn't make it to post-season play, and that the Pike is now going to keep the West Newton entrance open (instead of closing it to test the traffic flow). Finally, there was an article about how the Pike may need to repay UBS $400 million due to a risky investment that went south.

Friday afternoon's Worcester line commuter rail delays were due, unfortunately, to a death on the tracks.

Are Cancelled Trains a Sign of Winter's Arrival?

Train Rider is away on a business trip today. Perhaps this is a good thing, as it appears that the P508 train was cancelled this morning. Thanks to Anonymous at 7:39 a.m. and Anonymous at 9:37 a.m. for the updates posted to Train Stopping. AJ posted a comment to The Greater Grafton Blog (which has a lovely photo of the platform at the Grafton MBTA station).

With the Thanksgiving holiday and heavy workloads, neither Train Rider nor I have been able to post some updates from readers. We'll start with news from Grafton Train Rider. The week of Thanksgiving was not a good one, commute wise, for Grafton Train Rider.

Grafton Train Rider started with the following message: "As we approach Thanksgiving, it sure has been a back week on the Worcester line. Tuesday night, P529 was delayed departing South Station due to a signal problem so we arrived in Grafton about 10 minutes late. Wednesday morning, P520 was delayed at least 15 minutes (stopped in Framingham and Allston then slow travel in between). The conductor thought that the cause was due to flooding."

On Tuesday, November 24th, both the P502 AND the P504 were cancelled. Grafton Train Rider submitted the following to the MBCR's Commuter Rail Customer Service:

Subject: No updated signage, invalid date.

It's bad enough to cancel the express train but waiting in the cold with a sign that says "All trains operating on or near schedule 11/11/08" is even worse when the date is 11/24/08. I arrived at work 45 minutes late. I submitted for the cancelled P502 and hope my refund is forthcoming. If not, I will write back to complain on that as well.

Here's some feedback Grafton Train Rider received regarding the malfunctioning LED sign:

I appreciate that you brought this information about the LED board to my attention. Unfortunately, our communications department, tries to ensure that all boards are running with the appropriate information, however until someone informs us that it is not running properly, we have no way of knowing there is a problem. I have forwarded this information on to our communications department, asking that they further review this information.Unfortunately, this department does not handle the issue of fare reimbursement. This request is handled through the MBTA's website. If you have any trouble regarding your request, you may contact them by calling 617-222-3200 and asking for the Revenue Department. Thank you for taking the time to bring this concern to my attention, I appreciate it.

Meanwhile, Fitchburg Train Rider expressed some concerns regarding the recent announcement about the removal of seats on some MBTA Red Line trains.

I heard on Channel 7 news this AM, that Red Line is going to RIP OUT ALL SEATS except for a few for handicapped and elderly. They claim to many riders. Now this is MORE THAN OUTRAGEOUS. Instead of

1. better seats
2. better customer service
3. more cars added to the Red Line if more passengers
4. more scheduled subways to accommodate the increase in ridership,

the MBTA, in all their infinite wisdom, decide to:

1. rip out seats
2. make present riders VERY MAD
3. make the Red Line now very unsafe, and probably unlawful
4. worsen their already bleak customer service reputation

Upset, Fitchburg Train Rider contacted the MBTA. Here is an excerpt of what the T had to say:

If I could set the record straight, the MBTA is testing two cars aspart of a pilot program where thy have removed the seats and these two cars would be put in the middle of a six car train. Currently the MBTA is operating 28 six car trains and starting on Monday one train will have two cars with the seats removed to address the over crowding the Red Line has experienced. Customers will be given the option to either utilize any of the cars with the seats or opt to board the train with the seats removed. The MBTA has added additional grab handles and straps for customers to hold onto during their commute. The Red Line had already added two additional trains beginning in the Fall to help address the overcrowding and we are responding to the still overcrowding conditions that still exist. Transit Agencies around the Country who have experienced similar problems removed seats as a way to increase ridership during peak periods.

The removal of the seats on the Red Line is a pretty controversial topic in Boston mass transit at the moment. Today's Patriot Ledger published an op-ed on this experiment. This well written editorial calls for the state to create a public transportation plan that will lessen our dependence on individual vehicles. The Ledger's editorial team makes some outstanding points about the logic of the T's experiment with removing Red Line seats. In the editorial staff's opinion, only 27 more riders will be able to get into Boston for about the cost of a gallon of gas. Do people really want to stand for a 1/2 train ride into Boston? Even a Tufts University blog has weighed in on this. We will have to see if this experiment works.

Now for some good news related to a follow-up story. Westborough Train Rider, who received mixed messages about paying daily parking fees with a personal check, sent this update:

They did indeed cash my check, see attached. Good news, they finally came back saying that paying by check is acceptable even though they have posted signs saying that paying by check is not an acceptable form of payment. Tomorrow will be my first test since 11/19. I'm curious to see if after paying by check I get back to the parking lot to find a slip on my vehicle stating I owe $5.

My aim is to let people know they can pay by check. People should know they have that option even though some station parking lots post that is not an acceptable form of payment, especially with it getting colder out there.

Thanks to Grafton Train Rider, Fitchburg Train Rider and Westborough Train Rider for sharing your experiences!

While the subject of parking is still top-of-mind, here are reports from WBZ-TV.com and the Brockton Enterprise about how a zoning conflict may not enable people to park at a private business in Kingston.

A Letter to the Editor in today's The Boston Globe about portable bikes, written by the executive director of MassBike. We actually missed this story - it ran in the November 30th edition of The Sunday Boston Globe. Folding bikes are used by some commuters to augment their transit commutes.

Finally, in case you didn't see or hear this, the Mass Pike reportedly saved $31.6 million thanks to budget cuts since January 2008. This is twice the amount that the Executive Director thought they would save in 2008.

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.

Where Do You Park?

In today's The Boston Globe there is an article about how the increased ridership on the MBTA/MBCR commuter rail trains can cause parking to be at a premium at some stations. This article focused mainly on the Fitchburg line, but the limited availability of parking spots seems to be a theme across much of the commuter rail system.

Acton Board of Selectman Chairperson Lauren Rosenzweig was quoted as saying that the town of Acton has heard complaints from commuters that the parking spots in Acton are filled by 7:18 a.m. Approximately 900 commuters board the trains from Acton alone.

Commuters are dealing with the parking issues in a number of different ways. Some get dropped off at stations, others walk to the station. People are parking wherever they can find a space - meaning that businesses in towns along the commuter rail line are complaining that commuters are taking up parking spots meant for customers.

The MBTA does have a $150 million rehabilitation of the Fitchburg line scheduled. The first part of the project will focus on railroad operations. Future phases of the project may focus on commuter rail parking issues.

Good Commutes

Hello! It has been a while - well two days. What is with short weeks? They definitely have a way of beating you up. Between actual work and all the drama going on with the 2008 Presidential Race, I have neglected my Train Stopping blog.

Massachusetts is officially back-to-school. While some school systems started back before Labor Day, Boston students went back to school today. So far, so good commute wise.

This morning's commute on the P508 was fine. We were on-time in our arrival into South Station, pulling in around 8:20 a.m.

Yesteday's P508 commute was OK. We sat again outside of South Station for 10 minutes. I checked my watch when the train finally pulled it and it was 8:30 a.m. Yesterday I was hoping that the "sit and weight" wasn't a sign of things to come. At least today we pulled right in.

Both The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald reported today about increases to the MBTA's services. Essentially, July was another record-breaking month for public transportation usage. The T is adding rush-hour trains and buses to help move commuters. The Globe noted

The changes - some previously planned, others new - are limited in scale and Grabauskas concedes they will not completely solve the T's crowding problems. But the agency does not have a lot of money to work with. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is operating out of its reserve accounts to keep its budget balanced and could implement a potentially substantial fare increase in 2010 to combat its multibillion-dollar debt.

In July, 34.7 million trips were taken, marking the seventh month in a row to record an increase in passengers over the previous month on all services except for the commuter boat. Trains are packed and parking lots are full.

The T is also studying different ways to increase capacity - perhaps by removing seats on subway cars and adding straps for riders to hold onto. Of course, reconfiguring a T car comes with a price. It would cost between $40,000 to 60,000 to retrofit a Red Line car. Yikes!!!

Meanwhile, the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) has announced a new service next Monday, September 8th. Gazette.SouthCoastToday.com reports that the Wareham Lakeville Train Connector will bring commuters from Wareham and Middleborough to the Lakeville Commuter Rail Station Monday through Friday starting at 5:50 a.m. The bus service will run along Route 28. The fare is $2 for adults and $1 for seniors; a monthly pass is available. This service is being launched to get more cars off the road. What a great idea!

In other news, Fitchburg Train Rider share the following in an email to me yesterday:

On the Fitchburg line commute. Last Thursday the Red Line stopped and waited at every stop from South Station to Porter Square. So I was 5 minutes late for my Fitchburg commuter rail train and had to wait a half hour...Then Tuesday, the train pulled up to the Longfellow Bridge, stopped for 5 minutes, backed up halfway to Belmont, and waited for another track. Tuesday, the train was late, and it sat in Porter Square for 10 minutes. Seeing RED this morning -- weather is perfect, but these trains can't seem to be on schedule.

Finally, ComputerWorld published an interview yesterday with one of the MIT hackers. It is a Q&A with Zack Anderson and its interesting.

Fitchburg Line Delays from Porter Square

Fitchburg Rider sent the following email to us today, regarding some recent delays on the Fitchburg line.

Thanks Fitchburg Rider for sharing.

Hi Train Stopping,

I regularly ride the Fitchburg line from Porter Square/Littleton, and since they started fixing the tracks during the day, the 4:50 pm Commuter Express from Porter Square has been at least 10 minutes late every day for the past two weeks. And because the crowd waiting for the 4:50 pm train now gets on with the other crowd waiting for the 5 PM train, the trains are packed solid, with no seats left such that riders must STAND UP for the entire express trip from Porter Square to Acton. It is ugly. And MBTA will never admit it -- they claim that only the trains from mid-morning to mid-afternoon are affected, but now we are even more miserable. They should add more cars, but dream on...

Fitchburg Rider

Upcoming Fitchburg Line Delays.

Received the following email yesterday from Fitchburg Rider. It is similar to the updates I mentioned in my first post this morning. Fitchburg Train Rider gave me permission to share this with Train Stopping's readers.

Thanks Fitchburg Rider for sharing your recent commuting experiences.

The Lowellsun.com had an article today about the FITCHBURG line delays in the works...

Last Friday, the 5 p.m. train out of Porter Square was more than 20 minutes late. When the train was ALREADY 10 minutes late, the kiosk in Porter Squarre said, Trains running on or near schedule. It did not say Late until the train was coming down the track!! This is once again utter incompetence.

Now, they say the Fitchburg line will ,"have no delays, some delays, and some could be up to 45 minutes.," according to Erin Blake, spokeswoman for MBCR. And next summer, the article says there will be even more delays due to an engineering project.

So now I can look forward to my 4-hour commute running to 4.5 hours per day until the end of September, and I will never know how late it will be, and you can be certain the light displays will give out no clues. So therefore, I cannot plan for the delays. The bad service just never seems to get any better, and only gets worse...how can they get away with it??

Fitchburg Rider

Wacky Weather Contributes to Commuting Woes

This weather is wreaking havoc on commuting.

Driving home in the rain last night took it took me about 1 hour, 45 minutes to drive from downtown Boston to the Route 146 exit on the Mass Pike.. The Pike really backs up at the 495 exit now, which I think is due to construction, but also the weather. I know that they are working on the ramps to exit 21 B/21 A, which is the Hopkinton/Upton exit.

This morning, the P508 train was on time to Grafton, but it was slow going from Ashland onwards to Boston. We ended up being about 10 minutes late this morning. Well, technically according to the schedule, we were only 7 minutes late (train arrived at 8:30 a.m. when scheduled arrival time is 8:23 a.m., but usually the train gets to South Station at 8:20 a.m.). At least we arrived only 10 minutes late, not like Tuesday's horrific commute.

Commuting seems to be growing as a hot-topic. I noticed on the business networking site LinkedIn that a reporter from the UK is looking for sources to speak about Utah's planned 4-day work week for their state employees. Today's The Boston Globe published another article about biking to work. This appeared on the front page of the print edition. I didn't know this: by law, bikes are considered vehicles in Massachusetts. Interesting.

Quite a few editorials/opinion pieces about transportation. Here is one about the Mass Pike (with the MBTA mentioned) from today's SouthCoastToday.com. Yesterday The Globe published this editorial about transportation in and around Boston Harbor.

Back to some train news. The North Weekly's Starts & Stops column from today's Globe is all about railroad horns. WickedLocal Belmont mentions track work on the Fitchburg commuter rail line. Commuters of this line should expect delays through Monday, September 29th. OK - that explains all the Smart Route's delay updates this week about the Fitchburg line.

Train Numbers 417, 419, 421, 423, 465, 456, 418, 420, 422, 424, and 466 will be impacted by this outage. Delays of 20 to 35 minutes may be expected during this time.

That's it for now!

What's Going on with the T?

A special thanks to Fitchburg Train Rider for notifying us about the latest bad news regarding the MBTA.

For the third time this week, the T just hit a stat that no entity that serves the public wants to hit. A person was struck and killed by an Orange Line train near Sullivan Station in Charlestown this morning. As a result of this tragedy, The Boston Herald reports that the MBTA is busing commuters between North Station and Oak Grove in Melrose until the accident scene can be cleared.

This has been an awful week for the T.

The fatalities are pretty horrific. Couple that with some just plain p*ss poor (sorry - there is no other appropriate word choice I can thing of) service issues of late and you know you don't want to be working in a T office right now. Seriously, the service issues need to be addressed. Some of our readers have some good suggestions for how they would try to avoid some of the service issues.

Our sympathy is with the accident victims and the crews who have to deal with the aftermath. Not pleasant at all.

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!!

Train Stopping Readers Share Information

Grafton Train Rider sent an email with the following:

Are you aware that the MBTA seeks volunteers for their Rider Oversight Committee? The link is posted at http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/Smart_Forms/News,_Events_and_Press_Releases/Call%20to%20Action%20Letter.pdf.

Riders should submit interest by 4/30/08. I am considering volunteering since I use a lot of their services (MBTA parking lot, commuter rail, bus, Green/Red Lines and occasional trips on Orange/Silver Lines).

Also, Fitchburg Train Rider shared the following about an article that appeared in today's Telegram & Gazette

"The governor also told city councilors at the meeting that he continues working on problems standing in the way of expanding commuter rail.

District 2 City Councilor Philip Palmieri told the governor it is vital “to every business and college” in the city.

Mr. Patrick said the administration had come up with cost estimates and ways to fund the expansion.

But CSX, which owns sections of the track that have to be upgraded to add commuter trains, demanded indemnity for liabilities from passenger rail accidents as a condition of expanded sharing of the rail lines.

The governor cited the recent collision in Stoughton of a commuter train with a runaway freight car as an example of why he could not “in good conscience” agree to the indemnity demand.

While Mr. Patrick said it is too soon to provide details, he is now looking at what he described as “a very aggressive” approach to allow the expansion that could also help extend commuter rail to western parts of the state and to the South Shore. "

It always AMAZES me they can come up with money to EXPAND commuter rail, but NEVER money to buy the necessary infrastructure (parking lots) and general maintenance of the train car's seats, etc., so passengers can actually use the train services, and in relative comfort! I think the State's naivety is boundless and frankly relies on grossly incompetent research.

Thanks Grafton Train Rider and Fitchburg Train Rider for this information!

Fitchburg Line Gets $75 Million in Federal Funding for Enhancements

According to an article from today's Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the $75 million in federal funds will be matched by $75 million in state funding. The enhancements to the Fitchburg line are expected to bring additional trains and faster service that will accommodate 700 new riders by the time the project is finished in 2012. This project was one of only 13 approved by the US Department of Transportation.

Lt. Governor Tim Murphy Said Worcester Train Line Announcement Forthcoming

Lt. Governor Tim Murphy is quoted in an article that ran in today's Worcester Telegram & Gazette that "an announcement about improved Worcester commuter service will be made in the a few days. "

I can't wait to hear what this announcement will be all about. I hope that they will (1) guarantee that trains will run according to schedule and (2) increase the number of inbound and outbound trains on the Worcester - Framingham - Boston commuter rail line.

The article was mainly about efforts from some Fitchburg and Leominster elected officials regarding improved commuter rail service to those communities. It sounds like the Fitchburg line riders face much of the same issues that impact the Worcester line - mainly extremely long commutes into Boston because of numerous train stops.

Fitchburg and Leominster are located west of Boston and they are very close to Massachusetts/New Hampshire border. Beyond the commuter rail, Route 2 is the main travel route into Boston for Massachusetts residents who live in the Fitchburg/Leominster area.

I hope my elected state officials (Jennifer Callahan and Richard Moore) will be advocating for improved service on the Worcester line!