That's What Trash Cans Are For ...

If you recall, last Wednesday evening stations along the Red Line and Orange Line were shut down during rush hour because of two separate fires, which were attributed to trash on the tracks.

Today, Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser and the MBTA have begun urging riders to prevent fires in subway tunnels by dumping their trash in garbage cans -- not on the tracks. Hmmm, doesn't this sound like common sense? How lazy must you be to think the train tracks are your own personal dumping ground?

According to the Globe, the MBTA said Fraser's public service announcement is one part of a three-part response to the fires that infuriated thousands of home-bound commuters.

The second part is a reminder to T employees they should pick up trash or alert dispatchers when garbage is spotted in a tunnel so a crew can safely be sent in to clean up the mess.

Finally, the T's power department, which oversees the electrical wiring throughout the system, is to map out a plan to replace the most derelict electrical systems with materials that generate far less smoke should future incidents occur.

In other news, the P508 was right on time this morning, arriving at South Station at 8:23 AM.

No MBTA Fare Hikes in 2009

The MBTA's monthly board of directors meeting took place yesterday. According to reports in both The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald, state Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen confirmed that there are no plans to raise fares for the MBTA's subway, bus, commuter boat, and commuter rail service in 2009. The T does need to find ways to cover approximately $175 million in additional wages/back pay increases and rising energy costs.

The Globe noted the following:

Debt relief from the Legislature is the only viable solution to the mounting budgetary problems, said Paul Regan, executive director of the MBTA Advisory Board, which represents the cities and towns served by the T.

There was an additional article in yesterday's Globe about how Secretary Cohen would like to accelerate the deployment of new Orange Line and Red Line subway cars.

In other news, The Herald also published an article about Dan "I may run the T but don't expect me to use the system" Grabauskas' commuting habits.

Secretary of Transportation Bernard Cohen urged T General Manager Dan Grabauskas to take the T to work yesterday after a Herald article detailed the T chief using his agency-owned SUV for the commute.

Urged. What about mandate that Grabauskas commute on the T?

This is another priceless comment from the T. Does this agency have absolutely no respect for the people who use and rely on their services?

Grabauskas’ spokesman Joe Pesaturo brushed off the statement. “That’s always been the message from the T,” Pesaturo said, adding, “We encourage anyone who can take the T to take the T.”

While the T might not be good enough for Danny G., at least some of the MBTA Board members say they use the system.

Several MBTA board members, who met yesterday to discuss a debt crisis at the struggling agency, said they are able to use public transportation.

Darnell Williams, who lives in Boston, said he takes the T three to four times a week. Anthony Campo said he takes the train in from Milton a couple of days a week.

Joe Trolla also said he takes the T, although he didn’t specify how often. MBTA board member Grace Shepard admits she doesn’t use the T.

“I live nowhere near it,” Shepard said. “I think that anyone who can use it, should. That’s the goal, to make it accessible.”

Only Frank Chin, who said he always takes the T, echoed Cohen’s statements that everyone should be riding.

Once again - instead of just using the MBTA as a political patronage dumping grounds, the state should mandate that the MBTA Board members actually be people who purchase passes and use the system. Because, otherwise, I don't think the Board members are qualified to run the T.

There are other state agencies with Board of Directors actually do mandate that the board members engage in a specific activity. Because, if a board member isn't actively using or engaging with the agency they are overseeing, then how can they understand the daily issues faces the organization?

Governor Patrick, who doesn't have the best approval rating, could actually gain some positive press if he made a few mandates. Like Danny G. - either use the train OR lose your job. That's an easy choice. Your Escape Hybrid SUV will be waiting in a parking space at the State Transportation Building if you need it. If there is an emergency. But maybe the issue isn't just that Danny-boy needs to drive to work. Maybe he "works" from home a lot. Well then, problem solved. If he works from home and there is an issue, he'll just have to use his own vehicle.

According to the Boston Phoenix, Grabauskas' commuting habits is an "old news" story, first reported on in 2006 by The Boston Sunday Globe Magazine and Commonwealth. STILL - commuting issues are a lot more urgent today than two years ago. It wasn't acceptable then and it is not acceptable now.

Wow. My blood is boiling. The whole concept that the head of the agency in charge of running the major mass transit system in Massachusetts doesn't even use the system is just plain insulting.

The Mass Pike is facing budget woes. Here is a report from WBZ-TV.

If air travel is running smoothly, Train Rider should be somewhere over the Atlantic, flying towards Boston.

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.

Free Vitamin Water Day at South Station

What a treat!! They were handing out free bottles of Vitamin Water today outside South Station.

I only have one more morning commute to my current office location. My office is moving over the weekend. I will no longer be getting off at Back Bay Station and taking the Orange Line to work. Or disembarking at South Station to walk to my office. Now I'll be taking the commuter rail in all the way to South Station and then relying on the Silver Line to get to my office. This should be interesting.

I will miss the buzz of walking outside at South Station, not to mention getting freebies from the people who hand out stuff.

My P508 train arrived at Back Bay around 8:13 a.m. and South Station at 8:21 a.m.

Saw another article about more people taking the commuter rail as an alternative to paying higher gas prices. Unlike yesterday's article from The Salem News, this article contains quotes from commuters who believe the commuter rail is a cost-effective alternative to driving into Boston.

TGIT for Me

TGIT!! Yes, I know it is normally TGIF, but I'm taking tomorrow off. So it is TGIT. Doesn't that look like a dirty word?

This morning's inbound commute on the P508 was fine. Geesh - I don't even know what time we arrived to Back Bay Station as I neglected to look at my watch. I took the Orange Line to my office.

Last night I received some MBTA text alerts that all the Worcester-Framingham trains were running 15-20 minutes late because of switch problems. But my train was right on time. Weird.

However, not all the trains are running smoothly on the Worcester-Framingham line. AJ was kind enough to add a comment to yesterday's blog post.

Also, things do not sound like they are running well on the Franklin Line. Charlie on the Commuter Rail had two posts from yesterday about incredibly hot cars and unprecedented issues on the Franklin #715 train. Yikes!

In other T-related news, Boston.com published a report today about how the MBTA Transit Police are practicing if the Homeland Security threat level rises from Yellow (where it currently remains) to Orange.

Have a good Thursday (and a good Friday too). Isn't this weather amazing?

Sleepy Wednesday Commute

I have returned from my one-day business trip.

I took the P508 train in from Grafton. I totally slept on the train this morning. Oh, the train was on time. We arrived to Back Bay station at 8:14 a.m. and I got off to take the Orange Line to my office.

Keith sent in an article that I didn't see in yesterday's "Earth Day" edition of the Boston METRO. The MBTA is embarking on a number of green initiatives. Click here to check the article out.

Keith - thanks for sharing the article!

Out Sick Yesterday, Normal Commute Today

Good afternoon. What a lovely day, huh?

Yesterday was a sick day. I was battling a spring bug, so I slept a lot. If I am able to sleep 12+ hours and recharge nicely, I can usually conquer most illnesses. I guess maybe I sound like I'm a laptop battery, huh?

Enough about my health, on to today's commute. It was healthy to say the least. I took the P508 train in from Grafton. We were crawling a bit through Westborough, but managed to arrive 1 minute ahead of schedule! Sweet. I got off at Back Bay Station at 8:16 a.m. and took the Orange Line to my office.

Read the following in today's Telegram & Gazette. I've embedded the article because the T&G only archives articles for 14 days.

CSX: New yard key for commuter boost

By Priyanka Dayal TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER— While political leaders continue to point to disagreements over liability as the biggest obstacle to increasing commuter rail service to the city, representatives from railroad giant CSX Corp. yesterday said relocating the company’s 80-acre rail yard in Allston is the bigger hurdle.

In a meeting with the Telegram & Gazette editorial board, three CSX representatives called themselves “fans of commuter rail” and said they are committed to expanding commuter service, as long as that expansion doesn’t hamper freight service.

Transportation officials and lawmakers in Massachusetts have been negotiating with the railroad company to purchase the 22.8-mile section of railroad between Framingham and Worcester in an effort, eventually, to double the number of commuter trains to Worcester. They have said they will not sign a deal that, in the case of an accident, would require that CSX and the state pay for damages to what each owns, regardless of fault.

CSX, meanwhile, says it will not sign a deal that introduces a new risk — passengers — to its existing liability system.

The liability hang-up has caught the attention of federal lawmakers, including Sen John F. Kerry, D-Mass., who has threatened to file legislation regulating freight and commuter rail contracts if CSX doesn’t budge.

Yesterday, Lisa A. Mancini, CSX’s vice president of strategic infrastructure initiatives, said train operators don’t care about liability policies, they simply operate as safely as possible at all times. She dismissed the notion that making the state liable for its own passengers means CSX wouldn’t have incentives to be safe.

Ms. Mancini said moving CSX’s operations in Beacon Park, on the western edge of Boston, to a location closer to Worcester would help free up track for more commuter trains.

“Most of our customers are west of Framingham, but we bring our trains (to Boston) because our yard is there,” she said.

That means tons of cargo go to the Boston facility every day, then tracks deliver much of that cargo to locations west of Boston.

The yard is part of a nearly two-century-old rail infrastructure, and its location made sense at the time it was built. Today the yard takes up 80 acres of prime real estate that Harvard University is interested in acquiring, Ms. Mancini said. If Harvard paid CSX for that land, it would allow CSX to give the state a better deal, she said.

CSX has considered a few locations in Central Massachusetts for a new rail yard, but so far, none of them has been promising.

In response to Mr. Kerry and others threatening to take action, Ms. Mancini said, “That’s their prerogative, but that can’t create the capacity (for more trains). We’d get to an answer faster through negotiations, I think.”

CSX officials stressed that they communicate constantly with Massachusetts rail officials, and said on-time performance for commuter trains on the Worcester line has shot up to the 90 percent range since the train schedule was tweaked in February. The new train schedule is “more realistic” because it allows more travel time for peak-hour trains, CSX and state rail officials say.

CSX attributes less than 3 percent of commuter train delays to conflicts with freight trains, while the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., which operates commuter rail service for the MBTA, maintains freight trains are more disruptive than CSX claims they are.

CSX representatives yesterday acknowledged that signaling upgrades could allow for one or two more commuter trains to Worcester, but did not portray that as one of their primary goals. Signaling upgrades between Boston and Framingham would be costly and would be the responsibility of the MBTA, they said.

“If we add more trains, we don’t want on-time performance to go from 90 or 95 percent to 85 percent,” said Maurice J. O’Connell, CSX’s vice president of public affairs.

If the state purchases the Framingham-Worcester track from CSX, the rail company would pay a fee to use the line for its freight.

Mr. O’Connell, Ms. Mancini and company spokesman Robert Sullivan yesterday said if the sale is approved, CSX would ask the state to help clear obstacles so trains with one container atop another — known as double-stack trains — can travel under highway bridges and through tunnels across the state.

That project would cost several million dollars.

Contact Priyanka Dayal by e-mail at pdayal@telegram.com.

The Week Ends with a Friday Morning Status Quo Commute

After a pretty intense workweek of early morning meetings, I returned to my regular schedule today.

I took the P508 out of Grafton this morning. My train arrived at Back Bay Station at 8:14 a.m. I disembarked at Back Bay and took the Orange Line to my office. Good times!

So it looks like yesterday's weather was just a tease, huh? We're back to the lower temperatures. And it seems like the sun is rapidly disappearing. Oh well, I guess this is why everything turns a nice shade of green in the spring.

The only news report this morning is from The Boston Herald. They published an article about the MBTA's pension system.

Have a good Friday!

My Super-Early Super-Long Delayed Commute This Morning

This has been a busy week at work. I needed to get into Boston early this morning.

I got up early (which is something Train Rider loathes to do) to get ready so I could take the P506 train in. The P506 train departs Grafton at 6:39 a.m. Much to my surprise, the P506 was canceled. When the next train, the P508, showed up it was two cars short. The P508 departs Grafton a 1/2 hour after the P506 at 7:09 a.m.. So after waiting more than a 1/2 hour, I had to ride on a train that was two cars short that needed to accommodate the riders from two trains.

Once I boarded the train, I noticed that passes were not checked and tickets were not created. Around Ashland, the conductors made an announcement that they spoke to dispatch (CSX I presume?) and obtained permission to have the train go express from the Framingahm station. So, even though the train was packed, it worked out well from a time perspective because we didn't have to stop at West Natick and Natick and deal with even more passengers.

We arrived to Back Bay Station at the P508's scheduled time of 8:17 a.m. I jumped off the train to take the Orange Line to work.

It is really sad when you've already had a long day and it isn't even 8:30 a.m. At least it is nice outside. The question is - will I be able to step out from my endless meetings to enjoy today's taste of spring?

Another Day Taking the P502 to Work

I was at the office pretty late last night. Maybe I should have just slept under my desk because I was back on the P502 this morning. I had to be in the office for a very early conference call. Yes, one would think I could conduct the conference call from the luxury of my home, but I also had to host a webinar and I couldn't do that outside the confines of my corporate IT environment.

Today's commute, in the rain, was fine. The train was right on time. Although, I cannot be sure of the exact time we rolled into Boston because I stumbled blindly off the commuter rail and onto an Orange Line train to get to my house. I wonder if I was even awake?

With two early mornings and a late night, I'm hoping I'll be on either the P519 or the P523 train home tonight!

Just a reminder . . . for riders of the Fairmont, Franklin, Greenbush, Needham, Plymouth- Kingston, Middleboro-Lakeville, and Providence-Stoughton lines . . . your new train schedules go into effect this coming Monday, April 7th.

Thankfully I Don't Have to Ride the P502 Train Everyday

I had an extremely early meeting this morning. To make sure that I absolutely, positively arrived into the office on time, I took the Worcester line's P502 train.

The P502 train departs the Grafton station at 5:57 a.m. Yes, that's right, for Train Rider 5:57 a.m. is a most ungodly hour. The train arrived at Back Bay Station at 7:03 a.m., three minutes ahead of its scheduled 7:06 a.m. arrival time. I got off at Back Bay and took the Orange Line to my office.

I am not a morning person. In my mind, I basically got up in the middle of the night to make sure I arrived to the Grafton station at 5:57 a.m.

Enough about my commute and my theories about morning.

Read in today's BostonNOW how a lot of riders are receiving complimentary rides on the MBTA's Green Line. Hey - that sounds like the commuter rail line too! I just don't understand how an agency that is in such financial trouble as the MBTA can have passengers not pay for rides? Call me silly - but if the fares don't help the bottom line, then why collect them at all?

Still on the Green Line, an article ran in yesterday's WickedLocal Arlington about the proposed Green Line extension into Medford.

The Commuter Rail Beat the Mass Pike Today

Now today is one of those days that I was actually happy to be taking the commuter rail to work instead of the Mass Pike. Did everyone hear about the huge backup on the Eastbound side of Pike this morning right before the 495 interchange? It was caused by a tractor-trailer rollover. Two of the three Eastbound lanes were closed, causing a 13-mile backup past the Rt. 146 exit.

I'm sure there were a lot of angry motorists stuck in traffic this morning.

My commute on the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line was fine. I took the P508 train into work today. We were at Back Bay for 8:13 a.m., 4 minutes ahead of the normal 8:17 a.m. arrival time. I got off at Back Bay and took the Orange line to work.

I'm so happy I didn't have to take the Pike into work this morning. I normally get on at the Rt. 146 exit. Of course, if I had been sitting in traffic from the 146 exit to the Millbury exit, I would have gotten off in Millbury. But I'm sure I would have been trying to get through loads of traffic to reach another Pike entrance.

In some Train Stopping blog-related news, we've added a news feed for MBTA articles posted by the 9Neighbors blog. Thanks Rick for your help in adding this code. The feed can be found in the right-hand column.

Lucky St. Patrick's Day Commute

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Well, I hope it just wasn't the "Luck of the Irish" that made my inbound P508 commute pretty uneventful. This morning's train departed the Grafton station right on time at 7:09 a.m. and pulled into South Station a minute early at 8:22 a.m.

I thought it was kind of cold today. I was freezing walking from South Station to my office.

My apologies for Friday's date confusion. I know the track work began last week. Let's chalk that up to Friday-itis.

Yesterday's "Stops & Starts" column in The Boston Sunday Globe had an interesting story sent in from a Franklin line rider. Here is the piece it its entirety:

'Get on the train!'

After months of infuriating delays on the commuter trains, it's rare to hear from a rider who complains that the trains are running on time.

But Michael Medwar of Franklin wrote in about a semiharrowing trip home from a recent Celtics game.

Medwar waited about 15 minutes for an Orange Line train from North Station, leaving him no margin for error when he arrived at Back Bay in hopes of catching a 10:40 p.m. train home.

"I ran as fast as I could up the stairs [those trips to the gym have finally paid off], following three younger people in front of me who were also running," wrote Medwar, who is 37.

He didn't check which track; he just ran, and hoped. Finally, he saw the train pulling away. "The conductor was yelling 'Get on the train!' "

Medwar, no doubt gasping, made it. But what about the other basketball patrons, presumably less fit, who wanted to take the Franklin Line? Were they stranded for another 75 minutes, waiting for the last train? Medwar wants more people to take public transit to big events, but worries they won't if the subway and the train are not in better synch.

In fact, the T does make some effort for events. For example, managers scheduled an extra Lowell line train to ship people back up to Boston following last night's scheduled Dropkick Murphys concert at the Paul E. Tsongas Arena. But getting to the train station after an event by shuttle, bus, or subway can be tough when there is a big crowd or when the T is running fewer trips as part of its off-peak schedule.

Spokesman Joe Pesaturo said there is a balance when it comes to holding trains, noting that long delays can annoy people expecting an on-time departure.

But riders can request a train "hold" if they can find a subway official and tell him or her to call commuter rail dispatchers, he said.

Medwar said he understands that the T cannot hold commuter trains indefinitely, but how about a few more Orange Line trains after a game? "It just seemed to me that we were waiting on the platform for so long."

Wouldn't all of us love to see a coordinated transit system?

Superfast Thursday Morning Commute on the P508 Worcester-Framingham MBTA/MBCR Commuter Rail Train

Good morning. What a gorgeous morning. Spring definitely feels like it is in the air. But March can be such a long, muddy month. Who knows if we've seen the last snow in Eastern and Central Massachusetts until later this year.

The P508 train was super fast this morning. I arrived to Back Bay Station at 8:11 a.m. and took the Orange Line to my office. I stopped and had a brief chat with a former colleague near the T's State Street Stop and I still made it into the office with plenty of time to spare. I was at my desk for 8:26 a.m.

It is amazing what an extra six-minutes can do for you during the day.

Today's P512 Inbound Commute

My commute was fun this morning. Nothing to report, really.

I was tired, so I slept the whole way in.

I took the 7:49 a.m. train from Grafton (otherwise known as the P512) and got to Back Bay Station a little before 9:00 a.m. The P512's schedule states that it arrives into Back Bay Station at 8:54 a.m., so we were pretty much on-time.

From Back Bay Station, I then took the Orange Line over to my office.

In other news, the Boston Herald published this article this morning about the state's "ailing" bridges and roads. I know just in and around Central Massachusetts, there are bridges that have been shut down for a few years (and some bridges that will probably be shut down). The article noted that there are approximately 500 "structurally deficient" bridges throughout the Commonwealth. Yikes!

While the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is "only" $2 billion in debt, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (the good ole MBTA) is $8 billion in debt. Ouch.

On a bridge-related note: supposedly the Newburyport-Rockport commuter rail line is "back to normal" service. The T made another round of repairs to the rail bridge that links Beverly to Salem. In news reports, commuter rail riders on this lined were bused at various times to ensure that the bridge repairs could be made.

Worcester-Framingham Line's P512 Inbound Commuter Rail Train Late on Friday

The inbound Worcester-Framingham line train that I was on was late today ... shocking.

I took the P512, which leaves Grafton at 7:49 a.m. and is supposed to get to South Station at 8:59 a.m.

We were going really slowly from Natick through the Wellesleys.

I ended up getting out at the Back Bay Station , so I could take the MBTA's Orange line train over to my office because it's so cold out.

Anyhoo ... my commuter rail train got to Back Bay at 9:06 a.m.. (the scheduled arrival time to Back Bay is supposed to be 8:54 a.m.). So the P512 12 minutes late this morning.

It's a New Year, but the MBTA/MBCR is off to a delayed start, at least in regards to the Worcester-Framingham line's performance.

So here is how my inbound commutes stacked up this week:

• Mon., 12/31/2007 - ABORTED COMMUTE. I attempted to take the P508 train into Boston. This train, which normally departs at 7:19 a.m., was running 25-30 minutes late as of 7:30 a.m. So I drove back home and worked from home.
• Tue., 1/1/2008 - New Year's Holiday. Day off.
• Wed., 1/2/2008 - LATE COMMUTE. The P508 arrived into South Station 10 minutes late.
• Thu., 1/3/2008 - DROVE IN. I had to drive into work because I could not depend on the train arriving into Boston on-time. I had an early morning meeting that I needed to attend.
  
• Fri., 1/4/2008 - LATE COMMUTE. The P512 was at least 12 minutes late when it arrived into the Back Bay Station. Who knows how late the train ended up being on its arrival to South Station.

Well, four days into 2008 and the commuter rail is not showing a promising improvement in terms of the on-time performance rate. We'll have to see how the year shapes up.