Empty Friday Morning Train

My inbound commute on the P508 train was fine. Which is good, because I heard there were some cancellations on some other lines this morning. The train wasn't very crowded today, people must have taken the day off for a long weekend. We were at South Station at 8:25 a.m., we would have been earlier, but we sat on the tracks waiting for a track to open for 3-5 minutes. I hate that!

The Boston Metro reports this morning that a number of transit projects have received approval from the EPA. These projects include the MBTA's Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford and the Fairmount commuter rail improvement project. The latter initiative will add four new stops between Readville and South Station. Also in the works is a connector between the Blue and Red lines, the only two MBTA subway lines that do not connect. Finally, the T will be adding 1,000 parking spaces at various stations.

NHBR.com published an analysis today of the commuter rail that ran from Southern New Hampshire to Boston in 1980.

Finally, Progressive Railroading made mention of the T's all-time-high ridership numbers.

When Commuting, Uneventful is Nice

Good day! I'm back to riding the rails again this morning, back on the P508 to be specific.

My train ride was uneventful. The train arrived to Grafton at 7:11 a.m. (two minutes later than the scheduled arrival time) and we were at South Station 1-minute head of the 8:23 a.m. arrival time - 8:22 a.m. to be exact.

While I often look to avoid the common banality in life (through vacations, special occasions, etc.), I will say that a banal commute is nice. Commutes need to be common and plain. When we have something unexpected happen to us during a commute, it isn't usually a good thing.

So I'm hoping my outbound commute home is just as boring . . . and prompt . . . as my inbound commute this morning was.

Worcester Line P560 Commuter Rail Train Late on Saturday, May 24th

I received the following email from Grafton Train Rider. The P560 inbound commuter rail train was 22 minutes late on Saturday. Also, Grafton Train Rider shared some observations about the Grafton commuter rail station.

Dear Train Rider,

I took P560 inbound Saturday May 24 and arrived 22 minutes late into Yawkey. Good thing that the Sox were not playing at home! The sign at the Grafton station had not been updated since Friday, May 23 (typical for weekend travel), and the train arrived at Grafton 15 minutes late. I asked the conductor why the train was late, and he replied with a useless comment "Isn't this train always late?". I don't know why the tardiness became worse as we picked up more passengers. One thought is that a portion of the weekend trains is typically closed off. Upon arrival into each station, most passengers have no idea where on the platform to stand. So, most folks have to walk to a different boarding location, and the conductor must wait until everyone boards. For example, I was standing toward the middle (where weekend trains typically board), and this conductor boarded at the rear platform area.

In another matter, my brother and I noticed exposed rebar on the left side of the handicapped inbound ramp in the Grafton station. Concrete is crumbing everywhere, and rust is apparent. I can't believe that this station opened in October 1999, I believe, based upon it's current state. To be honest, I never noticed this shoddy workmanship before since most of us are always rushing for the train. I also noticed uneven newer pavement around manhole covers (for conduit perhaps) that may eventually pose a safety hazard. Perhaps some digital photographs should be sent to Dan Grabauskas and the "Eye Team"?

Grafton Train Rider

Back to the Grind

After a glorious Memorial Day weekend, the work week is back in full swing ... although I do plan to sneak away on Friday as well for another long weekend. Whoever decided that a 5 day work week was the norm must have been off of their rocker!!

Onto the commuting updates:

Tuesday morning: I took the P512 which departs Grafton at 7:49. We arrived at South Station around 9:03 and I jumped on a Silver Line bus to the waterfront. All in all, a decent commute.

Tuesday evening: If you take the commuter rail from South Station, you could tell the second you walked into the station that something was wrong. As I was coming up from the Silver Line, I noticed that it was dark, rather hot and very, very crowded. As you may have heard by now, Downtown Crossing and Park Street were evacuated and Red Line service was suspended last night after an electrical fire broke out near the Downtown Crossing station.

When I got to the platform, there were a lot of people milling around. I heard announcements that some of the trains would make extra stops at JFK/UMass and Quincy due to the Red Line issues. I thought the MBTA did a good job of keeping people updated abotu what trains they could take since the Red Line was incapacitated.

I took the p529 home, which is supposed to depart at 6:15, however we didn't depart until 6:28. Apparently the issue on the Framingham/Worcester line had to do with lightning striking a signal tower and was not related to the Red Line issues. Furthermore, our train was 6 single cars, when normally we have 6 (or more) double decker cars. Needless to say, it was packed. We got to Grafton at around 7:28, about 9-10 minutes after our scheduled arrival time.

Wednesday morning: I took the P508, which departs Grafton at 7:09. I was running late this morning and had to wait to get into the parking lot because someone decided to stop and unload their passengers right in the middle of the entry lane ... um, people, please do not do this! Pull all the way in and around the first lane for drop offs!!!

Needless to say, I had to sprint all the way across the parking lot and down the stairs. (And I didn't even have a chance to pay my parking fee, oops). Lucky for me, the MBTA Transit Police were conducting a random train check with bomb sniffing dogs, so I made it onto the train with minutes to spare. We arrived at South Station around 8:23, so right on time.

In other news, it looks like the MBTA is meeting today to discuss their financial outlook. According to the Metro, the MBTA's 2009 fiscal year $1.455 billion operating budget aims to draw heavily from reserves and restructure debt to cover a $75 million shortfall. The budget calls for depleting one-third of the T’s rainy day funds to close the gap. You can read the full text of the article here.

p504 and p508 Problems Today

Today's p504 was canceled. (this is the express train from Framingham that departs at approx. 6:50).

I took the p508 from Grafton. Normally, we have 8 double decker cars. This morning, we had 3 double decker cars and 3 single cars ... so you knew it was going to be a packed, long commute. We arrived to Back Bay at 8:21 (scheduled arrival time 8:17) and South Station at 8:30 (scheduled arrival time 8:23).

Seems there have been some issues this week with trains getting canceled or arriving late. Hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

April Fools Day Commuter Rail Ride

The train was 3 hours late this morning! April Fools! Ha ha, I'm a riot.

Today's P508 train was right on schedule. We arrived at Back Bay Station at 8:13 a.m. and South Station at 8:21 a.m. Both stops were ahead of schedule.

This weather is crazy! March definitely goes out like a lamb, huh? I wonder if it supposed to rain all day. I had to run back into my house this morning to change my outerwear because it was so warm outside. Though I heard the temperature is supposed to drop again. Ah, spring in New England . . . there is nothing else like spring here.

Now that we've crossed over into April, I wonder when the on-time performance stats for March 2008 will be available?

Sleepy Monday Morning Commute

My commute this morning on the P508 train was normal. We arrived at South Station at 8:22 a.m., 1 minute ahead of schedule.

I slept the whole way into Boston this morning. I was so tired for some reason!

I guess Train Stopping/The Franklin Line/A Boston Commuter Speaks, etc. are not alone in blogging about transportation issues as they pertain to transit systems. Commute-a-holic and I discovered the CTA Tattler blog. CTA Tattler is a blog about the Chicago Transit Authority.

I wonder how many transportation-related blogs there are out there in the blogsphere?

Commute-a-holic and I will keep our eyes open for more information related to the MBTA/MBCR commuter rail schedule changes, announced last Friday.

Inbound P508 Train Right on Time

This morning's inbound Worcester line commute on the P508 train was right on time. Just like ye yesterday, we arrived about 4 minutes ahead of schedule to Back Bay Station and we pulled into South Station at 8:22 a.m.

I'm bummed the Red Sox lost. I did crack up when I heard some local news reporters this morning say "the First Place Boston Red Sox." So does that mean today they'll say "Tied for First Place" or something arcane like that. I supposed they're just making chit chat.

Universal Hub has some good first-hand accounts from yesterday's accident on the Stoughton line.

Red Sox Opening Day Commute

Can you believe it? Opening Day is today. Let's go Red Sox!!!

The Opening Day inbound commute on the Worcester line was as error free as it gets. I took the P508 train in. We arrived at Back Bay Station at 8:13 a.m., four minutes ahead of the 8:17 a.m. on-time arrival time. I took the Orange Line over to my office. The Orange Line was packed.

According to Boston.com (at 9:40 a.m.), it is the top of the 10th with the Red Sox leading the A's by 2 runs. With 2 outs, I hope the Red Sox can pull off a win. Opening Day victories, even if they're in Japan in a totally different time zone, are still sweet.

Lt. Governor Tim Murphy Rails Against CSX

An article ran in yesterday's The Sunday Globe about Lt. Governor Tim Murphy's expressed displeasure with CSX.

The Lt. Governor said that CSX is

"completely unreasonable" demands in negotiations with the state over efforts to improve commuter rail service in Boston's western suburbs."

Rock on Tim Murphy, rock on!

Negotiations between the state and CSX have stalled because the state wants to be able to hold CSX legally accountable if a commuter rail passenger gets injured due to CSX's negligence.

Murray has been point man in the talks since he entered office last year. The state wants to increase the number of commuter-rail trains and end the delays that have sparked fury among some riders. On-time performance of the commuter rail line linking Worcester and Framingham with Boston was so poor that last month the MBTA created new schedules to reflect the actual travel times, adding as much as 12 minutes. State officials say they could solve the problems by buying tracks owned by CSX and controlling coordination of the freight and commuter trains that share the route.

The dispute could be enough to derail the deal, worth perhaps $300 million to $400 million, to buy some CSX tracks and rights of way. In addition to what it wants to purchase along the Worcester/Framingham line, the state is looking to buy rights of way on CSX tracks through Fall River and along the South Shore, as well as on lines from Allston to Chelsea (also known as Grand Junction).

Murray said under CSX's current negotiating position, the railroad would have only limited liability, being responsible for the tracks and train damage in a collision, even if an employee was found to be drinking or impaired on the job, and exempt from liability for injuries to passengers. He likened it to allowing a shipping company to drive on state highways without any liability for injuries caused by the negligence of their drivers.

Murray said he doesn't want to find the financially beleaguered MBTA in a similar spot, adding, "And we wonder why Amtrak's almost bankrupt?"

In other news, today's commute was fine. The P508 train arrived at Back Bay Station at 8:16 a.m. and South Station at 8:22 a.m.. So we were a minute ahead on our arrival time.

On the walk to my office, I heard these two guys talking about how the door situation seems to be happening again (i.e., only 1 or 2 doors are open on trains and conductors are yelling at passengers who try to open them). I'm not sure what train/line this is on though. But I would like to know.

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.

Central Parking Shows Great Customer Service - Response to My Email About the Icy Grafton Commuter Rail Station Parking Lot

On the evening of Thursday, February 28th, I fell in the Grafton MBTA station parking lot. The lot was icy.

I initially sent this email to the MBCR. The MBCR, in typical fashion, stated that they were not responsible for the parking lots at MBTA stations. I was then referred to Central Parking. When I first got the referral, I thought "wow - here goes the typical blame game, pass the buck maneuver by the T/MBCR."

Boy, was I wrong. Not only did I get quick reply from Central Parking's Mohamed Warsame, I received an actionable reply. That's right - Central Parking explained what happened and they provided me with contact information to contact them if I ever encounter poor parking lot situations.

Below is a copy of the email I sent to Central Parking and the reply I received from Central Parking.

Thank you, Mohamed Warsame and Central Parking. Perhaps you would be willing to give the MBTA some lessons in customer service?

From: Train Rider
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 10:30 PM
To: Warsame, Mohamed
Subject: Icy Grafton Parking Lot

To Whom It May Concern:

I take the Worcester/Framingham line daily from Grafton to either Back Bay or South Station.

Last Thursday evening when the train arrived at the Grafton station (it was approximately 8:30 PM), I left the train and headed across the parking lot to my car. A person in front of me slid on the ice after stepping off of the curb, but did not fall. When I stepped off of the curb, I too slid on the ice, but I fell down and injured my knee. I have a huge bruise and cuts on my knee from the fall.

I'm concerned with the fact that more wasn't done to sand the parking lot, especially since there was was rain and snow overnight.

I originally sent this complaint to MBCR who referred me to you. Please let me know how this will be addressed.

Thank you,
Train Rider

Subject: RE: Icy Grafton Parking Lot
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2008 07:52:08 -0600
From: "Warsame, Mohamed"
To: Train Rider

Dear customer,

I'm truly sorry for injury you suffer at parking lot we have a contractor whose job is to plow, salt & sand at parking lot every time it snow or ice on ground- please call me at convenience so I can forward you information to the contractor. 617-426-6748 ext-120 Monday-Friday 9am till 5pm.

Thank you,
Mohamed Warsame

In other news, this morning's P508 inbound commute was fine. The train was on-time, actually slightly ahead of schedule. We arrived to South Station at 8:20 a.m., three minutes ahead of the 8:23 a.m. arrival time.

The daylight savings switch is killing me in the mornings. It is too dark. I keep on sleeping through my alarm, then I rush around to get ready and book it to the train. At least it is sunny/light out at night.

My First MBTA/MBCR Commuter Rail Commute for March 2008

Wow. Who says "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb?" On a beautiful March morning, I had a totally normal inbound commute on the P508 train.

The train arrived at Grafton at 7:08 a.m., one minute ahead of schedule. We maintain the fast pace and arrived one minute ahead of schedule to Back Bay Station at 8:16 a.m.. Out train then got into South Station at either 8:23 a.m. or 8:24 a.m. So, right on schedule (or 1 minute behind).

The train was packed again this morning.

"Grafton Train Rider" sent me another update over the weekend.

I stayed in Cambridge Friday night and took P557 outbound home on Saturday afternoon. The train departed 13 minutes late since no conductors were available due to the tardiness of an arriving train. Of course, no announcements were made on the train since no conductors were on board. I didn't bother to submit a complaint, though.

Fortunately, the Grafton lot was actually cleared of snow by the afternoon and my car wasn't plowed in like the poor woman two months ago.

Thanks for the update "Grafton Train Rider." Sorry to hear the trains run late even on the weekend. At least the parking lot was clear of snow. It was snowing until mid-afternoon in most of Central Massachusetts. Thanks for sharing the article from WBZ-TV's website. Commute-a-holic and I somehow missed that story.

Kudos to the Feb. 28th P533 Conductor and My Leap Day Commute

I want to commend the conductor on the Worcester-Framingham line's P533 outbound train that left South Station at 7:15 p.m. train last night. Apparently one of the supervisors wanted to cancel the 7:15 p.m. train (it was late getting to the station), but the conductor really pushed to have the train run on time since there are about 400-600 people who take it. I thought that was great of her to stand up for us passengers like that. She's a great conductor.

I wish there was a way to recognize great performance on the MBTA/MBCR commuter rail lines. More often than not, most of us just have complaints ready to be filed (such as the following).

Now my complaint for my commute last night: when I got to the Grafton station, the parking lot was icy. Someone slipped in front of me, but didn't fall. Well I wasn't as lucky. I went right down and banged up my knee. I was lucky in that I wasn't seriously inured, but I'm concerned for other people who might not fare so well. Whomever is responsible for that parking lot needs to do a better job of sanding. The Grafton station is isolated and fairly desolate at night. If someone were to be injured, it could be a scary situation.

This morning, the P508 inbound was 10 minutes late getting to Grafton, but we arrived at Back Bay at 8:17 a.m., which is the scheduled time. Looks like the new schedule is right on target. (ha ha). Either that, or maybe Leap Year has an impact on the commuter rail's performance. Perhaps since today is Leap Day (February 29th), the train was able to "leap" a few extra minutes.

The on-time performance reports for the commuter rail lines should be published sometime over the next few days. We'll have to wait and see what the Worcester-Framingham line's performance was.

Happy Leap Day!

Deja Vu Commutes

Last night's commute started the same way as Tuesday night's commute. This morning's commute was the same as yesterday morning's commute. So it is a "deja vu" commute.

Again, all of the doors, except for the ones on the first car were locked when we got to South Station for the P529 outbound train. They announced the train, still the doors were locked. There was a conductor on the track, just walking back and forth. Finally, the majority of us standing on the platform, went through the front door and then back through the cars to get to a seat. While we were walking down the aisles, one of the conductors was coming through and getting angry (p*ssed) that the conductors couldn't get up the aisle. I said, "well, this wouldn't happen if all of the doors were open." Not sure they appreciated that! We got to Grafton at around 7:19 p.m., so right on schedule.

This morning, the P508 inbound train was on time as well. We arrived ahead of schedule to Back Bay Station at around 8:12 a.m. I got off and took the Orange Line to my office. The Orange line was packed! Thankfully I didn't notice any disgusting public displays of affection on the Orange line. When I was on the Orange line the other day, a couple was really going at it. "Get a room," it is way too early in the morning to view that type of behavior. The T shouldn't be Skinamax.

The only drama during today's commute involved the parking lot at the Grafton station. I
I slipped this morning in the parking lot. I think they didn't sand well yesterday and it was cold overnight, so whatever is underneath the inch of snow now is icy.

It just goes to show how inflated the new schedules are. Yesterday The Daily Worcesteria blog posted a comparison of the "new" Worcester-Framingham commuter rail schedule. I encourage everyone to check this comparison out. Daily Worcesteria is absolutely right in that the new schedule amounts to lower standards for the trains. It's so infuriating as a commuter.

In other news, I missed this "Letter to the Editor" published in Monday's Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Since it appears that the T&G archives their articles after 14 days, here is the letter in it's entirety:

MBTA should be held accountable

The MBTA continues to demonstrate a remarkable lack of interest in improving service on the Worcester line or communicating effectively with customers. On Feb. 19, I arrived at the Westboro station for my usual train after being away from home on a business trip for a week. Imagine my surprise to discover that not only had my train (the 6:23 a.m.) been moved over 20 minutes earlier, but that the next available express was not until 7:14 a.m. These changes were made without meaningful advance notice or opportunity for comment. The 6:23 a.m. train that I have been using was consistently full and clearly well used. In addition to the inconvenience on Feb. 19, the new schedule, with Worcester express trains leaving over an hour apart at the height of the morning rush, doesn’t serve my work schedule well and will lead to a much heavier reliance on my car.

It is long past time that the MBTA was held accountable for its approach to planning and providing services on the Worcester line. Much has been written about the poor service, limited schedule and large number of late arrivals. The MBTA’s response this week was to reschedule trains without providing notice to its customers.

JOHN BUTTERWORTH
Auburn

Honestly, if I didn't have this blog (and if I didn't ask Commute-a-holic to post news updates), I would have been in the same boat as Mr. Butterworth. My first day back commuting after a two week business trip and a holiday was on the first day of the new schedule. I agree that there should be a formal process in place that requires the MBTA/MBCR to plan ahead of time new schedule changes. Announcing a new schedule 1 1/2 weeks before it goes live is not acceptable. Most commuters are used to formal schedule changes that occur at prescribed periods.

Mr. Butterworth also raises some key points that a lot of us have discussed concerning the amount of time in-between trains on the Worcester line.

When will our elected officials and business leaders start to work to improve mass transit in Massachusetts?

My Latest Worcester Line Commuter Rail Commutes

So, my commute last night was pretty much on time. The P529 departed South Station at 6:15 p.m. and I think we got to Grafton at 7:17 p.m. (scheduled arrival time 7:19 p.m.). That's not bad, especially since it was slushy outside. I heard it had been snowing in Central Mass earlier yesterday afternoon. By the time I was in my car, the snow had turned to rain and the roads were slushy at best.

This morning, the P508 departed Grafton at 7:09 a.m. and we were at Back Bay at 8:13 a.m. (scheduled arrival time of 8:17).

Sweet! Two on-time commutes ... knock on wood!

I know Commute-a-holic wrote a post about this while I was away on my extended business trip. But since it is near the end of the end of the month (and because I was away when the article first came out), I would like to revisit something the Worcester Telegram & Gazette wrote about on 2/5/2008. Plus, I noticed that the T&G only keeps their articles live for 14 days.

The article was title "On-time T trains pick up steam; Commuter service to Hub cuts delays." I found another site that appears to archive some of the T&G articles.

Here are the things I would like to highlight (and again, sorry if this is repetitious):
In 2007, 66 percent of commuter trains on the Framingham-Worcester line arrived on time, according to the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., which runs the Commuter Rail for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

In 2006 and 2005, about 86 percent of trains on the Worcester line arrived on time. MBCR calls trains on time if they arrive within five minutes of their scheduled arrival time.

Officials could not pinpoint what caused delays to soar 20 percent last year, but blamed everything from bad weather and extensive track work to unproductive employees.

Over the last few months, on-time performance has improved for all rail commuters. Performance on the Worcester line, though still lagging behind the rest of the system, has improved from only 58 percent of trains arriving on time in November to 69 percent arriving on time in January.

CSX spokesman Robert Sullivan said CSX initiated the now-regular phone conversations between transportation officials to improve on-time performance on the Worcester line.

He declined to elaborate what has surfaced in those meetings and directed questions about any specific changes made to improve service to MBCR.

"The important thing is MBCR, the MBTA and CSX started meeting, basically, daily to review the performance of the trains," he said. "At that point the objective is to find out ... what the issues were. There were a lot of issues."

The Framingham-Worcester line stops 17 times from Union Station in Worcester and South Station in Boston. It is one of the best-traveled lines on the Commuter Rail, carrying more than 18,000 passengers each weekday.

I wonder what the February 2008 on-time performance stats for the Worcester line will be? Will the 29 days of February show an improvement over January 2008? I don't know, but we'll know in a few days.

Outbound/Inbound Commutes

I really hated the MBTA/MBCRC yesterday.

My inbound commute was late. And then last night, my outbound commute got even better. Get this - we got to the P529 train (which now departs South Station at 6:15 p.m.) and ALL OF THE DOORS ARE LOCKED!!! Honestly, the only thing I could think was a derogatory "WTF??!!??" I'm not sure what time we got to Grafton last night. . . I would say it was on time.

Not that this is really new news, but last night at South Station I noticed that they posted the on time performance for January. I already knew that the Worcester-Framingham line had the worst performance, but it was interesting to see that the Greenbush line had the best. When the media reports on the monthly on-time performance stats, I guess I tend to focus on the worst performing lines because that seems to be where the Worcester-Framingham line falls.

What I find really interesting is that neither the MBCR nor the MBTA post the monthly on-time performance rates for the commuter rail lines. I tried looking online to see if either agency posted these results to their website, but I couldn't find any links. Only the Boston bloggers are consistent in reporting the stats. I think it should be mandatory that both the MBCR and MBTA post the on-time performance stats to their websites. I just don't understand why there isn't a greater amount of oversight for these two agencies?

I took the P508 train for my inbound commute this morning. For the second day in a row, we were delayed. The train was 10-13 minutes late because of a medical emergency at the West Natick stop. I feel bad for the medical emergency, but really, can't we just get to work on time? Two mornings, two late arrivals this week. I ended up arriving to work around 8:41 a.m. So much for being at my desk by 8:30 a.m.

Monday Morning Commuting Rail Blues

You know it is going to be a bad commute on the MBTA/MBCR commuter rail's Worcester-Framingham line when . . .

... the train crawls through most of the stops on your route (even prior to the slow zone of Ashland).

... you have to go to the MBTA website from your Blackberry to determine what the problem is with the delay, as opposed to hearing it from the conductors themselves.

My P508 train finally got to South Station at 8:43 a.m., 20 minutes after the scheduled arrival time of 8:23 a.m.

The conductors finally made an announcement around Southborough. I mean, I could tell something was wrong the minute we left Grafton! The problem is ... if there was an announcement on the message board, I never saw it because it's located at the opposite end of the platform from where I stand.

As anyone who has been to the Grafton station knows, the stop is pretty desolate and the platforms are very long. The inbound track is across from the parking lot - you have to walk across a long bridge to get to the inbound track's platform.

There really should be more than one message board at stops such as the Grafton station.

And, as I expected, the train was PACKED this morning. It was the first Monday back since the end of the February public school vacation.

Good times!

Good Commuter Rail Commutes

So my commutes were good last night and this morning.

For both commutes, my train arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule. This is good because the evening P529 train is now leaving at 6:15 p.m. instead of 6:05 p.m. In the scheme of things, that is a huge difference in time because typically the 6:05 p.m. trains ran pretty much on schedule.

Not to be a "Negative Nelly," but I will bet this scenario will happen. The Worcester-Framingham commuter rail trains will perform well for the next 6 months. Then the MBTA will raise fares and not expect a lot of backlash because, "hey - the on-time performance is actually good!" I hope this doesn't happen, but there really hasn't been a lot to cause me to be enthusiastic and positive about the commuter rail service. Blah!

Trying to remain positive this morning, I saw the following post on BostonNOW. This is a list of different ways the MBTA could try to increase ridership by launching a campaign that shows the benefits of using public transportation, especially since the cost of gas continues to rise.

I also saw an article in today's The Boston Globe regarding some changes underway at the Mass Pike. Hey - if the Pike can overall their structure, why can't the T?

First Commute - New Worcester-Framingham Commuter Rail Schedule

I rode in on the commuter rail for the first time in over two weeks.

Update on commute with new schedule: the P508 train arrived promptly to the Grafton station at 7:09 a.m. this morning.

It was pretty crowded from Framingham onward.

We arrived at South Station at 8:20 . . . 3 minutes AHEAD of the scheduled arrival time of 8:23!

Perhaps this is a sign of good commuting to come?!? We'll see how the new evening commute is.

It's weird to be back at work in my office (and not working in a remote office on a different continent)! I also can't find my work badge ... weird!