The Worcester Line is Running Late

According to the SmarTraveler report on WCVB-TV this morning, the Worcester-Framingham line is running 15 to 20 minutes behind schedule "due to police action."

WBUR is airing a report this morning about transportation options beyond public transportation. The report focuses on the Route 128 Corridor, which apparently has the largest vehicle usage in the state. Every day, 250,000 vehicles use 128.

According to a piece that ran yesterday on Itemlive.com, the MBTA has scheduled a public meeting for September 22 in Lynn to discuss possible changes to the service schedule.

Yesterday The Boston Herald wrote an article about potential changes to the MBTA bus routes. The MBTA Service Plan details the bus routes that could be eliminated due to ridership.

calls for eliminating four bus routes - the 6, 48, 500 and Silver Line 3 - due to low ridership. Route 48, for example, recently had only 85 boardings during the course of 25 weekday, one-way trips.

The plan also entails scaling back on more than a dozen other bus and ferry routes in order to increase service where it’s needed most without raising fares, T officials said.

“We want to put the service where people want to travel,” T General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas said. “But this is a draft plan, and if we’re missing something about a special need, we would want to take that into account.”

State Representative Alice Hanlon Peisch is running for re-election against Dr. Larry Kaplan for the 14th Norfolk District seat in the House. The Boston Sunday Globe published an article this past Sunday about both Rep. Hanlon Peisch and Dr. Kaplan. Rep. Hanlon Peisch has been mentioned on Train Stopping in the past, due to her ongoing support of commuter rail and mass transit issues.

In the transportation arena, Peisch said she would like to see the state dedicate more funds to improving bridges, roads, and public transit.

"We have not invested in it over the past 15 years to the extent that we should have," she said. "It's become painfully obvious over the last few years."

Peisch also supports the state taking responsibility for some or all of the MBTA's debt, allowing more of its revenue from ridership fees and a state sales tax subsidy to go toward its operations. If reelected, Peisch said, she hopes to work with the MBTA to decrease delays on the local commuter-rail line, which runs through Wellesley and Natick.

"If you can't be assured the 8:15 train will show up at 8:15, then you're going to stop taking it," Peisch said. "The quality of the experience could be improved, but I think the first thing you do is improve the reliability."

She supports raising the state gasoline tax to help fund transportation projects, Peisch said, and also believes the state should consider raising additional revenue through creative ways of collecting tolls on highways that would not require building toll booths but could use roadway sensors.

"If we're going to do tolls they should be distributed equitably and not just where we happen to have tolls at the moment," she said.

The Rumors are True: MBTA/MBCR Changes Train Times on the Worcester-Framingham Commuter Rail Line

The rumors riders have been alluding to are true. The MBTA/MBCR will be adjusting the times for the Worcester-Framingham trains to make the departure/arrival times "realistic."

Inbound trains running from Worcester to Boston in the morning will now depart 10 to 20 minutes earlier. Outbound trains running from Boston to Worcester will depart 5 to 10 minutes later.

The MBCR's GM James F. O'Leary was quoted in both the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and on Boston Globe as saying the new schedules are "more realistic."

From the T&G article:

MBCR listed several reasons for modifying the schedule. Ridership has grown 40 percent since the Worcester line opened in 1995, and the increase in passengers has increased the amount of time trains linger at each of the line’s 17 stations. Federal regulations enacted in 2005 require trains leaving a station to reduce speed until they observe the next controlling signal, which MBCR says adds several minutes to travel time. And since 2006, railroad company CSX, which owns the tracks and controls signaling between Worcester and Boston, has restricted the speed of trains leaving and entering Union Station to 10 miles per hour.

Wellesley state rep Alice Hanlon Peisch (D) was quoted in both The Boston Globe and on BostonNOW:

"If these trains are never going to be on time, it is far better for the commuter to have the time reflect the reality," Peisch said.

The new Worcester-Framingham schedule is now available on the MBTA and MBCR websites. The MBCR also plans on emailing riders and making announcements at the stations.

Thanks also to Train Stopping reader DJHeini for a comment about today's announcement.

Commuter Rail Buzz . . . from the Blogsphere

I noticed that Helen of "The Importance of Dessert" continues to keep her elected officials updated regarding the performance issues of the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line. In a post last week, Helen noted that she received a letter back from her state representative, Alice Hanlon Peisch.

I encourage everyone (whether you ride the Worcester-Framigham line or another commuter rail line) to send a letter or an email to their own elected officials, telling them that the on-time performance for the commuter rail lines is not acceptable.

In other news, commuter rail riders on the North Shore were again impacted by the rail bridge in Beverly. This is the third time this month that the bridge had issues. Third time this month - third time this year. . .either way you look at it, this is pretty bad. We've only had 12 business days this month. From that standpoint, the bridge is breaking every four days!!

Finally, The Newton Tab published an article on Tuesday about the pending Amtrak strike. From an information standpoint, the Tab's reporters didn't really provide any new details about the strike. But, as a local paper, the Tab did find some great quotes made by Newton-based commuter rail riders.

However, I hope officials do not listen to one of the Newtonites quoted:

But, the delays won’t change much for Newton resident Bill Hartner.“It is not so terrible,” he said, standing next to the track. “There are other ways to get to Boston. People will go another way.”

Maybe Mr. Hartner doesn't think the strike will be "so terrible." However, for those of us who live more than 10 miles from downtown Boston, the strike could have serious consequences.

The Amtrak strike doesn't really give options to commuters west of Newton . . . nor people on the Providence line. I don't think driving is an option. Everyone knows how busy the highways are now, especially the Mass Pike, 95 North from Providence, and 128. I would be concerned if there's residual effects on the T because of Amtrak (such as a loss in revenue). I think no one wants to talk about it, but I think this strike can happen.

"No excuses. It's our responsibility."

The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Rail's general manager James F. O'Leary was quoted as saying "No excuses. It's our responsibility," in today's Boston Globe article about the contract extension. The article was essentially a longer version of the announcement that appeared yesterday on Boston.com.

The new three-year deal that the MBCR has to run the commuter rail system will cost the MBTA $700 million.

The Boston Herald did not publish an article about the MBCR's contract extension, but Boston Now did. The Boston Now article even had a great headline "Better late than not at all."

That's right, everyone. The MBCR is getting awarded a contract extension, even though commuter rail service can best be described as "tardy." Fantastic!

And the MBTA went to bat to make sure the MBCR received their contract extension, even though the T acknowledge that the commuter rail overseer did not live up to their initial contract expectations.

One state rep (who represents a town impacted by the Worcester-Framingham line that I ride) was quoted in the Boston Now article.

State Rep. Alice Hanlon Peisch, D-Wellesley, said she "is frustrated with trying to explain delays to angry constituents."

"There seems to be some mystery here," she said. "The trains used to run on time."

I absolutely agree. I challenge my state rep (Jennifer Callahan) and state senator (Richard Moore) to work with Rep. Hanlon Peisch to start holding the MBTA/MBCR accountable to the ongoing commuter rail delays. Unless, that is, our elected officials like to explain why the commuter rail is constantly delayed to their angry constituents.

So in return for the contract extension, the MBCR is now required to submit quarterly performance reports to the MBTA. Quarterly - what about monthly? The MBCR is also going to be required to refurbish coaches and increase their workplace diversity.

The Boston Globe article noted that only one MBTA Board Member raised significant reservations about extending the MBCR's contract. Baron H. Martin, a retired judge, did vote to renew the contract despite his concerns. However, he went on record as saying:

"Isn't that the same thing they agreed to in the beginning? (referring to the original MBCR contract) They didn't do it. What's changed?"

I would love to know who the MBTA Board members are and how they got their appointments.

Since the vote took place yesterday afternoon, MBTA commuter rail riders were not present at the meeting to voice our concerns over the commuter rail system. That is probably because we were at work.

The MBTA board can decide before 2011 to either solicit new bids or extend the MBCR's contract another two years. The T feels the MBCR should receive more time to improve service delivery. Why? Because they've shown they've done such a fantastic job since they acquired the contract from Amtrack? I don't want to sound like Howie Carr from the Herald, but what is the MBTA? A hackarama?

Perhaps both the T and the Patrick administration are hackaramas. The Globe article closed with this:

Bernard Cohen, the transportation secretary who chairs the MBTA board, left the room during yesterday's debate and did not vote because he worked for Mass. Bay Commuter in 2003, just after it took over the service. He also worked for O'Leary in the 1980s, when O'Leary was general manager of the MBTA.OK, MBCR. You got your contract extension. Now prove to the 72,000 commuter rail riders (and the tax payers of Massachusetts) that you deserved this extension. I'm looking forward to a better commuter rail experience.