The P508 was Late ... I Assume

This morning was quite an adventure. While standing at the Grafton T stop, I got a T Alert saying that the p508 which usually departs Grafton at 7:09 AM was delayed by 1/2 hour. A few minutes later, a train arrives, so we all board and we head into Boston.

Not until we're in Framingham do we hear that the train is actually the P506, which is running on the p508 schedule ... but making all stops to Boston. So really, it wasn't on the p508 schedule at all, because the p508 doesn't stop after Natick. Semantics! We arrived at South Station at about 8:40. I definitely submitted for reimbursement today.

I'm not sure what's been going on at night lately, but the P529 (the 6:15 PM departure from South Station) has been all single cars this week, which results in us being jammed into the train like sardines.

Hopefully this isn't a sign of bad commutes to come!

Parking Tickets

This is strange ... last night when I got to the Grafton parking lot, I had a MBTA transit police ticket on my car. I know for a fact I paid my $4 parking fee last night, but my ticket was for $15 for "non-payment of parking fee." I'm not even sure how to contest it. Did anyone else have a ticket as well?

The P508 was slightly off schedule this morning, arriving at South Station at 8:26 AM, about three minutes behind schedule. Last night on the P 529 (the 6;15 PM departure from South Station), we had to wait about 15 minutes for "paperwork" until we could depart. We ended up getting to Grafton about 20 minutes late. So, sadly, not enough for reimbursement.

Interesting note about reimbursements, I'm still waiting for three of them from late trains back in September.

In other train news:

According to the Boston Globe, a commuter train at North Station hit a truck parked near the tracks this morning, but no one was injured, authorities said. The inbound train was arriving from Beverly and was making its final stop when it clipped the truck just before 9 a.m., said Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority spokesman Joe Pesaturo. Service was not delayed and passengers departed safely at North Station. The truck was parked to service a portable toilet nearby for rail employees. The driver was connecting a hose from the truck to the toilet as the accident occurred, Pesaturo said. “It’s been there in the past, but this time the driver parked too close to the tracks,” he said.

Last weekend, a Green Line train made a sudden stop, injuring some passengers. The incident happened Saturday night on the Green Line as the trolley departed North Station, heading toward Government Center. Officials tell the Boston Herald that a brake malfunctioned. WBZ-TV reported that least 10 people were hurt and four passengers were taken to area hospitals. Transit police Sgt. Bill Fredette tells the Herald that none of the injuries appeared to be serious.

Another Crappy Commute

Tonight's ride home on the p529 was delayed for upwards of 1/2 hour as we sat outside of Yawkey station due to a "police action" somewhere along the tracks. Both inbound and outbound trains were affected by the delay. So, out of four commutes this month so far, two of them have resulted in delays of 1/2 hour or more and thus, reimbursement requests.

Hope this isn't a sign of things to come!

P508 On Time

The p508 was on time to South Station this morning, arriving at 8:24Am. Seems we've been a car short for a few days now though, which has been causing crowding on the train.

In other news, apparently a train arriving at South Station has rammed a barrier, causing injuries to passengers. No additional news available at this time.

I think last night's incident on the p529 warrants a mention again. According to news sources, the potential incident is more serious than we passengers were lead to believe. CSX is referring to it as a near collision.

I'm sure the conductors didn't want to incite any panic on the train, but that's just crazy. How can the switch operators not know what tracks have trains on them?

Excitement on the P529

There was some excitement on the p529 this evening ... right outside of Yawkey we came to a sudden stop ... the type where the emergency brake is deployed and you hang on for dear life. Come to find out, we were sent out on the wrong switch and thus the wrong track and the engineer saw another train on our same track ... heading in our direction! We sat there for about 15 minutes, then we backed up all the way to South Station, switch tracks and headed back out.

Morning commutes have been status quo of late ... nothing like running like clockwork!

In other transportation news:

• Secretary of Transportation James Aliosi has resigned and will not head up the newly revamped Department of Transportation come November
• The MBTA is shutting down the Old Colony Line from Middleboro to Bridgewater to replace old rail ties starting this Wednesday after rush hour, passengers will be bused between the stations from 8:30 to 4:30
• New iPhone apps to help you get where you're going on the T include: MassTransit, the NextTrainMBTA, iTransitBuddy - MBTA and to a T
• The MBTA recently extended the hours when junior high and high school students can use their discount MBTA passes ...times were extended to 11:00 PM

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.

My First Day Paying $4 to Park

I'm back in the office today. It cracks me up when I travel out-of-town. I'm usually home earlier than I would be if I went into the office. My flight landed at Logan around 6:00 p.m. last night. Since traffic was light on the Pike, I was home by 7:15 p.m. That's usually when the P529 pulls into Grafton.

Today was my first day paying to park at the new $4 fee. Thus, I have a few commuter rail update/observations:

1. Capacity in the parking lot has definitely increased . . . there were many more open spaces. I would say the lot was less than half full this morning (in time for the P508 departing at 7:09 a.m. train). I saw less cars parked and the line for drop offs was three times as long as usual. I think people are saying enough is enough with the MBTA and aren't going to pay the increased rate.
2. It is impossible to fit four folded or rolled dollars into the slot. You have to fold two dollars together and then insert them twice. So, now it takes twice as long to pay.
3. The dollar coins do NOT fit in the slots. So, if you want to use coins, you have to feed 16 quarters into the slots.

The whole thing is just ridiculous. You would think the MBTA would have come up with an easier way for commuters to pay their fee. It's so shortsighted on the MBTA's part and it shows they just don't understand their customers or the system they operate. Sure they need to raise money to pay for the back wages, but why not get rid of the WiFi that doesn't always work? Or how about making sure if you raise the parking fee, people can actually park? No, just inconvenience the customer instead.

Well, I think it's going to backfire. People are going to start driving again, especially since gas is near or below $2 a gallon now.

On a bright note, the P508 was 2 minutes early this morning, we rolled into South Station at 8:21 a.m.

This article from The Boston Herald, first published as an update late yesterday afternoon and then republished this morning, is interesting. With all the hi jinks over the past few weeks in Massachusetts' transportation, lawmakers are pushing for a 6-cent gas tax increase to help offset the assorted costs and deficits. Legislation has also been past to try to freeze toll increases until a comprehensive transportation plan has been unveiled. Rep. David Linsky (D-Natick) had this to say:

“This proposal would cost the average Massachusetts motorist approximately 85
or 90 cents per week, and save commuters on the Massachusetts Turnpike and those who commute from the North Shore nearly $2,000 per year,” Linsky stated in an e-mail to colleagues.

Right on. I'm glad someone is looking out for those of us who live West and North of the city.

A front-page story from today's The Boston Globe focuses on how the toll increases could negatively impact the East Boston community. I've got to think that the new toll increases would also really impact Revere and Winthrop too. Overall, this isn't a good solution. Businesses and residents are impacted in a multitude of ways.

Columnist Yvonne Abraham wrote this fantastic commentary about the toll increase, also in today's Globe. She also feels the gas tax should be increased and she makes a solid case for why Massachusetts isn't "Taxachusetts" anymore. We rank 35th in the US for taxes in proportion to income, far behind neighboring Connecticut and New York.

Muggy Days, Interesting Commutes

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

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

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

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

On to the news.

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

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

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

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

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

What companies are doing to cut commuting costs

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

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

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

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

TGIF!

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

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

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

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

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

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

End Week Commutes and MBTA News Round Up

I can't believe how nice it is outside today. I'm really sad that we're supposedly getting rain over the weekend.

My outbound commute was on time last night. The P529 arrived at Grafton around 7:20 p.m. (7:19 p.m. is the scheduled on-time arrival time). This morning the inbound P508 got to Back Bay Back Bay at 8:12 and South Station at 8:21. Both stops were ahead of schedule.

I read in today's The Boston Globe about how 17-year old Stuart Spina presented 9-months worth of research to the MBTA Board yesterday. Stuart's research: how the T can fix its bus service.

How sad is it that a 17 year old kid has to do something like that. And you know what is even sadder this comment from the article about how the bus drivers and inspectors are under so much stress:

"I'd heard so much about the bus system," said Spina, a West Roxbury resident who attends the Commonwealth School. "I'd experienced it myself, late buses, crowded buses. . . . Surprisingly, the drivers and inspectors are under just as much stress."

He cited snowed-in bus stops and schedules that promise a 25-minute trip will take only 6 minutes.

Shame on the T for not even supporting their own employees!

Boston City Councilor Charles C. Yancey wants to have a public hearing to address the safety issues detailed in the Globe's article published earlier this week about the buses.

In other news, yesterday the MBTA's board approved a budget that will borrow $20 million from the T's $55 million rainy day fund. While there will not be fare hikes in 2009, the T has refused to rule out the possibility of fare increases for 2010.

Worcester-Framingham Line Commutes Right On Schedule

Spring is in the air! I hope this isn't a late-winter tease. And I can't believe Daylight Savings starts on Sunday!

Trains were right on schedule for the evening commute last night, as the the p529 arrived right on schedule at 7:19 p.m.

This morning the p508 arrived at Back Bay right at 8:17 a.m. We did travel rather slowly through the Allston freight yard this morning, which I'm sure contributed to "right on time" as opposed to a minute or two ahead of schedule.

Last night, the loudspeaker wasn't working in the car, so none of the stop announcements were heard. I thought I had slept through my stop, which is of course hard to do because it's the second to last stop. But still, it's not like you can see out of those windows to actually determine what stop you're at.

Speaking of the inability to see out of the commuter rail train's windows (well at least the cars they put on the Worcester-Framingham line), BostonNOW reported this morning that commuter rail upgrades are supposedly coming. The MBTA Board of Directors will consider $9.3 million in commuter rail improvements. I still find it hilarious that Dan Grabauskas said in his interview with WBUR on Friday that the T isn't "responsible" for the commuter rail lines. Well, if you aren't responsible, Dan, why might your agency be spending nearly $10 million in improvements?

One of the items slated to be included in the commuter rail improvements - replacement windows for the coaches. I wonder what it will be like to actually see outside during my train rides?

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?

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.

1 1/2 Good Commutes Then a Bad Commute on the "New" Commuter Rail Schedule for the Worcester-Framingham Line

Ha! Not even two days go by on the new schedule and there are already issues on the commuter rail.

Last evening I arrived at South Station at 6:10 p.m. for the 6:15 p.m. P529 Worcester-Framingham train, only to be met by a swarm of people. Due to "equipment failures" the majority of the trains weren't even in the bays.

We departed late and I arrived to the Grafton station around 7:30 p.m. Overall, the train was about 10-15 minutes behind schedule. This isn't enough for a fare reimbursement, but this will affect the line's "on-time performance" rating for February 2008.

The commute was on time this morning. The train was definitely less crowded than yesterday. I bet people are taking off today and tomorrow for the end of the school vacation week. I don't think the heat was working all too well ... my car was lukewarm. Blah.

In other news, the big MBTA story yesterday and today was in regards to the new cars that were launched on the MBTA Blue Line. The Boston Globe wrote an article about the new cars yesterday and an editorial about the cars today. The editorial lead off with this sentence:

The T needs a financial renovation to match the quality of the cars.

"We're broke," said General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas earlier this month, explaining that the T faced a $75 million deficit for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. So how could it afford 94 cars costing $172 million? The federal government defrayed 80 percent of the cost, and the rest came from the T's capital budget. But federal aid won't pay the cost of maintaining the cars and stations, nor work down the $8 billion debt that consumes 27 percent of the T budget every year.

The Legislature thought it had solved the problem of T financing in 1999, when it allotted the authority 20 percent of sales tax revenue. That revenue source hasn't grown as expected. By maintaining the heavy burden of T debt and keeping in place expensive labor contracts, the Legislature guaranteed it would need to revisit the problem. At the least, the Legislature should consider moving some T debt to other state accounts, and reexamining the relationship between the authority and its employee unions.

The Patrick administration is also looking for new approaches to transportation funding, for highways as well as the T. While new cars are fun to ride and easy for public officials to celebrate, as they did at the Aquarium station yesterday, there is little glory in providing money to keep up day-to-day service.

Then the editorial board provided a bit of history of the MBTA Blue line. The editorial closed with the following:

Seventeen months after the Orient Heights gala, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 1980, the entire MBTA system shut down because of a lack of money. An energized Legislature got it back in operation in time for the Monday commute. The political leadership of Massachusetts shouldn't wait for a crisis to put the MBTA on a sustainable financial footing

I agree - the political leadership AND the business leadership in Massachusetts needs to ensure that the MBTA is on a "substantial financial footing." There is too much at stake to not ensure that the Commonwealth has an adequate public transportation system that serves citizens. Cities and towns are reliant on this transportation. Not to mention that our crowded highways can't endure more congestion.

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?

New Worcester-Framingham Commuter Rail Schedule Finally Posted to MBTA.com

I'm back from my extended business trip.

Thank you to all the Train Stopping visitors who shared their commuter rail experiences and insights over the past two weeks.

I noticed that the new Worcester-Framingham commuter rail schedule, effective on Tuesday, February 18th, was finally posted to the MBTA.com website. It was posted as a PDF.

My observations:

• Funny - the 7:19 a.m. (P508) inbound train will now leave Grafton at 7:09 a.m. and apparently will arrive at South Station at 8:23 a.m. Um, 1 minute earlier than the old schedule? That's such a change!!
• The P512, which now departs Grafton at 7:49 a.m., still departs Grafton at 7:49 a.m. but will now get to South Station at 9:08 a.m. as opposed to 9:00 a.m. Huh?
• At night, the outbound P523 now leaves at 4:58 p.m. It's new departure time is 5:00 p.m. and it will arrive to Grafton at 6:05 p.m. the 5:30 p.m. (P527 - the local train that stops at every stop) will now leave at 5:35 p.m. and won't arrive to Grafton until 6:58 p.m. The 6:05 p.m. (P529) will now depart at 6:15 p.m. and it is supposed to get to Grafton at 7:20 p.m.

This is crap. Sorry for the harsh language, but this new schedule is crap.

The onus is on the riders now. We really need to let our voices be heard to let the Governor, the MBTA, the MBCR, and our state and local elected officials that this new schedule is not acceptable.

Why should the Worcester-Framingham line be a second rate line?

Train Rider is back and I'm ready to for some action. I would like to thank Commute-a-holic for maintaining the blog in my absence.

Worcester-Framingham Commuter Rail Performance

Last evening NatickDweller posted a great comment to yesterday's "Recent Outbound/Inbound Trips on the Worcester-Framingham Commuter Rail Line" post. NatickDweller mainly rides the P508 in the morning and the P521 during the evening.

This is what NatickDweller had to say:

I have taken 18 trains so far in January, mostly P508 (the morning "express") and P531 (departing S. Station at "6:20 pm").

Here are the stats so far, and they aren't pretty:

13 trains late (5 minutes or more) out of 18, for an on-time performance of 28 percent. Total delay minutes: 188 (over three hours of my life gone forever...thanks to this joke of a system we call the commuter rail).

Yikes!!

NatickDweller went on to comment that the MBTA/MBCR counts all the trains running on a particular line throughout the day, so what should really be a 28% on time performance record (based on mainly rush hour commutes), actually appears to be a lot higher.

I know that when I've taken the train during non-rush hour commute times, such as late morning or early afternoon trains, these trains "miraculously" run on time. Shocking.

Based on NatickDweller's comments and my own lousy commutes, I was thinking about on time performance this morning. Especially since this morning's inbound P508 train was about 8 to 10 minutes behind schedule AGAIN!

Obviously the non-rush hour trains and the weekend times help contribute to the uptick in on time performance. I wish MBCR was forced to track rush hour performance, because really, that's what matters to most of us commuter rail riders. They could provide two numbers - overall line performance and performance based solely on rush hour commutes.

Here is an update for last night's commute. I took took the 6:05 p.m. train last night (the P529) home. Got to Grafton around 7:10 p.m. (scheduled arrival time 7:04 p.m.).

As I mentioned earlier, this morning, I took the P508 which departs Grafton at 7:19 a.m. and got into Back Bay at 8:24 a.m. (for scheduled arrival time of 8:18 a.m.). Due to the cold weather, I got off at Back Bay Stationand took the Orange line to my office.

So ... at least the train is consistent this week in its lateness!!

I'm really wondering - have any of the rush hour trains on the Worcester-Framingham line arrived into their destination on-time (or within the 5 minutes "on time" window)?

NatickDweller . . . thanks for sharing your experiences this month. I just hope this isn't a long year.

Switching topics ever so slightly, yesterday Anonymous provided some great insight into how Amtrak's structure impacts Massachusetts-based commuter rail lines in a comment made to the "For the Sake of Commuter Rail Riders, Amtrak Can't Strike" post. This is why South Station-bound trains will be impacted by the strike:

The T owns all of the physical track over which the commuter rail runs except the Framingham-Worcester section (owned by CSX) and the Allston freight yard (owned by Harvard University). However, Amtrak handles the dispatching at South Station itself and along the Providence line. If Amtrak strikes there would be no dispatchers so no trains could enter South Station.

Anonymous also mentioned how individual lines may operate.

NatickDweller and Anonymous - thanks for the comments.

Friday, 12/21 Outbound P529 Worcester-Framingham Commuter Rail

I have been off for the Christmas holiday since Thursday, December 19th. I heard through friends that Friday's evenings outbound commuter rail trains running on the Worcester-Framingham line were extremely delayed.

The P529 train which normally leaves South Station at 6:05 p.m. was at least delayed 1 hour. Some of my friends had spouses (or parents or friends) pick them up from Wellesley and other towns along the commuter rail line.

Since a lot of people were off for the Christmas holiday on Friday and since the weather was normal, I have no idea why the evening trains were so delayed.

If anyone had to commute on the trains on either Friday, Monday or yesterday, please feel free to contact me with updates (both good and bad).

Now it is back to work for me!