Grafton's Sir Loin's Catering Inauguration Day Treat for Commuters

Happy Inauguration Day. Regardless of your political beliefs, I hope you are amazed that the United States has this wonderful tradition of peaceful transitions.

To many people, today feels very celebratory. Grafton Station commuters were greeted with free hot chocolate handed out by Sir Loin's Catering. Thanks Jeff for this wonderful morning treat.

Even better - the P508 was on time today. We were at South Station around 8:20 am.

I heard a lot of grumbling on the train this morning about the commute yesterday morning. At least for the Worcester-Framingham line, it sounds like switching / maintenance problems caused a lot of the morning trains to be late. This article from today's Boston Globe noted that yesterday all the commuter rail lines, except for the Greenbush and the Middleborough-Lakeville lines, experienced delays ranging from 10 minutes to 40 minutes. The delays were "weather related."

Today's Patriot Ledger ran an article about how AIM Parking Management has filed a lawsuit against the MBTA's parking lot increase. So why would a parking management company care if the T raised the parking rates? Because they have more work to do, but aren't being compensated for it. How can their be more work? Because commuters are paying the increased rate either with more dollar bills or more coins AIM contends that they need more employees to process the parking fees. Also, the MBTA didn't notify AIM that the parking increase was going to go into effect until October 16th. On October 29th, the T told AIM AIM told the T "that the fee increase would essentially cause customers to deposit twice as many dollar bills and coins at the lots."

Good planning, huh?

Finally, today's Hartford Courant contained an interview with the state of Connecticut's DOT Commissioner Joseph Marie. Originally from Boston, Marie is a proponent of commuter rail systems.

Was Your Commute a Trick or a Treat?

Happy Halloween! I can't say if this morning's commute was a "trick" or "treat," as I'm home sick today. So I guess I got the "trick" deal today.

I know I'm the Train Rider and Commute-a-holic is all about those other inter-related transportation issues. However, you do know that I sometimes have to drive to work, either due to post-work events or because I couldn't catch the train. One bone of contention I have is with the Mass Pike tolls at the Weston / Route 128 area.

According to The MetroWest Daily News, the Pike has a plan in place to reconfigure the toll plazas in Weston to increase traffic flow. Super - I hope this helps.

The MetroWest Daily News article essentially included the language directly from the MassPike's press release:

All motorists paying cash will be directed to the middle of the toll plaza. The majority of FAST LANE motorists will stay to the left side of the toll plaza. New signage and new line striping will direct motorists to the appropriate lanes. The left lanes will be striped and marked "FAST LANE ONLY."

The new toll booth configuration will be in place on November 3rd. If you're a frequent Pike driver, please feel free to drop a line to worctrainrider AT gmail.com to let me know if the new booths make your driver better or . . . worse.

Also, yesterday's The Eagle-Tribune ran a story on the Plaistow, NH commuter rail line extension. The news is similar to other reports on this topic.

Along with today being Halloween, it is also the first anniversary of the Greenbush line.

Happy Birthday, Greenbush Line

So the highly vaulted Greenbush line celebrates its first birthday tomorrow. Needless to say, there has been a bit of coverage about this event. The Daily News Tribune focused on how there are fewer commuters using the boats now that they have the Greenbush commuter rail line. Which leads me back to one of my biggest questions: if South Shore residents abutting the Greenbush line didn't want it and since the commuter boats and MBTA Red Line were already accessible, why oh why did the MBTA push this line extension? The $513 million or so dollars spent on this project could have been allocated elsewhere. I would love to hear a logical explanation by the T.

Of course, commuters are choosing the Greenbush line over the commuter rail, as it is less expensive to ride the train than sail along the harbor.

The Greenbush rail line was proposed as a way to reduce traffic jams on Route 3. It was to supplement the commuter boat, not replace it.

But ridership numbers from the MBTA reveal a troubling trend: Not only has Greenbush ridership been below expectations, but there has been a sharp drop in riders taking commuter boats to Boston.

The number of commuters riding ferries out of Hingham fell 17 percent – from 64,905 for the month of September, 2007, to 53,692 during September of this year.

The drop was even steeper for the MBTA-subsidized commuter boats that run between Quincy and Boston. Some of those runs make stops in Hull. Ridership on those boats declined 22 percent, from 31,996 in September of 2007 to 24,906 in September of this year.

But the T can't say how many rail commuters were boat users. It just seems like the Greenbush line bastardized the commuter boat. I wonder if Route 3 traffic is any lighter? Also, why are Joe Pestauro's comments to reporters so snarky, lately. Really - there is no need for this much snark (outside of the blogsphere, of course, LOL).

Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the T, this week disputed that number as “an assumption” and added “clearly the reporter is confused.”

Pesaturo, who would only communicate through e-mail for this article, said diverting people from the ferries or Red Line opens up more spots for new commuters. He added it still takes cars off the road, because many people were previously commuting from several towns away to get to the ferries or Red Line stations.

At least the opponents to the Greenbush line aren't backing down from the activism, even though the line has been in operation for close to a year.

Martha Bewick of Hingham and her husband, John Bewick, were among the early train opponents urging the state to use the money for Greenbush to improve the existing public transportation options.

Bewick said she and others were upset – but not surprised – when the T announced in its 2008 draft service plan for all its public transportation operations in eastern Massachusetts that it would pare down ferry boat service.

“I have real questions about how they can justify that, except that they desperately need money,” Bewick said.

State Senator Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth) said it the best: "They couldn’t afford to build it, now they’re realizing they can’t afford to operate it,” he said.

In other news, today's The Boston Globe ran two separate train-related articles. One was about a T request to allow a firm from Spain to build some locomotives for the transit authority. This is in direct violation of a Federal Transit Administration ruling that requires transit authorities to "Buy American." An Idaho company is challenging this. The locomotive project is expected to cost $186 million for 28 locomotives, with the option to purchase another 28 at an unspecified cost. Guess what - just like the Korean company the T wants to hire to build some commuter rail cars, the Spanish firm has limited experience working with US-based transit systems. When asked about this, the T claimed they are acting in the best interests of taxpayers, but really, are they? When have they succeeded in working with companies that do not have prior US experience. This is insane.

The Globe's "Starts & Stops" column touched upon an array of transportation issues, including WiFi and a proposed bus for I-93.

The Union Leader out of New Hampshire published an article today about NH's efforts to secure a commuter rail line. The headline summed it up the best: "Experts: If NH wants rail, it will have to foot the bill."

The Silver Line Phase III was the topic of an article featured today on MySouthEnd.com.

Finally, WickedLocal Lexington ran a story about transportation options even with the decrease in gas prices.

Consumer Activism on the Commuter Rail?

As much as I hate to see it dark early at night, there is one thing I'm looking forward to when we push the clocks back Sunday. . . brighter mornings. Does anyone, besides me, have a problem waking up in the morning when it is pitched black outside? The darkness caused me to oversleep, so I took the P512 train today instead of my regular P508.

Maybe it is just me, but every single time I ride on the P512 train, it is never on time. It is supposed to pull into South Station at 9:08 a.m., but I think it was around 9:20 a.m. or so when we finally got in.

I've noticed a lot of signage at the Grafton MBTA commuter rail lot this morning announcing the upcoming parking increase to $4.00 on November 15th. I cannot wait to try to shove four $1 bills into the slot. That should be a good time. Of course, I could just dump sixteen quarters into the slot too. Another combo would be two $1 bills and eight quarters. But if I'm feeling really crazy, maybe I'll just drop 40 dimes into the slot.

Yes, I know I've said this before, but this parking increase shows how out of touch the T is with their riders. Because if the T really thought this through, they would realize a vast majority of us park in lots without attendants. So we can't hand a $5 to an attendant and get a dollar back, we physically have to place our parking fees into this little box. Plus, sometimes you can't tell which box maps to your actual parking space. On some days, I've inadvertently placed my parking fee into the wrong box, for which I'm forced to pay twice.

The Daily News published an article this morning about the pending parking increase. Commuter Rich Tardiff, who lives in Salisbury, said it the best - the parking increase is "astronomical." The T's quotes show how out of touch this agency is.

"I defy you to find something else that has not gone up in the last six years," Pesaturo said. "The MBTA needs revenue to operate safe and reliable service."

You know, Joe, when other services raise their prices, at least their quality doesn't diminish. The T just takes and takes and takes and the services decrease. So this is not a good stock answer. This is a good way to make your riders even more upset.

Rich Tardiff noted the following:

Commuting to Boston on the Newburyport train since 2004, Rich Tardiff saw an increase in his fare in 2007 that increased his fares $250 a month or $3,000 a year.

Now, they want to raise parking, he said, so it's something he's working to suspend.

This article confirmed some comments I've heard from riders on other MBTA/MBCR commuter rail lines. Commuters, maybe inspired by the 2008 elections or the fact that they're just tired of shelling out cash for poor services, are becoming activists. There are petitions being circulated around a number of commuter rail lines, calling on the Governor to take some actions. The Daily News article noted that the North Shore lines have petitions about the parking fees. I've also heard that some other lines have petitions asking that significant changes be made to the MBTA's management structure. People are tired at the level of daily irresponsibility in regards to our mass transit systems and this is the tipping point.

Paul Tripp is right on in his assessment:

"They've been encouraging people to take the train more and more, and then they increase the (parking) fare?" he said. "The fare increase puts too much burden on people who are already trying to save money. Twenty dollars a day to take the train is a lot, especially for people who have to take the train into work every day."

In other news, WickedLocal Marshfield ran yet another "the T announced an increase in ridership" article yesterday. This article was tied to the first anniversary of the Greenbush line, which is on Friday. This article is mainly a feel-good piece about how the Greenbush line is a fantastic addition to the commuter rail system. Here's an idea - maybe the fees to park at Greenbush stations should be higher than at other commuter rail stations, since this is a line the T desperately wanted to add and really didn't need to add. Part of the T's budget woes can be attributed to Greenbush. Maybe Greenbush station parkers should pay more?

Finally, Boston Daily did a recap of the Hank Phillipi Ryan's investigative piece on the MBTA's lawsuits.

Graubauskas Reveals Raises Granted Since 2005

Today is the 7th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. Our thoughts are with our nation today.

From today's The Boston Globe . . . MBTA GM Dan Graubauskas said he has granted 33 raises to employees since July 1, 2005. The raises, which averaged about $5,000, were either a merit raise or to bring an employee's salary in line with their peers. The vast majority of the 273 non-union employees did not receive raises or cost-of-living increases. The raises ranged from 3% to 19% of an employee's salary.

This is a relatively benign situation, especially since the raises go back three years to '05. And I'm sure most people in their own careers would like to avoid something to this effect:

At the same time, rescinding the cost-of-living adjustment raises at the T has caused some morale problems. There are now 46 managers who make less than their subordinates, according to MBTA records. The 153 subordinates who earn more than their bosses have higher salaries because they are part of a union and received the 9 percent pay raise as part of the recent arbitration.

Huh. Maybe you wouldn't want to be a manager at the T? The article noted that it is sometimes difficult to persuade T employees to accept promotions.

The Boston Herald also wrote about the raises. However, their article was much more pointed and it left out some information included in The Globe's article.

WickedLocal Hingham reported yesterday that there may be cuts to the MBTA commuter boat service.

The MBTA’s “Preliminary 2008 Service Plan” was released recently for public comment. It includes proposals to eliminate the last round trip and reduce or eliminate service on certain holidays on the Hingham/Boston commuter boat.

For Hingham this would mean eliminating the 7:40 p.m. trip from Hingham Shipyard and the 8:30 p.m. trip from Rowe’s Wharf. It is also proposed there be no service on Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day. A reduced holiday schedule is proposed for Patriot’s Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day and the day after Thanksgiving.

Several schedule changes are also proposed for the Quincy/Hull/Boston/Logan Airport commuter boat, including reducing the number of trips operating during off-peak periods on weekdays and weekends and to eliminate the second stop at Logan Airport on weekends.

The Greenbush commuter rail extension combined with the MBTA's debt are the factors leading to the commuter boat service reduction. Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth was quoted with the following comments:

Hedlund finds the situation ironic. “The T is paying off a huge debt service on Greenbush and looking at making service cuts elsewhere,” he said. “And it’s not just the boats. There’s also a strain on bus and train service.”

The MBTA had “the most aggressive capital expansion program of any transit agency in the country during past decades,” Hedlund said. “They are now $8 billion in debt, $3 million of which is debt service alone. The T also has huge personnel costs — health insurance and retirement benefits.”

The article also said that the T had "assured commuter boat advocates that the Greenbush restoration would not impact boat service." That's a good one, huh?

Drivers in the MetroWest towns of Ashland and Sherborn take note. A bridge connecting Ashland to Sherborn at Eliot Street to Whitney Streete is being shut down for repairs. Read all about it in this article from The MetroWest Daily News. The bridge is closed indefinitely.

I sure hope it gets fixed faster than some bridges in The Blackstone Valley. There is a bridge in Grafton on Pleasant Street that has been closed for years - for so long I can't remember the last time it was open. I want to say it has been closed for at least 3 to 4 years. And this bridge closed while a second bridge on Depot Street in South Grafton was closed. If you have to drive through Grafton, the closed Pleasant Street bridge becomes a giant PIA.

Finally, as a graduate of Providence College, I had to share this WickedLocal Roxbury endorsement of State Rep Mike Rush's re-election campaign. While I do not live in the communities Mike represents, I do know he's a great Rep and he's a big advocate for Needham commuter rail users. Good luck Mike in your run-off against your Democratic Party challenger. Go Friars!!!

In the News - Teen Struck, WiFi, New Worcester Schedule and Lots More

Why oh why do people still walk on the train tracks? Yesterday another fatality occurred, when a 15 year old was struck and killed by a train on the Needham line. This was a pure accident, but it touches so many people. The teen's family, the conductor at the helm of the train, the passengers. Just stay off the tracks - they are not a short cut to get somewhere quicker unless you're actually riding a train.

Train Stopping extends their sympathies to the teen's family and to the train staff involved with the accident.

On to some lighter news. The MBTA has annouced that WiFi will now be available on the commuter boats. There are 11 commuter boats that travel to Boston, Logan Airport, Quincy, Hingham and Hull. Along with the commuter boats, the WiFi is currently available on the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line.

So it looks like the T has extended the WiFi program to the commuter boats because there has been a decrease in the number of commuters using the boats. In the WiFi article published in today's The Boston Globe, Dan Grabauskas was quoted as saying:

Wireless Internet, is a "difference-maker," Grabausaks said, adding that he hopes new riders will enjoy the wireless enough that they continue to take the boats if gas prices fall. The boats cost passengers between $6 and $12 each way. Monthly passes cost at least $198.

It cost between $1,300 and $1,500 to outfit each of the 11 boats for wireless, Grabauskas said. He said he hopes to expand the wireless service to other commuterlines by the end of the year.

Hey Dan, here's an idea - just provide reliable service and people will consider public transportation as an alternative to driving. The bells and whistles might make a nice press event, but is that really the best way for a cash strapped agency to be spending its budget?

So in this time of high gas prices, why are the commuter boats transporting fewer people? WickedLocal Hingham says that the Greenbush line has taken passengers away from the commuter boats. I know we harp on this topic a lot, but why did our state let the Greenbush commuter rail extension get built, when the towns immediately south of Boston had numerous options for getting into Boston, including the Red Line and the commuter boats? I remember in the early '90s when people in Hingham and other towns were fighting the state over this extension. This is an example of public transportation strategy run amok. The money used to build Greenbush could have been spent in other parts of the state. Right now, people are looking favorably to public transportation as gas prices continue to climb. But it is still a hard sell.

Since the T can't admit failure, the "positive" story about the Greenbush line is that it has seen its passenger growth increase from "the hundreds to 2,000 daily riders." That is pathetic. OK, I'm done ranting for now.

In other news, the Telegram & Gazette finally ran an article this morning about the "new" weekend schedule on the Worcester-Framingham commuter rail line. This schedule will impact Central Mass residents who consider using the commuter rail to get into Boston for Red Sox games at Fenway and other events. The new schedule is "realistic," just like the weekday schedule that went into effect in February. However, though it is more realistic, it won't be able to adjust for heat delays that often occur in the summer.

This is what the T&G had to say:

Transportation officials say the schedule change will reflect what already occurs. “Most changes to arrival and departure times are within a few minutes of the prior schedule, and have been made to accurately account for travel times,” states a press release from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and its contractor, MBCR.

Earlier this year MBCR listed several reasons why trains are slower than they used to be. Ridership has increased at least 40 percent since the line opened in 1995, causing the trains to linger a few extra minutes at each of the 17 stations between Worcester and Boston.

The combination of recent federal regulations and restrictions from CSX Corp., which owns the track from Worcester to Framingham, also has forced trains to slow down on some stretches of the line. Commuter trains share the track with freight trains.

More updates about the Amtrak bridge replacement project going on in Connecticut.

Finally, yesterday's nasty thunderstorms caused delays on the Fitchburg line. A tree fell near the West Concord commuter rail station, causing both the eastbound and westbound trains to literally stop in their tracks.

MBCR/MBTA Commuter Rail May 2008 Performance

Train Rider just sent me an email. Live from South Station. . . some May 2008 Performance Results for a few MBCR/MBTA Commuter Rail Lines:

• On-time performance for all of the South Division lines for May 2008: 84.75%
• Year-to-date on-time performance for the South Division: 81.08%
• The Greenbush and Plymouth lines met the "on-time service guarantee" with a 95.78% and 96.05% performance respectively.
• The Worcester line: 93.39%
• The worst performing line - Franklin: 56.83%
  

Another Day, Another Scorcha

It's going to be another scorcha today! Knock on wood, the trains (well at least the Worcester line commuter rail cars I've been in) have had AC.

It seemed like we were behind schedule this morning. Since the trains were recently running about 5 to 8 minutes ahead of schedule, the train seems like it's late even when it's really on time. Anyhoo, my P508 train arrived at South Station around 8:24 a.m., about 1 minute behind schedule.

The Silver Line was packed. When it is this hot, this early in the day, I'm guessing a lot of people didn't want to deal with the heat during the walk from South Station to the Waterfront.

As dga kindly pointed out this morning, The Boston Globe did add a retraction to their article published last week about the bridge being repaired on the Greenbush line. Here is the retraction:

Correction: Because of a reporting error, an article in Friday’s City & Region section about a bridge that needed to be replaced as part of the Greenbush commuter rail line project incorrectly reported the bridge's age. The bridge being rebuilt in Scituate is more than 100 years old and is downstream from a three-year-old rail-crossing bridge.

In the "boy does time fly fast" file. The Amtrak rail repairs, first mentioned on Train Stopping back in February, are upon us. As reported yesterday on the The Boston Channel.com, all Acela Express service and all regional train service between Boston and New York City will be canceled from Saturday, June 14 through Tuesday, June 17 to replace part of a 90-year old bridge that spans the Thames River in Connecticut. Regional trains between Boston and New Haven will also be canceled on Wednesday, June 18th. Amtrak has added a trip that will go through Springfield, MA to accommodate the cancellations.

I hope everyone can stay cool today!

MBTA's Greenbush Line Needs a New Bridge and new MBCR Contract

While I was watching WCVB-TV Channel 5's morning news this morning, I nearly spit out my coffee when I heard a report about the 1-year old Greenbush line. The line that took years to build because some South Shore residents didn't want the commuter rail extension (they already had commuter boats and access to the Red Line).

The T, which was already in a financial budget crisis, is "being forced to spend more than $5 million to tear down and rebuild a 3-year old bridge on the Greenbush line." That's nuts, huh? This bridge debacle will now drive up the overall cost of the Greenbush line to $532 billion.

The bridge needs to be rebuilt because it does not meet state and federal environmental requirements. The current bridge could make flooding in this area worse during powerful storms.

According to Channel 5, the T's board also approved a 3-year, $738 million contract extension for the Massachusetts Bay Railroad Company (MBCR) to continue to run the commuter rail lines. The new contract calls for increased penalties for late commuter rail trains.

In a similar article from today's The Boston Globe, the MBCR's contract had an average increase of more than $50 million a year compared to the original 5-year contract. Along with the increased penalises, the new contract will add a bonus for each day 98% of commuter rail trains arrive no more than 5 minutes late. The new penalties/bonuses are capped at $1.9 million a year.

Rounding-up this news round-up, a fun article ran in yesterday's Bostonist.com.

Friday's News

Train Rider took today off.

Thanks to DJ for pointing out the typo made to one of Train Rider's posts from yesterday. Train Rider is so used to taking the P508 train that the P512 train's arrival time was accidentally listed as 8:04 a.m. (impossible - unless a super hero is powering the train) instead of 9:04 a.m. DJ - thanks for noticing the typo.

An editorial about the proposed commuter rail line extension to New Bedford and Fall River ran today on SouthCoastTODAY.com. The state has been discussing extending the commuter rail line to the South Coast of Massachusetts for the past 15 years. This is a major population hub which does not currently have a mass transit option for access to Boston. Due to the growth in towns along Route 24 over the past 10 - 15 years, Route 24 has become a log-jammed highway. Due to funding issues, there is a proposal for adding a dedicated bus along Route 24 in lieu of a commuter rail. This is what the editorial board thinks of that idea:

Meanwhile, SouthCoast taxpayers have been shelling out their share of the nearly $15 billion Big

Dig central artery project for Boston, not to mention the expansion of several of that city's MBTA lines. The only thing that will satisfy this region is commuter rail service linking the two SouthCoast cities to Boston in the most convenient and cost-efficient manner possible. A bus slogging along in its own designated lane along Route 24 is not the answer, especially given that traffic along the roads into Boston continues to worsen.

Besides, private buses already run to Boston a couple of times a day. The area needs rail. It's better for the environment, gets more cars off the road and represents the fulfillment of a longstanding promise by the state to the region.

I actually don't understand why the state pushed through the Greenbush line extension. I've never understood why Greenbush happened. The towns abutting the Greenbush line were against it 15 or 16 years ago. But someone wanted it to go through. I would think that extending the commuter rail to the South Coast first would have made more sense.

Here's hoping that the underground fires today in Harvard Square didn't mess up anyone's commute.

Monday Night's P527 Commuter Rail Train

Last night, the P527 outbound train on the Worcester-Framingham line was about 3 minutes behind schedule, as we arrived to Grafton around 7:22 p.m.

I did not commute in on the train this morning, as I have a post-work engagement in Needham.

I just read Commute-a-holic's post about last night's commuter rail extension discussion. I love this comment from State Rep. Betty Poirer (R) from North Attleboro:

"Let's fix what we have" before building new rail systems, she said.

NO KIDDING! The T cries poor, that they can't maintain the cars/lines they have, but then want to spend a billion dollars expanding a line no one wants? They're so out of touch w/reality, it's unbelievable.

I hope this doesn't turn into another Greenbush line. No one wanted the Greenbush area - the towns of Hingham, Cohasset and Scituate fought the extension of this line for years. First, the towns didn't need the extension because they have access to the Red Line, the Quincy Commuter rail line, and the ferry's. Second, the Greenbush line cuts very close to some historic buildings and homes. But the T literally bulldozed their way to a line extension. Since Greenbush is a new line, they have the best cars and their service seems to be amazing. And it sounds like the trains are relatively empty and no one seems to know whether Greenbush will see the ridership on lines like Worcester-Framingham and Franklin.

I know Worcester line riders would love new cars. It sounds like the riders of the Northern lines would like new cars. Heck, Worcester line and Franklin line riders would just like to get to Boston on-time with relatively easy schedules (not "new" schedules that cut out more hours from your life).

Watching the New Bedford/Fall River saga unfold is bound to be interesting.

MBTA Updates Via Email and Greenbush Art

Two more articles from this morning's newspapers.

The Boston Herald wrote an article about the official launch of the MBTA delay alert system. This system had been in a three month pilot test.

An art gallery near the Greenbush line is hosting a showing of art related to the Greenbush MBTA commuter rail line. This article ran in today's Boston Globe.

MBTA/MBCR Greenbush Commuter Rail Line is Empty

Due to being busy at work, I didn't have time to post an article about the new Greenbush line that ran on the front page of the printed Boston Globe newspaper yesterday.

Why the Globe is writing about the underused Greenbush line instead of all the on-time performance issues plaguing other lines is beyond me. Perhaps the MBTA actually has a stellar staff of PR professionals that are good at pitching stories.

For $513 million, the Greenbush riders get to ride an empty train. How sweet for them! In December the MBTA said there were 1,368 rider. A third of the riders of this line weren't new to mass transit commuting. While the line was built to try to get more cars off of the traffic plagued South Shore highways (like Route 3 and Route 93), the riders seem to be converts who used to take the commuter boats out of Hingham.

Since the T is so fantastic at managing and initiating strategic planning, this didn't surprise me at all:

The line was projected to attract about 4,300 daily commuters within three to five years of opening, but the T says it never estimated how many riders the line would attract before that.

Fantastic!! Shouldn't they have estimated ridership before spending all the time and money trying to build a line no one really wanted in the first place?

The T doesn't want to be held accountable to any "conclusions" about the effectiveness of this line until 2010. Where can I get a job where I can launch a massive project and not be held accountable until 3 years after the projects go-live date?

Ultimately the Greenbush line's performance could impact whether communities like New Bedford and Fall River gain a commuter rail line. Honestly - the T and the state of Massachusetts should have launched a commuter rail line where (1) a line didn't exist before and (2) where the only commuting options really consist of driving a car into Boston.