Last Week's P523 Train

Over the weekend I received this email from Grafton Train Rider regarding some delays last week related to the P523 train. Here is the email:

Dear Train Rider,

I took P523 home on Monday from Back Bay (walked from Cambridge). The train arrived 25 minutes late - at least there was an announcement of a delay. The train ended up arriving to Grafton 44 minutes late since our express train followed the Framingham local, P525. The MBTA would have likely not lost revenue from late train submissions if P525 had been delayed a few minutes to allow boarding of the express train first. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?

Well, anyway, the conductor on P502 inbound (she is also assigned to P519 outbound) the next day told me that there was no equipment available at South Station - likely due to a breakdown. Thus, I believe that is why P529 was assigned as all single-level cars as substitute equipment. Sounds like South Station was pretty chaotic on June 30.

Let's hope that July is not too hot so we don't have too many speed restrictions.

Grafton Train Rider

In regards to last week's post about the changes at Union Station, Grafton Train Rider also shared this:

I read the blurb in Worcester Magazine about the new restaurant proposed for Union Station - sounds promising. Hey, if you are looking for other things to do in that area, check out this liquor store - just across from the rotary http://www.kjbaarons.com/calender.asp They also have Monday night single malt scotch nights. Best to subscribe to their calendar.

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.

News Reports: Stoughton Line Commuter Rail Accident

Yesterday afternoon, the 917 outbound train on the MBTA/MBCR Stoughton commuter rail line was involved in an accident that left 150 passengers and crew members injured. This accident could have been even more serious if one of the train's engineers did not notice the stalled freight car.

Here are the news reports from today's The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, and The Sun Chronicle.

As Train Rider wrote last night, we hope everyone is OK.

Evening Commute and MBCR Response to Email Complaint

The commute on the P533 (which departs South Station at 7:15 pm) was on time this evening, but I wanted to vent about lack of fare collection on the train (well, in my car anyway, I was second car from the back) and the fact that no announcements were made either. In fact, one of my fellow commuters missed the Framingham stop and had to frantically call someone to come get him in Ashland.

I also received a reply from MBCR regarding the email complaint I sent with respect to the icy Grafton parking lot last week. I'm not surprised that the email actually tells me now to contact someone else to seek follow up, even though the MBCR website specifically states that they (MBCR) are responsible for the parking lots.

Here is the text of the email:

Dear Train Rider,
I have read your email regarding the parking lot not being cleared properly at the Grafton commuter rail station.

The responsibility for this parking facility falls under the purview of Central Parking. They may be reached by calling (617) 695-6356 or by email at mwarsame@parking.com

I realize that this information is late in coming to you; while I do make every effort to respond in a timelier manner I am not always able to achieve that goal and apologize for that shortcoming.

Sincerely,
Linda Dillon
MBCR Customer Service Manager

Well, at least it's Friday and thus no more commuting for two days. Enjoy the weekend!

"Grafton Train Rider" Submits a Concern to the MBCR

"Grafton Train Rider," who I wrote a post about last week, just submitted a "concern" to the MBCR this morning. The concern involved the fact that fares were not collected the outbound P533 train last evening.

Here is what "Grafton Train Rider" wrote:

Concern Information:
Concern #: 1971-5790515
Date Created: 2/29/2008 10:59 AM EDT
Date of Incident: 2/28/2008
Line: Worcester
Station: South Station
Departure Time AM/PM: 7:15 PM
Train Number: P533
Subject: Conductors did not collect fares
Details: Again, I experienced lack of fare collection - this time on P533 outbound 2/28/08. Your new schedule added 12 minutes to the arrival time to Grafton yet the conductor doesn't seem to have time to check passes and collect tickets on a half empty train?! I validated lack of fare collection with another passenger while departing in Grafton. He commented "Yeah, that is why I don't buy a monthly pass. I priced it out and it's cheaper for me to buy a 12-ride when half the time, the conductors don't collect fares."

I was on the same train as Grafton Train Rider last night. I actually don't know who Grafton Train Rider is, even though we depart from the same station. I know the conductor on the car I rode on did collect fares last night. Nonetheless this is such a frustrating issue - the lack of consistency in regards to fare collection. I would think that every dollar would count when you are a transit system running with a budget deficit.

It would be interesting to see statistics on the number of riders compared to the number of dollars collected.

Thanks for sharing, Grafton Train Rider.

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.

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?

Thursday and Friday Commutes

Let's see . . .

The didn't collect passes on Wednesday night's outbound train from Boston.

The Thursday inbound P508 commute arrived at Back Bay station at 8:24 a.m. instead of the schedule 8:18 a.m. arrival time. We pulled into South Station at 8:30 a.m. instead of 8:24 a.m. The train was about 5 minutes behind schedule . . . does that count for the on time service stats for January?

Outbound P529 6:05 p.m. commute Thursday night was long. The 6:05 p.m. train is supposed to be double cars, but they were all single cars, so it took twice as long to disembark. They did not collect passes last night. The train cars were packed . We were 15-20 minutes behind schedule. The conductor must have made up time absolutely speeding through Newton/Wellesley.

This morning's P508 inbound commute was also delayed. We arrived at back bay at 8:28 (scheduled arrival time 8:18).

Just LOVE the commuter rail!!! (NOT)